COVID-19 Government relief for business
Summary of key government relief options. While we update this information regularly, we recommend you refer to their websites for the most up-to-date information.
Federal Government of Canada
Highlights and Eligibility
The Government of Canada has extended the Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program (HASCAP) to help the hardest-hit businesses—those whose revenues have decreased by 50% or more due to COVID-19—with low-interest loans of $25,000 to $1 million. Funding through this program is to be used for operational expenses, not to repay or refinance other debt. The HASCAP is available until March 31, 2022.
The program will be available at some participating financial institutions as of February 1, 2021 with other participating financial institutions (including ATB) deploying the program progressively over the days that follow.
How to apply (if applicable)
To start your HASCAP application, contact the ATB team member you usually work with or call 1-800-332-8383.
CEBA is a $40,000 or $60,000 loan funded by the Government of Canada. The loan is interest free until December 31, 2023, then increases to 5% interest per year from January 1, 2024 until December 31, 2025. Up to $20,000 of the loan may be eligible for forgiveness.
While the Government of Canada is no longer accepting CEBA applications, ATB continues to support clients with CEBA loans.
You can find more details on our CEBA page.
Highlights
The EDC Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP) Guarantee is a new partnership between EDC and financial institutions across Canada to support businesses financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It allows financial institutions to issue cash flow term loans of up to $6.25 million to existing clients, with 80 per cent guaranteed by EDC.
The EDC BCAP is intended to help with short-term liquidity and working capital needs over the next 12 months (e.g., recurring operating expenses, buying inventory, meeting accounts payable, covering delayed receivables or other needs due to cyclical cash flow).
It is not intended for debt repayment ( outside of normal monthly payments), refinancing, dividend payments or long-term asset purchases.
Learn more about the EDC BCAP term loan available to ATB medium to large-sized business clients.
Update: the deadline to apply has been extended until December 31, 2021.
How to apply (if applicable)
If you’re an ATB business client and are interested in applying for the EDC BCAP, please contact the team member you typically deal with, email us or call 1-800-332-8383.
Highlights
Update: The government is proposing to continue COVID-19 business support programs until May 2022 for organizations hit hardest since the start of the pandemic or most affected by public health restrictions.
Highlights
The Canada Recovery Hiring Program (CRHP) became available beginning June 6, 2021 and will continue until November 20, 2021. The government is proposing to extend the Canada Recovery Hiring Program until May 7, 2022, for eligible employers with current revenue losses above 10% and to increase the subsidy rate to 50%. The CRHP is designed to the promote hiring and re-hiring of employees during economic recovery.
How to apply (if applicable)
For more information on upcoming claim periods, please visit the Government of Canada website.
Highlights and Eligibility
The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy has been updated so that eligible businesses can now qualify for a base subsidy. The subsidy amount is based on the businesses revenue drop and can be calculated here. The government is proposing targeted support for eligible hard-hit employers until March 13, 2022.
How to Apply (if applicable)
Eligible employers will be able to apply through the Canada Revenue Agency’s My Business Account portal as well as a web-based application.
For more information on how to apply visit the Government of Canada's page.
Highlights and Eligibility
The federal government is establishing the Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF) to provide bridge financing to Canada’s largest employers, whose needs during the pandemic are not being met through conventional financing, in order to keep their operations going.
LEEFF is open to large Canadian employers who (a) have a significant impact on Canada’s economy, as demonstrated by (i) having significant operations in Canada or (ii) supporting a significant workforce in Canada; (b) can generally demonstrate approximately $300 million or more in annual revenues; and (c) require a minimum loan size of about $60 million.
More information is available from the Canada Development Investment Corporation.
How to apply (if applicable)
To apply, send an email to leeff-cuge@cdev.gc.ca with either a completed online enquiry form OR with the following information:
- Name of business
- Headquarters address
- Description of business
- Business annual revenues (FY19 results)
- Number of employees
- Stock exchange symbol (if publicly listed)
- Name of contact
- Title of contact
- Email of the contact (must be from the enterprise's corporate domain)
- Phone number of contact
Please note: only emails from the enterprise's corporate domain will be accepted.
Provincial Government of Alberta
Highlights
The Government of Alberta is offering a one-time payment of $2,000 to eligible Alberta small and medium-sized businesses who are eligible for and choose to implement the Restrictions Exemption Program.
How to apply
Applications are now open. Visit the Government of Alberta page for more information on how to apply.
COVID-19