Small Business Support

WHEREAS, Municipalities across Canada are experiencing significant commercial rent escalation, with retail rents in major urban markets increasing by over 140 per cent since 2019, and industrial rents doubling since 2020, placing intense pressure on local small businesses and main street economies; and,

WHEREAS, Locally owned small businesses are foundational to municipal economic resilience, recirculating two to four times more revenue locally than chain businesses, providing stable employment, and contributing to community character and vibrancy; and,

WHEREAS, Many long-standing, viable businesses with consistent revenue and rent payment histories are unable to access commercial mortgages or acquisition financing due to restrictive lending practices and limitations within the Canada Small Business Financing Program (CSBFP); and,

WHEREAS, The current CSBFP property loan limit of $1 million no longer reflects commercial real estate market conditions in many Canadian communities, constraining opportunities for business property ownership and contributing to displacement, closures, and consolidation; and,

WHEREAS, Nearly three-quarters of Canadian business owners are expected to retire within the next decade, placing more than $2 trillion in business assets at risk, and the lack of accessible acquisition financing is resulting in business closures or sales to large chains and private equity rather than local entrepreneurs; be it,

RESOLVED, That the Federation of Canadian Municipalities call on the Government of Canada to modernize and optimize the Canada Small Business Financing Program by:

1. increasing the maximum eligible loan amount for commercial property financing to reflect current market conditions;

2. expanding eligible uses to include business acquisition financing, including asset and share purchases, to support local business succession;

3. reducing program fees and improving affordability; and

4. adjusting program design to de-risk lending better while maintaining a guarantee-based model that minimizes fiscal impact.