In January 2021, small businesses that are required to close or significantly restrict services under the new provincewide shutdown effective December 26, 2020 will be eligible to apply for the Ontario Small Business Support Grant.

Starting at $10,000, the grant will provide eligible businesses with funding to a maximum of $20,000. The business must demonstrate they experienced a revenue decline of at least 20 per cent when comparing monthly revenue in April 2019 and April 2020, in addition to being subject to the lockdown beginning December 26, 2020. The relevance of this time period was chosen to reflect the impact of the public health measures in spring 2020. For small businesses not in operation in April 2019 or April 2020, eligibility criteria will be announced in January 2021. Businesses will be able to use the support in whatever way makes the most sense for them, as long as the necessary requirements are met.

Eligibility

To receive the grant, a small business must:

• Be required to close or restrict services subject to the Provincewide Shutdown effective 12:01 a.m. on December 26.
• Have fewer than 100 employees at the enterprise level.
• Have experienced a minimum of 20 per cent revenue decline comparing April 2020 to April 2019 revenues.

Businesses that are not eligible include those that were already required to close prior to the introduction of modified Stage 2 measures, and essential business permitted to operate with capacity restrictions. Further details about the grant, including how to apply, will be available in January 2021. For more information, visit the Ontario webpage