Introduction of the Canada Emergency Business Account

The Canada Emergency Business Account provides interest-free loans of up to $40,000 to small businesses and not-for-profits, to help them cover their operating costs during a period where their revenues have been temporarily reduced, due to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 virus. To qualify for this program, these organizations will need to demonstrate they paid between $20,000 to $1.5 million in total payroll in 2019. Repaying the balance of the loan on or before December 31, 2022 will result in loan forgiveness of 25%. PBO estimates this program to cost $9.106 billion in 2020-2021. The time horizon for this costing is aligned to PBO’s current Economic and Fiscal Scenario