Small Businesses Struggling During Ontario's Lockdown Can Soon Get Up To $20,000

Premier Doug Ford announced on Monday that, starting on December 26, a lockdown will shut down the entire province for a minimum of 14 days.

Although this will be difficult for Ontario's small businesses, a new grant will soon provide additional financial support.

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$20,000 Maximum payment for small business owners

The new Ontario Small Business Support Grant will give a minimum of $10,000 and a maximum of $20,000 to some small business owners.

Eligible applicants are those who have been forced to close or significantly restrict services due to the province-wide shutdown.

Essential businesses that are allowed to remain open are not eligible.

They must also have less than 100 employees at the enterprise level and have experienced a minimum of 20% revenue decline in April 2020 compared to April 2019.

"This time period was selected because it reflects the impact of the public health measures in spring 2020," says the government's statement.

Details on how to apply for this grant won't be available until January 2021.