July 11, 2019 - Montréal, Quebec
Small businesses make up 98% of all Canadian businesses and employ 8 million hard-working Canadians from coast to coast to coast. They are the backbone of our economy and critical to the middle class.
This week, the Honourable Mary Ng, Canada's Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion, was in Montréal to meet with entrepreneurs and small business owners to talk about the ways the Government of Canada is supporting their success.
On July 10, Minister Ng announced an investment through the WES Ecosystem Fund of up to $3.2 million in École des entrepreneurs du Québec, an organization that develops entrepreneurial skills by providing an accessible, innovative, and collaborative learning environment.
On July 11, Minister Ng met with local small business owners and entrepreneurs to discuss how the government is helping businesses scale and get export-ready.
She also moderated a StartupFest panel discussion with Harley Finkelstein, COO of Shopify, where they discussed Canada's business-friendly ecosystem and the ways the government is supporting entrepreneurs as they turn their innovative ideas into businesses.
Throughout her tour, Minister Ng met with small business owners and shared the government's many initiatives that are making it easier for small business owners to do business, such as:
- lowering the small business tax rate to 9%, one of the lowest rates in the world;
- getting credit card companies to lower the fees they charge businesses when their customers use credit cards;
- launching the Canada Business App that brings the world of government programs and services to users' fingertips and provides helpful notifications;
- providing access to over a billion and a half new customers through trade deals like the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, commonly called the new NAFTA;
- introducing the Accelerated Investment Incentive that will allow businesses of all sizes in all sectors of the economy to write off a larger share of the cost of newly acquired assets in the year the investment is made;
- committing to universal high-speed Internet across Canada;
- investing $2 billion to help double the number of women-owned businesses by 2025; and
- reducing over 450 federal rules that impose an administrative burden on business.
Quotes
"This is a small business-friendly government that is working hard to reduce red tape and make it easier for Canadian small business owners to start up, scale up and access new markets. When small businesses in communities across the country succeed, our economy grows and middle-class jobs are created."
- The Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion
"We are committed to supporting women in business and ensuring their full and equal participation in our economy. That is why the Government of Canada created the first-ever Women Entrepreneurship Strategy, which aims to double the number of women-owned businesses in Canada within six years. Today's investments will help women-owned and women-led businesses here in Montréal and all across Quebec grow, innovate and export to new markets."
- Rachel Bendayan, Member of Parliament for Outremont
"Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and are at the heart of communities across Quebec. From lowering the small business tax rate to removing long-standing barriers to business, our government is working hard to support small business owners and entrepreneurs as they grow, including helping them become export-ready so they can take advantage of Canada's 14 trade agreements that open up access to 1.5 billion customers."
- Francis Scarpaleggia, Member of Parliament for Lac-Saint-Louis
