Southern Ontario Spotlight - June 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on businesses of all sizes across the country. In particular, retail-oriented main street businesses have suffered with stores closed and in-person commerce halted. To support these businesses to recover and generate new revenue, on June 11, Minister Joly announced a FedDev Ontario investment of $50 million to support Ontario small businesses to go digital, including $42.5 million to establish the Digital Main Street Platform. This Platform, delivered by the Ontario Business Improvement Area Association (OBIAA), the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA), Communitech, and Invest Ottawa, will offer tailored support to businesses to adopt digital technologies to compete now and in the future, while creating work opportunities for students.

The Platform will include three pillars:

1. Entry level support: OBIAA will provide services to an estimated 2,750 main street businesses in the initial stages of developing an online presence. Digital service squads will help businesses implement transformation plans and OBIAA will provide contributions of $2,500 to help businesses create a compelling online presence.
2. Intermediate level support to build an online storefront (ShopHere): This model deploys students to build online stores and provides initial support for operating the online store and related digital marketing. This pillar will support an estimated 16,450 businesses across Ontario, and will be delivered by the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA), Communitech and Invest Ottawa.
3. Advanced level support through Future-Proofing Main Street: This pillar involves specialized engagement over a longer time with main street firms looking to accelerate their digital growth in three key sectors: retail, restaurant/hospitality, and services/trades. Local experts and students will help businesses develop global marketing strategies and advanced digital marketing, to be complemented by networking, mentoring and specialized training provided by Communitech, Invest Ottawa and other regional innovation centres across Ontario. This pillar will support an estimated 2,700 businesses.

The Digital Main Street Platform will support nearly 22,000 main street businesses and create experiential learning opportunities for over 1,400 students. The Government of Ontario is also investing $7.45 million to extend this Platform to Northern Ontario and support even more businesses. For more information or to apply, visit the Digital Main Street website. To learn more about the Platform, read the pivotal project profile on our website. 

“As local economies across Ontario reopen, we’re focused on ensuring that our main streets don’t just survive, but thrive. These businesses are the backbone of our economy, a source of local jobs – and local pride. Thanks to the expanded Digital Main Street platform, they’ll be able to expand their offerings and take advantage of more and more people shopping online. Our message to Ontario’s small businesses, and those whose livelihoods rely on them, is clear: we’re working with you to support good jobs and help our economy come back stronger than ever.”

 

The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Minister responsible for Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario

As part of the $50 million investment to help businesses go digital, FedDev Ontario is contributing $7.5 million to establish the Recovery Activation Program. The project will be delivered by the Toronto Region Board of Trade in partnership with its extensive network of chambers of commerce across Ontario, and will focus primarily on supporting B2B firms and small manufacturers. Through this initiative, key partners will deliver training and provide advice to over 1,000 SMEs on how to digitize their supply chains, customer acquisition systems and back office operations. The Government of Ontario is contributing $200,000 to enhance delivery of RAP.

With more than 13,500 members and strategic partnerships across the regions, the Toronto Region Board of Trade is one of the largest chambers of commerce in North America and will use this reach to have a significant impact on the region’s businesses.

Learn more about the Recovery Activation Program on the Toronto Region Board of Trade website.

“We created the Recovery Activation Program as a direct response to what we’re hearing from our members and the business community at large: digital tools and services are crucial to success, but challenging to implement alone. The governments’ investment in RAP makes them a valuable partner in helping businesses overcome these challenges, enabling us to significantly expand the program’s reach and offer it completely free to enterprises across the province.” Jan De Silva, President and CEO of the Toronto Region Board of Trade

The tourism industry has been particularly impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, as travel- and tourism-related activities have ceased during recent months. Destination marketing organizations (DMOs) are critical to the fabric of local tourism sectors, as they help drive the visitor economy in communities across the region. Now more than ever, DMOs are needed to help communities attract tourists and regain revenue as the economy reopens. Southern Ontario’s 66 DMOs have been hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis, as 65–90% of their revenues typically come from fees generated by the accommodations sector.

On May 31, Minister Joly announced that the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) is receiving $30 million from FedDev Ontario to provide financial relief to DMOs across southern Ontario that have experienced significant revenue shortfalls.

DMOs can now apply through the TIAO website for non-repayable contributions to support them as they launch campaigns to drive visitor activity back into their communities and provide relief to local tourism operators.

The Government of Canada continues to announce measures to help stabilize the economy as part of its COVID-19 Economic Response Plan. Updates from the last month include:

• Applications are now being accepted for the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) website;
• The eligibility criteria for the Canada Emergency Business Account has been expanded to include businesses that are sole proprietors receiving income directly from their businesses, businesses that rely on contractors, and family-owned corporations that pay employees through dividends rather than payroll;
• $15 million in additional funding to support women entrepreneurs through the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy;
• $450 million in funding to help Canada’s academic research community retain staff and maintain essential research-related activities;
• Additional funding for health, economic and social support for Indigenous peoples and communities;
• Funding delivered through the federal Gas Tax Fund will be accelerated this year to help communities quickly move forward with infrastructure projects that will improve quality of life and help restart local economies;
• The new Fish Harvester Benefit, which helps provide income support for eligible self-employed fish harvesters and crew who cannot access existing federal measures.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also convened world leaders and international organizations in a joint initiative to accelerate our global response to the economic and human impacts of COVID-19. Watch the virtual event on the United Nations website.

FedDev Ontario continues to support businesses, organizations and communities through the COVID-19 pandemic and into a more stable future.

Since launching the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund on May 13, and with southern Ontario CFDCs all opening their applications for the Fund throughout the month of May, FedDev Ontario has been hosting information sessions to inform local businesses about the Fund and how to apply. This includes sessions with the City of Niagara Falls Tourism Stakeholder Committee, the City of Brampton Economic Development and Culture Office, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the City of Kingston, and Invest Ottawa, as well as sessions with the London Economic Development Corporation and the Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce led by Parliamentary Secretary Kate Young alongside FedDev Ontario staff.

Minister Joly also continues to host virtual sessions across the country to share information and support for businesses, hear concerns and answer questions. She recently took part in webinars with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, l’Assemblee de la francophone de l’Ontario and the Canadian Digital Media Network.

To further support our existing clients, we have also extended the deferral of repayments owing to FedDev Ontario by another three months. Clients will now be able to defer repayments until September 30, 2020. Please consult the questions and answers for more information.