Minister Ng announces investments supporting female entrepreneurship and export opportunities in Atlantic Canada

The Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion shared how the federal government is helping small business owners start up, scale up and access new markets

SAINT JOHN, NB, Aug. 20, 2019 /CNW/ - Small businesses make up 98% of all Canadian businesses and employ 8 million hard-working Canadians from coast to coast to coast. They are the backbone of our economy and critical to the middle class.

This week, the Honourable Mary Ng, Canada's Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion, was in Atlantic Canada to meet with entrepreneurs and small business owners to talk about the ways the Government of Canada is supporting their success.

On August 19, Minister Ng announced a $425,000 investment in the Halifax Chamber of Commerce to launch its Trade Accelerator Program (TAP). This partnership with the Halifax Chamber of Commerce will see the development of TAP programming over three years for more than 100 companies in Nova Scotia, enabling more SMEs to access new markets and create middle-class jobs.

Later that day, in Fredericton, Minister Ng highlighted the nearly $10 million invested in Atlantic Canada through the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES). She also announced that the following women-owned or -led businesses are receiving support through the Women Entrepreneurship Fund:

• SomaDetect, located in Fredericton, which will conduct marketing activities to promote its in-line sensor technology for detecting disease in cows
• iTacit, located in Fredericton, which will develop an integrated digital marketing program to reach, attract, and generate demand in new export markets
• Edmundston Truck Stop, located in Edmundston, which will open a second location in Moncton
• South Ridge Maple Co. Ltd., located in Knowlesville, which will partner with the Woodstock First Nation to collect sap and create maple products, while also developing strategic sales and marketing export plans
• MASITEK Instruments, located in Moncton, which will develop a strategic partnership with a large-scale packaging equipment and supplies organization to expand the company's export activities

Minister Ng also announced that Moncton-based Conseil économique du Nouveau-Brunswick will be receiving $1,211,595 through the WES Ecosystem Fund (Regional Stream) to develop and implement an entrepreneurship support program for women from francophone communities, including francophone immigrant women. The project will prioritize women entrepreneurs in sectors where women are traditionally under-represented and will offer a range of tools while maximizing resources already provided by different partners in the ecosystem process.

Throughout her tour, Minister Ng met with small business owners and entrepreneurs, including those gathered at the Saint John Community Loan Fund roundtable on August 20. She talked about the government's many initiatives that are making it easier for small business owners to do business, such as:

• lowering the small business tax rate to 9%, one of the lowest rates in the world;
• getting credit card companies to lower the fees they charge businesses when their customers use credit cards;
• launching the Canada Business app, which brings the world of government programs and services to your fingertips and provides helpful notifications;
• providing access to over a billion and a half new customers through trade deals like the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, commonly called the new NAFTA;
• introducing the Accelerated Investment Incentive, which will allow businesses of all sizes in all sectors of the economy to write off a larger share of the cost of newly acquired assets in the year the investment is made;
• committing to universal high-speed Internet throughout Canada;
• investing $2 billion to help double the number of women-owned businesses by 2025; and
• reducing over 450 federal rules that impose an administrative burden on business.

Quote

"This is a small business–friendly government that is working hard to reduce red tape and make it easier for Canadian small business owners to start up, scale up and access new markets. When small businesses in communities across the country succeed, our economy grows and middle-class jobs are created."
– The Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion

Associated links

• Innovation and Skills Plan
• Canadian Trade Commissioner Service
• CanExport
• Accelerated Growth Service
• Industrial Research Assistance Program
• Innovative Solutions Canada
• Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative
• Women Entrepreneurship Strategy
• Canada Business App
• Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement
• Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership
• Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement
• Budget 2019

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SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada