CLMA responds to Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) Loan Extension

Ottawa, Canada – September 15, 2023Yesterday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the federal government is extending the full repayment deadline for the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loans by one year, from December 31, 2025 to December 31, 2026.
The zero-interest repayment deadline (which qualifies loan holders for partial loan forgiveness) is being extended from December 31, 2023 to January 18, 2024.

As of January 19, 2024, outstanding loans will convert to three-year term loans at 5% interest, with the full amount of the loan repayable by December 31, 2026. For more information, see here.
The CLMA thanks the Government for extending the CEBA repayment deadline. However, the extension of the forgiveness period itself is simply not long enough to mitigate the challenges that prompted the calls for extending in the first place.

“The 3 months is a good start,” said Erin Benjamin, President & CEO of the CLMA. “But it will not alleviate the financial, or the emotional stress, that many small business owners/operators are struggling under. It doesn’t solve the problem. Once again, the Hardest Hit sectors are caught in a punitive, inequitable snare, compounded by inflation and the high cost of borrowing.”

The CLMA joins other associations in calling on Government to revaluate this decision for the tourism sector at large and extend the forgiveness period significantly to provide time for a full recovery. Such an extension would offer a lifeline to businesses striving to rebuild and contribute to Canada's economic revival.