Important Update to the Provincial Government’s Small Business Assistance Program

February 25, 2021 –  The Provincial Government has announced an extension of the Small Business Assistance Program (SBAP) to March 11, 2021 for applicants who have not yet availed on the funding.

The Small Business Assistance Program (SBAP) is a short-term program offered by the Department of Industry, Energy and Technology that will provide financial support to eligible small businesses and non-profit community organizations to provide relief for the impacts felt as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The SBAP complements other Provincial Government supports announced to date, as well as existing emergency supports from the Government of Canada.

Small Businesses:

Eligible small businesses can apply for a one-time non-repayable contribution of $5,000, $7,500 or $10,000 to provide relief for the impacts felt as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as revenue losses and business adaptations required including physical space, online sales innovation and increased costs of health and safety protocols.

Non-Profit Community Organizations:

Eligible non-profit community organizations can apply for a one-time non-repayable contribution of $5,000 or $10,000 to provide relief for the impacts felt as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as revenue losses and adaptations required including physical space, online sales innovation and increased costs of health and safety protocols.

Please Note: Accommodations, restaurants, bars and other tourism businesses must apply for the Tourism and Hospitality Support Program (THSP). Restaurant franchises are not eligible for THSP and should apply for Small Business Assistance Program.

Required Information

If you are planning to apply for the Small Business Assistance Program, you will be required to provide information such as:

• 2019 business/organization and financial information pertaining to gross sales and number of employees;
• 2020 financial information pertaining to estimated losses to date, additional costs for health and safety protocols and/or business adaptations and forecasted losses to December 31, 2020;
• details of any other COVID-19 support funding applied for or received;
• details regarding a reasonable plan to continue operations in 2020 and/or 2021; and
• CRA Business Number if applicable.

You will be required to upload specific documents to the online application system, as outlined below:

For Existing Businesses/Organizations

• VOID Cheque
• Government-issued Identification – a picture of a government-issued identification for the person completing the application must be provided.
• Financial Statements reflective of the 2019 operating season. Where prepared financial statements are not yet available, in-house generated profit/loss or income/expense statements for the same time period will be accepted.

For Start-Up Businesses

• VOID Cheque
• Government-issued Identification – a picture of a government-issued identification for the person completing the application must be provided.
• List of Costs Incurred to Prepare for business opening – please include vendors, brief description of activity/cost, invoice numbers, individual costs and the overall total cost.

To view eligibility guidelines for the program, please view the Eligibility Guidelines Small Business Assistance Program.

To apply for SBAP, click HERE.