Business Portal

Join us at our Small Business Breakfast on March 22, 2023 from 7:30am - 9:30am at the Norsemen Inn.

Building off the success of last year's breakfast, we want to continue the conversation with local small businesses about what is affecting the business community.

Your input will help shape economic development activities, including future grant opportunities and shop local incentives, as well as provide insight into current opportunities and challenges.

Please register in advance by emailing Kevin Johnson at kjohnson@camrose.ca.

No cost for the event.

Almost every business operating in Camrose needs a business license. That includes anything from businesses that offer nail services out of their home, to construction companies, to brick and mortar retail stores.

Watch this short video to find out more about types of licenses and why you need one!

Visit www.camrose.ca/businesslicense to apply!

BUSINESS BENEFITS FINDER

Allows you to view or search Federal Government services to find the right programs and services, whether you’re starting out or scaling up.

CYBER SECURE CANADA

The nation's cybersecurity certification program for small and medium-sized organizations.

THE DIGITAL ECONOMY PROGRAM (DEP)

A free introduction to digital support for your small business

CANADA DIGITAL ADOPTION PROGRAM

To stay competitive and grow, small and medium-sized businesses need to adopt new digital tools.CDAP provides funding and support to businesses, as well as training and work opportunities for young Canadians.

GOVERNMENT OF CANADA BUSINESS BENEFITS FINDER

The federal government has created a way to get a tailored list of benefits to help your business. Sign up for notifications for program changes such as application deadlines or new programs announced that fit your needs.

CANADA SMALL BUSINESS FINANCING PROGRAM

The Canada Small Business Financing Program makes it easier for small businesses to get loans from financial institutions by sharing the risk with lenders. Loans can be used to finance the following costs: purchase or improvement of land or buildings used for commercial purposes, purchase or improvement of new or used equipment, purchase of new or existing leasehold improvements, that is, renovations to a leased property by a tenant.

CANADA-ALBERTA JOB GRANT

The Canada-Alberta Job Grant helps cover training expenses for existing employees and new hires. If you are hiring and training an unemployed Albertan, up to 100% of training costs could be covered, up to $15,000 per trainee. For further information, please contact the Canada-Alberta Job Grant processing centre at: 1-855-638-9424 or email jobgrant@gov.ab.ca.

ALBERTA FOREIGN GRADUATE START-UP VISA PROGRAM

The Foreign Graduate Start-Up Visa Stream (FGSVS) is an economic immigration program that nominates talented and qualified foreign educated graduates from outside Canada for permanent residence. For more information and eligibility requirements visit https://www.alberta.ca/ainp-foreign-graduate-start-up-visa-stream-eligibility.aspx

INNOVATION EMPLOYMENT GRANT encourages economic growth by supporting small and medium-sized businesses that invest in research and development (R&D) with a grant worth up to 20% of qualifying expenditures. The program promotes investment and diversification by rewarding all R&D spending in Alberta, regardless of the industry, and complementing the Job Creation Tax Cut by focusing on small and medium-sized firms in the earlier stages of operation, when they might not yet be profitable.

• The Innovation Employment Grant is delivered through the corporate tax system and does not follow a formal application process. Eligible corporations will be able to claim the grant when they file their annual corporate tax returns.

STUDENT WORK PLACEMENT PROGRAM

Find wage subsidies to hire post-secondary students at the Student Work Placement Program website.

The Boost your Business Technology Stream will offer support to small and medium Canadian-owned businesses (SMEs), such as small manufacturing and food processing operations, to adopt new technologies. Support for these businesses will be in the form of grants to offset the cost of retaining Digital Advisors who will develop digital adoption plans tailored to the business. The grant will cover 90% of the cost to develop the digital plan, up to $15,000.

To support the implementation of the plan, the SME will be able to apply for a zero-interest loan from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) (up to $100,000) as well as a wage subsidy up to $7,300 for a youth placement.

Getting to a 70% vaccination rate across the Province is critically important to our local businesses. It means that businesses will be allowed to operate at full capacity again. Please see the information attached as to how to book your vaccines in Camrose.

Small & Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant

The Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant offers financial assistance to Alberta organizations (businesses, cooperatives and non-profits) that were ordered to close or curtail operations, and that experienced a revenue reduction of at least 30%, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To support businesses affected by the public health measures introduced in April 2021, a spring 2021 application period opened April 23.

Canada-Alberta Job Grant

Eligible employers can get government funding to help employees and unemployed Albertans access training opportunities.

Changes are effective from February 18, 2021 until February 28, 2022.

• Eligible trainee now includes employed family members of eligible employers.
• Business owners (incorporated, unincorporated/sole-proprietor and partnerships) with 4 or fewer employees are now eligible to train themselves.
• Training is no longer required to be incremental.

Our Small Business Grant program was very successful in 2020 with the City of Camrose giving out $39,000 in matching or re-imbursement grants supporting nearly 40 businesses.

COVID Relaunch Grant

In 2021, we are continuing our COVID Relaunch Grant of up to $200.00 in re-imbursements for items like masks, sanitation supplies, barriers, or other items you require in order to reopen or remain open safely. This grant is currently open for applications here.

Façade Improvement Grant (March 15 - April 16)

The City of Camrose is investing up to $25,000 into improving infrastructure within the business community in this Phase 2 of the Façade Improvement Grant. This funding program is for a matching grant, of up to $4,000 per business for façade or signage improvements on storefronts. This grant is currently open for applications here.

Please contact us if you have any questions!

Our COVID-19 Local Impact Survey is now live! Please click on the survey tab above and provide your input into how COVID-19 has affected your business. The survey will take approximately 5 minutes and your inputs will remain anonymous but the data will help us better understand how COVID has affected the business community in the City of Camrose.