Visa lowers interchange fees for tens of thousands of small businesses, but new credit card fees are on the horizon cfib-fcei.ca/en/media/visa-l…

Thanks to Industry @ISED_CA Minister @melaniejoly for joining CFIB’s Board of Governors at our fall meeting in Montreal. It was good to catch up on the impact of the trade war on small business in advance of the fall budget.

CFIB: Half of Canada’s small exporters and importers hit by new U.S. tariffs and Canadian counter-tariffs – many at risk if trade war lasts more than 3 months cfib-fcei.ca/en/media/half-o…

For several days, CFIB has been seeking clarification from ministers on whether tariff relief programs will be opened up to small business. This interview with Minister @EvanLSolomon suggests it may happen eventually. CFIB has had some positive signals that the current thresholds that block at least half of small businesses from applying for support through Regional Development Agencies may be lowered or scrapped. But I can offer no confirmation today. It is shameful that this issue, which CFIB has been raising for months, has not been fixed. halifax.citynews.ca/video/20…

While we appreciate that the government is trying to move quickly, at first glance it looks like small business owners are being served the usual alphabet soup of complicated programs. They will be challenging for small business owners to figure out, let alone use. To date, the federal Regional Tariff Response Initiative (RTRI) delivered by Regional Development Agencies have excluded most small businesses from even applying.  Some required a minimum of $2 million in sales, others a minimum of 10 employees. Today’s announcement doesn’t appear to have changed these thresholds. Unless the thresholds are eliminated entirely, then the government will have failed in its promise to support small business owners. The new U.S. 50% tariff hits even the smallest home-based jewellery maker, so why would our government’s support exclude them? What we are looking for is one simple program for small businesses that removes as much of the burden of tariffs as possible, ideally delivered by the Canada Revenue Agency.  Instead, we have a patchwork of agencies and programs that no small business has ever heard of before, largely delivering loans to businesses that will have no ability to pay them back.  While I respect Canada’s need to respond to the U.S. threat, the giant list of counter tariffs will create their own severe challenges for many small businesses who have already done what they can to seek new sources of supply. Canada’s support programs need to be available for companies that use, import or distribute U.S. products too.   And for tens of thousands of other businesses, the trade war will mean more uncertainty, higher input costs and lower consumer demand due to its indirect impacts. CFIB is urging the federal government to deliver an immediate cut to the small business tax rate, retroactive to January 1, 2026. The government already publicly signaled a focus on small business in the 2026 fall budget. Doing it now would send a much-needed reassuring message to Canada's entrepreneurs. We’re also urging the government to extend the suspension of the federal excise tax on gasoline and diesel. It’s set to expire on Sept. 7, one day before retaliatory tariffs kick in. The timing couldn’t be worse to see taxes and fuel prices rise. I do recognize that it is very challenging to get programs right in a matter of days. As we did during the pandemic, CFIB stands ready to work closely with the federal government and all parliamentarians to find ways to make any supports work for Canada’s small business community. cfib-fcei.ca/en/media/cfib-s…

Glad to see Finance Minister @FP_Champagne specifically welcoming ideas on how to support SMEs as he consults on the fall budget. CFIB has many ideas - starting with cutting the small biz rate to 6% and increasing the threshold to $700,000. Champagne seeks pitches for tax changes, energy policy ahead of 2026 budget /via @globeandmail theglobeandmail.com/politics…