Since October 2, 2020, an additional $600 million in new national funding for a small and medium-sized businesses is available as part of Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan to protect jobs, provide emergency support to families and keep businesses afloat as they deal with the impact of the pandemic.
A central part of this is the RRRF – Regional Relief and Recovery Fund, which helps to support those who may not be eligible for other programs. Since the RRRF was launched in May, over 20,000 jobs have been protected across the West, helping more than 5,000 businesses keep their employees, cover costs and play a role in our economic recovery. RRRF assistance has been a vital lifeline for stabilizing firms that might otherwise not have survived, preserving intellectual property & skilled staff, maintaining critical supply chains and protecting valuable technologies.
Of these additional funds, $263.7 million will be used by Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) to help businesses across the West through the RRRF and $67 million will be used by Community Futures (CF) organizations to support businesses in rural communities across the West.
Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) is taking a demand-driven approach to ensure that RRRF funding goes where it is needed most, serving businesses in greatest need to protect local jobs and sustain vibrant communities. Businesses in Western Canada that have applied for, but were unable to get access to, sufficient relief from other federal COVID-19 programs, are encouraged to review RRRF eligibility requirements or to contact WD for more information. For those that have already applied for RRRF support, no further action is required as WD continues to process previous applications.
