Fighting for Canadian workers and businesses

News Release from the Department of Finance Canada
From https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2025/03/fighting-for-canadian-workers-and-businesses.html

March 7, 2025 – Ottawa, Ontario – Department of Finance Canada

Earlier this week, the United States administration imposed unjustified tariffs on Canada, disrupting a successful trading partnership and raising costs for Americans and Canadians alike. As the federal government, we will use every tool at our disposal so Canadian businesses and workers can weather this storm. We will defend Canadian jobs.

The Minister of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs, Dominic LeBlanc, the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, Steven MacKinnon, the Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development, Mary Ng, the Minister of Small Business, Rechie Valdez, and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lawrence MacAulay, today announced the first steps of new measures to protect Canadian businesses and workers.

To support our businesses and ensure they have the liquidity they need through this turbulent time, we will be:

  • Launching the Trade Impact Program through Export Development Canada. The program will deploy $5 billion over two years, starting this year, to help exporters reach new markets for Canadian products and help companies navigate the economic challenges imposed by the tariffs, including losses from non-payment, currency fluctuations, lack of access to cash flows, and barriers to expansion.
  • Making $500 million in favourably priced loans available through the Business Development Bank of Canada to support impacted businesses in sectors directly targeted by tariffs, as well as companies in their supply chains. Businesses will also benefit from advisory services in areas such as financial management and market diversification.
  • Providing $1 billion in new financing through Farm Credit Canada to reduce financial barriers for the Canadian agriculture and food industry. This lending offer will help address cash flow challenges so that businesses can adjust to a new operating environment and continue to supply the high-quality agricultural and food products that Canadians rely on.

To protect our Canadian businesses from harmful takeover, the federal government also updated the Investment Canada Act Guidelines to protect Canadian companies at a time when our economy is facing unprecedented challenges. While we welcome foreign investments through an open and predictable investment climate, we must refuse foreign investments that would be harmful to our economic security.

Along with supporting businesses, we are also introducing temporary flexibilities to the EI Work-Sharing Program to increase access and maximum agreement duration. The Work-Sharing Program provides EI benefits to employees who agree with their employer to work reduced hours due to a decrease in business activity beyond their employer’s control. This helps employers retain experienced workers and avoid layoffs and helps workers maintain their employment and skills while supplementing the reduced wages with EI benefits.

In the weeks and months ahead, additional measures will be brought forward to support businesses and workers as needed. The federal government will continue to work closely with provinces and territories to ensure complementary supports are in place across all jurisdictions.

Quotes

“We are deeply committed to supporting Canadian businesses and workers in the face of the unjustified and unreasonable tariffs the United States has imposed on Canadian goods. We have faced economic challenges before, and we know we will overcome this new challenge. The measures announced today as part of our Team Canada response will protect jobs, keep businesses open, and help stabilize Canada’s economy.”

— The Hon. Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs

“We are taking a calibrated approach to address the uncertainty and damage this illegal trade war is bringing and the risk it is creating for our businesses, our workers, and all Canadians. We will do everything in our power to protect Canadian workers, their livelihoods, and the sectors that keep our economy humming.”

— The Hon. Steven MacKinnon, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

“In these uncertain times, supporting Canadian exporters is not just a policy, it’s a necessity. The $5 billion Trade Impact Program, launched today through EDC, is a direct response to the challenges they face. We’re providing crucial tools – working capital, insurance, and financing – to shield Canadian businesses from the impact of possible tariffs and global volatility. This investment ensures our exporters can continue to drive our economy, create jobs, and compete on the world stage. We’re standing firm with Canadian businesses, because their success is Canada’s success.”

— The Hon. Mary Ng, Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development

“To Canadian small businesses: You’ve built this country’s economy. You keep our communities strong. And we will have your backs.”

— The Hon. Rechie Valdez, Minister of Small Business

“There is no relationship in the world like the one Canada shares with the United States, and that certainly extends to our agriculture sectors. Our supply chains are highly integrated, and our producers rely on fair access to the U.S. market. These unjustified tariffs will have a direct impact on them. Building on our Team Canada response, Farm Credit Canada will be providing financial support to the sector as we adapt to the challenges ahead so our farmers can keep their operations going and continue producing the best products in the world.”

— The Hon. Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Quick facts

  • In addition to monitoring trade-related impacts stemming from new tariffs, Export Development Canada (EDC) will work in close collaboration with its Government of Canada partners and the private sector to ensure that EDC’s programming is co-ordinated with, and complementary to, other offerings. EDC is actively engaging with customers and industry stakeholders to better understand their needs and to determine how to best support them.
  • The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) will make available up to $500 million through six-year working capital loans ranging from $100,000 to $2 million to commercially viable businesses. Favourable terms could be offered to provide additional flexibility, such as principal payment postponements for up to 12 months. The loans will also be priced favourably, such as at BDC’s base interest rate minus two per cent.
  • Through the Trade Disruption Customer Support program, Farm Credit Canada (FCC) will provide relief for viable customers and non-customers in the agriculture and food sectors who meet the necessary lending criteria. This includes access to an additional credit line up to $500,000 and new term loans. Current FCC customers have the option to defer principal payments for up to 12 months on existing loans.
  • The Government of Canada is also maintaining the $250,000 interest-free loan limit of the Advanced Payments Program (APP) for the 2025-26 program year, which was set to expire on April 1, 2025.
  • The APP eases cash flow for farmers, allowing up to $1,000,000 in total advances based on the value of the eligible agricultural products that a farmer produces or has in storage, with up to 18 months to fully repay the advance for most commodities and up to 24 months for cattle and bison.
  • The measures announced today build on existing supports for Canadian businesses, including:
    • The Canada Small Business Financing Program, which helps small businesses obtain loans from financial institutions by sharing the risk with lenders.
    • Trade Commissioner Services, which help businesses grow and diversify their business operations by connecting them with funding and support programs.
    • A remission process, which provides exceptional relief from the tariffs imposed as part of Canada’s immediate response, as well as any future tariff actions.
  • For working Canadians impacted by tariffs, the federal government is maintaining a strong safety net through EI and the EI Work-Sharing Program, which helps employers avoid layoffs in the first place.
  • In 2024, the Government of Canada passed Bill C-34, An Act to amend the Investment Canada Act, which updated our foreign investment review regime to ensure that Canada has strong authorities to take action quickly when required.
  • To ensure that the Investment Canada Act (ICA) continues to be responsive to the evolving threat environment, the Government of Canada updated the ICA’s Guidelines on the National Security Review of Investments to reflect the importance of economic security in assessments of Canada’s national security concerns, the release of the Sensitive Technology List, and the amendments introduced with the passing of Bill C-34.
  • Canada’s Sensitive Technology List enumerates technologies that Canada deems to be sensitive and warrant protection from a national security, intelligence, and national defence perspective.

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