Resources Available To Business Owners In Canada

The idea of starting a business is appealing to a lot of people. But it can be challenging and yet be very rewarding. As new immigrants or Canadians, you may want to start you own businesses and looking for useful resources. You have come to the right place. This article will focus on what resources are available to business owners in Canada.

Small businesses are such an important part of Canada’s economy, and there’s an extensive network of organizations to prove it. Below you will find a partial list of helpful organizations and contacts. We will keep adding to the list as we find new useful resources.

Starting A Business In Canada

If you are looking to start a business in Canada, Canada Business portal is your number 1 resource page. So, bookmark the page and you can come back to it anytime. On this page, you will find the following information among others.

Starting a business: You will find the steps you need to consider before operating a business in Canada.
Federal corporations: This gives you information on incorporating and also on making changes to a business corporation, not-for-profit, cooperative or board of trade.
Protecting your business: If you are looking for resources on emergency planning, risk management, insurance, legal issues and more, you will find them here
Business grants and financing: One constant question on the mind of potential business owner is how to fund the business. In this section of the website, you will get information on grants, loans, private and public sector financing and how you can leverage personal assets.
Hiring and managing employees: You will find resources on payroll, wages and other resources for recruiting, training and managing employees on this section of the website.

Useful Websites

If you can’t find what you are looking for on Canada Business Portal, check out the business websites listed below. However, note that these resources are biased towards the Canada Market.

Canadaone.com: Canada’s online small business resource
sbinfocanada.about.com: For those looking to start a small business in Canada, check this out.
Canadianbusiness.com: This gives news, opinion and community for business leaders, entrepreneurs and investors in Canada.
Canadian Business Ethics Research Network: Business ethics resources, both Canadian and international.
Monthly Economic Trends: A compendium of Canadian provincial economic activity forecasts produced by different financial institutions.
Insights on the Canadian economy
Canadian Business information by sector
Canadian industry statistics
Agriculture and Agric-Food Canada

Associations and their Websites

Canadian Chamber of Commerce — This delivers programs and services to its members to help them improve their market performance.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business — The association offers information and support to its members.
Canadian Franchise Association — Provides assistance to those seeking franchise opportunities, and offers publications with information on franchising.
Canada’s Venture Capital & Private Equity Association — Promotes Canadian business through the use of venture capital and through networking, research and education.
Chartered Professional Accountants Canada — In charge of setting accounting and auditing standards. They also publishes material and represents the profession.
Centre for Women in Business — If you are a women entrepreneur, this is a good resource. This organization provides support and information to women who own, or are considering opening a small business.
Enactus — Non-profit organization servicing students interested in owning a business.
Family Enterprise Xchange — This is a membership-driven organization that provides educational programs, peer advisory groups, mentoring, and networking opportunities to family-run companies.
Futurpreneur Canada — A non-profit, private-sector initiative designed to provide mentoring, business support and lending to young Canadian entrepreneurs. Their focus is on entrepreneurs who are less than 40 years old.
Retail Council of Canada — They offer information and support to its members, many of whom are small retailers. A sister association is Le Conseil Quebecois du Commerce de Détail.
The Funding Portal – A bilingual portal for accessing information and services related to government funding for business.

Federal Government’s Resources

Below you will find the resources from the Federal Government for business owners in Canada

Aboriginal Business and Entrepreneurship Development — Provides services and support to Indigenous entrepreneurs, youth and organizations to promote the success of their businesses in Canada and the world.
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency — ACOA’s goal is to improve the Atlantic Canada’s economy.
Business Development Bank of Canada — Offers a complete range of services to assist small- and medium-sized businesses.
Canada Business Network — CBN is a collaborative effort between federal, provincial and private-sector organizations which provide information on government services, programs and regulations. Centres distribute videos, publications and offer seminars.
Canadian Commercial Corporation — The CCC provides Canadian companies with access to market opportunities and a wide range of export contracting services.
Canada Revenue Agency — Offers useful information booklets and services. This includes seminars to help business owners better understand taxation and tax requirements. CRA also offers businesses the opportunity to pay their business taxes online.
Employment and Social Development Canada — Operates human resource centres across Canada and offer information on a variety of programs and services for small business as well as counselling, training and assistance with hiring new employees.

Other Resources From The Federal Government

Other resources from the Federal Government are

Export Development Canada — Provides a full range of trade finance services that help exporters and investors do business in up to 200 countries.
Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario (FedNor) — Helps northern Ontario businesses and economic development organizations access capital, information and markets.
Global Affairs Canada — Supports the development of trade by providing services to exporters, developing policy, and by attracting investment in the Canadian economy.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada — Offers a wealth of information, programs and services.
National Research Council Canada — Oversees The Industrial Research Assistance Program. This program helps small- and medium-sized Canadian firms create and adopt innovative technologies. Their offerings include technical assistance, expertise and resources, as well as cost-shared financing of innovative technical projects.
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada – Provides information on meeting the requirements set out in federal privacy legislation.
Public Safety Canada — Provides a guide to help business owners take steps to protect themselves and their businesses from cyber threats.
Statistics Canada — Collects and disseminates data on social and economic issues.
Western Economic Diversification Canada — The Western Canada business service network includes Community Futures Development Corporations, Women’s Enterprise Initiative offices and regional offices.

Resources From Banks

One other place you can get good resources as a business owner is the bank’s website. Most of the banks in Canada have excellent small business sections on their websites. To learn more, visit any of the bank’s websites listed below.

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