United Kingdom, Big Ben in London

From Brexit to trade wars, 2020 is shaping up to be a tough year for Canadian CEOs

If there were enemies of growth for any medium-sized business, risk and uncertainty would surely top the list. It’s fair to say they’re probably entrepreneurs’ main adversaries in the current macroeconomic climate. That’s because business owners are facing unusually high levels of business complexity that are poised to rise further in the months ahead. Worse, […]

Ontario slashes spending for small business programs

The bad news continues to flow for entrepreneurs across Ontario. The Doug Ford government has lowered the axe once again on programs that support the growth of small and medium-sized businesses across the province, this time targeting Ontario’s Small Business Enterprise Centres (SBECs). Several programs served up by the centres, including Starter Company Plus and […]

Ontario’s innovation ecosystem faces substantial funding cuts

Less than two weeks after I outlined a coming review of Ontario’s innovation tax credits and “other R&D tax incentives” by Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government, news broke in recent days that Queen’s Park is moving to cut several important innovation programs for entrepreneurs, as well as at least one designed to help start-up businesses […]

Ontario SME owners on edge over potential R&D tax credit changes

If research, development and innovation are the lifeblood of Ontario’s economy—not to mention well-used talking points amongst the province’s business-courting political class—then it’s no surprise that a new review of popular tax credits is giving many small and medium-sized business owners cause for concern. The recent Ontario budget, the first tabled by the newly-elected Progressive […]

Ontario budget 2019: Key highlights

With the first budget of its majority mandate, Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government delivered a moderated strategy for achieving budgetary balance, while largely maintaining—and in the case of education and health care, even increasing—current program spending levels. In the months leading up to the budget, the government had already delivered on several campaign promises that […]

Ontario budget 2019: ‘Open for Business’ moves from campaign slogan to governing mantra

When Doug Ford swept into power last year, he promised that Ontario would once again be ‘Open for Business.’ The new Progressive Conservative premier went so far as to plaster his campaign slogan on highway signs at the Ontario-U.S. border. It was a not-so-subtle, all-caps reminder to our American friends of his commitment to undoing […]

Federal Budget 2019 does little to address entrepreneurs’ anxieties

If there was any doubt that this is an election year, Federal Budget 2019 offered undeniable proof that we’re about to head to the polls. Finance Minister Bill Morneau tabled a budget yesterday that introduced approximately $23 billion in new spending, with no plan to balance the budget in the foreseeable future. That latter fact […]

Federal economic update provides only modest relief for entrepreneurs

Ottawa’s war against small and medium-sized business owners seems to be over—at least for now. The trouble is the government’s peace offering does little to mitigate the greater threats facing entrepreneurs, from over-taxation and burdensome regulation to tax code complexity. Wednesday’s fall economic update made it clear that the Trudeau Liberals, with an election looming […]

Bill 47 employment law changes spell relief for Ontario businesses

When former Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government tabled and eventually passed Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017, employers were stunned by the scope of the employment standards changes contained in the legislation. The bill would not only increase the minimum wage by 30 per cent in just two years. The sweeping […]

You own a small business in Ontario—Here’s how to survive a trade war

When U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum in June, executives in those industries recoiled at the potential fallout, and warned of pending job and revenue losses. Economists promptly cautioned that the ripple effect wouldn’t be contained to those two sectors. Indeed, entire supply chains could face widespread disruption as the […]