Southern Ontario Spotlight

Small Business Week (October 15-21) celebrates entrepreneurship and recognizes the contributions and successes of Canadian small- and medium-sized businesses.

FedDev Ontario Minister Filomena Tassi spoke with CanadianSME Magazine for their Small Business Podcast to highlight Government of Canada priority sectors and funding initiatives, advice for small businesses seeking growth support and tips on navigating the application process. Minister Tassi also provided a message in CanadianSME Magazine and opening remarks at the Small Business Summit to reinforce FedDev Ontario's commitment to supporting southern Ontario SMEs. In her message published in Canadian Business Owner Magazine for multicultural entrepreneurs, the Minister celebrated the diversity of Canada’s small businesses, and acknowledged the challenges business owners face and outlined measures the government is taking to strengthen supply chains and foster an environment conducive to business growth.

FedDev Ontario is committed to supporting small business across southern Ontario through funding opportunities and business support. Read our success story about two recent investments in Indigenous-led businesses that will enhance services and create new jobs in their communities.

Sheridan College received an investment of $1.6 million to strengthen programming at Sheridan EDGE. EDGE is a collaborative space where entrepreneurs get the resources and tools they need to help start and grow their businesses, and this investment will help EDGE accelerate the growth of entrepreneurs that are focused on creating solutions for social, cultural and environmental issues. This builds on a previous Government of Canada investment of $1.5 million that helped Sheridan College broaden its entrepreneurial support and services to entrepreneurs across Mississauga and Peel Region. It has already supported 130 high-potential companies, creating nearly 60 partnerships and nearly 170 jobs.

L-Squared Digital Signage (L Squared) is accelerating the growth of its digital communications platform the L Squared Hub with an investment of $1.75 million. This innovative cloud platform allows users to control content such as lobby display screens, menu boards and mobile applications to deliver tailored information to audiences. This investment will support upgrades to the L Squared Hub platform to meet the needs of a wider range of clients globally, and will allow L Squared to continue helping businesses improve their productivity, market reach, and competitiveness, along with creating 15 new skilled jobs in Toronto.

The Agency is engaging with Indigenous-led businesses and not-for-profit organizations across the region to learn about future business plans, new products and/or opportunities, and attend several roundtable discussions to hear about current priorities, challenges and to discuss how the government can support and facilitate growth opportunities.

FedDev Ontario staff attended the annual Ontario First Nations Economic Developers Association (OFNEDA) conference in Niagara Falls, where they discussed opportunities for greater collaboration with Indigenous organizations such as OFNEDA, Canadian Council for Aboriginal Businesses (CCAB), Indigenous Tourism Ontario (ITO) and the First Nations Bank of Canada. FedDev Ontario had an exhibition table at the event, with more than 150 people stopping by to learn about the Agency’s programs and supports. Representatives from the Agency also attended the Forward Summit East conference in Orillia. Participants from across the country took part in panel discussions on topics such as Financing a Wealthier Future (led by the Canada Infrastructure Bank) and Community Capacity Building and Sharing Between Nations. FedDev Ontario met with several organizations including national not-for-profit organization Indigenous Youth Roots to discuss opportunities to support Indigenous youth and aspiring entrepreneurs to position them for future success, and held Indigenous outreach sessions with CCAB on October 24, with a follow-up session scheduled for early November.

Indigenous businesses and organizations interested in additional information on available government funding and support are encouraged to visit FedDev Ontario's website or contact our team by telephone at 1-877-553-5507 or by email at Indigenous-autochtones@feddevontario.gc.ca.

The forest industry is a pillar of the Canadian economy, with over 3,000 companies that employ 35,000 workers, and contributes more than $7 billion in revenue each year. The Government of Canada supports wood manufacturers as they evolve, adopt new processes and technologies and increase their production capabilities.

At the Wood Manufacturing Cluster of Ontario (WMCO)’s Quarterly Networking Event, MP Bardish Chagger announced nearly $2.9 million for the organization to help SMEs in southern Ontario adopt new digital strategies. WMCO is an industry-led cluster that supports SMEs specializing in cabinetry, commercial fixtures and millwork, furniture, flooring, mass timber construction and other niche products. With this investment, WMCO will support manufacturers as they adopt digital technologies, and will provide seed funding for eligible SMEs undergoing digital adoption projects, creating 50 new jobs. As part of this investment, 50 new products, services and processes will be commercialized. WMCO will also prioritize SMEs in rural and Indigenous communities through targeted outreach activities.

The Government of Canada continues to make strategic investments in southern Ontario’s technology sector, to drive innovation and growth and foster high-quality employment opportunities throughout the region.

FedDev Ontario announced an investment of $1.5 million for Software as a Service (SaaS) company GetQuorum to help reach new markets and create jobs in the Toronto area. GetQuorum provides an all-in-one virtual meeting and voting platform that helps corporations connect and share with team members quickly and easily, and also provides tools such as record-keeping, reporting, and analytics. This investment will accelerate GetQuorum's sales and marketing efforts to meet a growing market opportunity for virtual and hybrid corporate governance meetings, and is expected to create 13 new jobs.

“Encouraging participation and transparency are critical aspects of good governance and beneficial for members, voters and stakeholders alike. FedDev Ontario's investment in GetQuorum will allow us to further develop our platform and services to meet the changing needs of Canadians and extend our services throughout North America in the post-pandemic world."
- Ben Zelikovitz, Co-Founder, GetQuorum

Canada’s Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs) play an important role in our country’s economy, and the Government of Canada is committed to ensuring Francophone entrepreneurs are supported and thriving.

FedDev Ontario recently announced an investment of nearly $330,000 for l’Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario (AFO), a provincial Francophone-led not-for-profit organization, to collaborate with partners in OLMC communities to develop a strategic vision for sustainable, thriving Francophone communities. MP Fortier made the announcement during AFO’s Congrès Annuel, which brought together more than 300 stakeholders from Francophone communities and organizations to discuss the theme of sustainability of French language and culture in Ontario.

Through this investment, AFO will collaborate with three identified OLMCs, including Cornwall and surrounding region, Windsor-Essex-Kent and Hamilton-Niagara, to develop regional plans that support local economic development and Francophone-led businesses in the regions. The project will also support the development of a roadmap for a centralized OLMC community hub and service centres that will make it easier for community members and business owners to access the resources they need.

This investment builds on a previous FedDev Ontario investment of $1.25 million for AFO, which supported more than 70 Francophone businesses and not for-profit-organizations between 2019 and 2023.