What is in Budget 2021 for Entrepreneurs?

Supporting Entrepreneurs, Including Equity Deserving Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs, especially those from equity-deserving groups such as racialized Canadians, young people, LGBTQ2 people, and more, face barriers to starting and growing a business. That holds our economy back. To help simplify and streamline the government’s support programs and help equity-deserving entrepreneurs access funding and capital, mentorship, financial planning services, and business training, the government will launch the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Development Program. That will help all Canadians have an equal chance to succeed and contribute to economic recovery and growth:

• Budget 2021 proposes to provide up to $101.4 million over five years, starting in 2021-22, to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada for the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Development Program.

Supporting Women Entrepreneurs

Canadian women entrepreneurs are essential to Canada’s economic success, but women still face unique and systemic barriers to starting and growing a business, and they remain underrepresented in the economy. The pandemic has disproportionately impacted women, and the government is committed to supporting Canadian women entrepreneurs.

• To provide affordable financing, increase data, and strengthen capacity within the entrepreneurship ecosystem, Budget 2021 proposes to provide up to $146.9 million over four years, starting in 2021-22, to enhance the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy. Women entrepreneurs would have greater access to financing, mentorship, and training. Funding would also further support the Women Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Fund and the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub.
• The government will work with financial institutions to develop a voluntary code to help support women and other underrepresented entrepreneurs as clients in the financial sector.

Supporting Black Entrepreneurs

The pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated systemic barriers faced by Black entrepreneurs and owners of small and medium-sized businesses in Canada. Black business owners make invaluable contributions to communities across the country, and their success will contribute to Canada’s economic recovery. In September 2020, the Government of Canada, in partnership with financial institutions, announced an investment of up to $221 million—including up to $93 million from the government—to launch Canada’s first-ever Black Entrepreneurship Program.

• Budget 2021 proposes to provide up to an additional $51.7 million over four years, starting in 2021-22, to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and the regional development agencies for the Black Entrepreneurship Program.

Leveraging Procurement Opportunities

To increase diversity in procurement, economically empower historically disadvantaged businesses, support small businesses and our supply chains, improve fairness in procurement opportunities for Canadian suppliers, create jobs, and contribute to a more inclusive economy:

• Budget 2021 proposes to provide Public Services and Procurement Canada $87.4 million over five years starting in 2021-22, and $18.6 million ongoing. This funding will be used to modernize federal procurement and create opportunities for specific communities by diversifying the federal supplier base. Specifically, Public Services and Procurement Canada would:
  • Implement a program focused on procuring from Black-owned businesses.
  • Continue work to meet Canada’s target of 5 percent of federal contracts being awarded to businesses managed and led by Indigenous peoples.
  • Improve data capture, analytics, and reporting.
  • Incorporate accessibility considerations into federal procurement, ensuring goods and services are accessible by design. Public Services and Procurement Canada will develop new tools, guidance, awareness, and training for federal departments.
• Budget 2021 also proposes to leverage supplier diversity opportunities through domestic procurement, such as running competitions open to businesses run by Canadians from equity-deserving groups. That would help build a more inclusive economy and boost these businesses’ competitiveness and all Canadian businesses.
• Also, to demonstrate to Canada’s trading partners the importance of balanced procurement opportunities, the government will pursue reciprocal procurement policies to ensure that goods and services are only procured from countries that grant Canadian businesses a similar level of market access. That will protect Canadian supply chains and ensure that Canada’s trading relationships are mutually beneficial economic relationships.

To read the Budget 2021 speech or to review the budget documents, please visit https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/services/publications/federal-budget.html