York Region Economic Development’s monthly e-newsletter shares highlights and news from the business community, small business supports, events, economic data, and more.
IN THIS ISSUE
IMPORTANT COVID-19 BUSINESS NEWS
- Ontario Implements Province-Wide Shutdown and Stay-At-Home Order
- Mentor Works: Ontario 2021 Budget – New COVID Business Support Funding
- Government of Canada Announces Extension of CEBA
- Northern York Region Professional Services Access Program Available
- COVID-19 Business Resources & Funding Programs Overview
BUSINESS COMMUNITY & INVESTMENT NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
- York Region Welcomes Progress for Yonge North Subway Extension Project
- Kontrol Technologies Teams Up With Canadian Sport Institute Pacific
- Agri-Food Spotlight: Ozery Family Bakery; 200 Employees Strong
- Frank Stronach Seeking MZO for Stouffville Micro-Mobility Electric Vehicle Factory
- Four YSpace Startups Make Prosh Marketing 21 Interesting Start-Ups to Watch
- Big Boom Will See East Gwillimbury Grow Almost as Large as Newmarket by 2051
SMALL BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP HIGHLIGHTS
- Small Business Success Story: Falcon Lam
- York Region’s Small Businesses Remain Hopeful Despite COVID-19’s Hefty Toll
- York Region Companies Turning to Online World to Cope With COVID-19 Crunch
- Georgina Businesses Revving Up Employment in Hopes of Summer Rush
- Explore #ShopLocalYR Campaigns Across York Region
YORK REGION PLANNING & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REPORTS
- 2020 York Region Growth & Development Review
- 2020 York Region Centres and Corridors Update
- 2020 York Region Development Activity Summary
YORK REGION ECONOMIC DATA & BUSINESS EVENTS
- Unemployment Rates of York Region, Toronto CMA, and Ontario
- View a Selection of Upcoming Business Events
IMPORTANT COVID-19 BUSINESS NEWS
Ontario Implements Province-Wide Shutdown and Stay-At-Home Order
The Ontario Government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health and other health experts, imposed a provincewide shutdown on April 3, 2021, as a result of an alarming surge in case numbers and COVID-19 hospitalizations across the province. As of April 8, 2021, an emergency declaration and stay-at-home order was also declared with new restrictions on businesses.
Mentor Works: Ontario 2021 Budget – New COVID-19 Business Support Funding
Mentor Works has compiled a thorough overview of business related support funding announced in the Ontario 2021 Budget. In order to build a solid foundation for economic growth when Ontario emerges from the pandemic, the provincial government is creating business support programs directed towards small businesses and retaining/hiring workers.
Northern York Region Professional Services Access Program Launches
With the unprecedented economic impacts of COVID-19, having access to professional services is critical for the success of any business. However, not all business owners can easily afford these costs. The Northern York Region Professional Services Access Program provides eligible businesses with access to free professional advice, including legal, financial, marketing and more.
Government of Canada Announces Extension of Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) to Help Small Businesses
The deadline for new Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) applications is being extended from March 31 to June 30, 2021. This deadline extension applies to any new applications for CEBA loans of $60,000 or to new applications from businesses that have already received the $40,000 loan and intend to apply for the additional $20,000.
COVID-19 Business Resources & Funding Programs Overview
To help you make sense of all the available funding programs and resources, we continue to update our COVID-19 Business Resource page. This page contains information on supports announced by the federal, provincial, and municipal governments, as well as, events, and other pertinent information to impacted businesses.
Primary Funding Support Programs:
- Ontario Small Business Support Grant
- Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA)
- Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS)
- Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)
- Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP)
- Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF)
- Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program (HASCAP)
BUSINESS COMMUNITY & INVESTMENT NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
York Region Welcomes Progress for Yonge North Subway Extension Project
York Region welcomes the Ontario government’s unwavering commitment to make it easier for travelers in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area to choose transit first by advancing the Initial Business Case for the Yonge North Subway Extension project.
Kontrol Technologies Teams up With Canadian Sport Institute Pacific to Help Protect Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic Hopefuls With Their Safe Space Technology
Vaughan Headquartered Kontrol Technologies Corp. announces that Canadian Sport Institute Pacific (CSI Pacific) is teaming up with Kontrol BioCloud to operate its Safe Space Technology™ in the National Team Training environment.
Agri-Food Spotlight: Ozery Family Bakery; 200 Employees Producing Some of Your Favorite Baked Products in Vaughan
When Al Ozery and his son Alon opened Pita Break in 1996, they had no idea this sandwich shop that made 200 pitas a day by hand would become a full-fledged manufacturer producing 10,000 pita breads an hour on highly automated production lines.
Today, they operate a 100,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility in Vaughan. Alon and Guy Ozery run the company, which employs about 200 people. Ozery is known for its innovative baked goods such as Morning Rounds, OneBuns, and Lavash crackers.
Want more agri-food news? Subscribe to York Region’s Agri-Food E-Newsletter.
Frank Stronach Seeking MZO for Stouffville Micro-Mobility Electric Vehicle Factory
Stronach is looking to build a new headquarters for his SARIT (Safe Affordable Reliable Innovative Transport) three-wheeled electric vehicle, just east of the Highway 404 exit on Aurora Road in Whitchurch-Stouffville.
Four YSpace Startups Make Prosh Marketing 21 Interesting Start-ups to Watch
The Canadian start-up landscape has been rapidly evolving over the past few years. With so much talent and innovation, we’ve seen some big hitters come out of this market, like Shopify and Wealthsimple. Four startups from YSpace in Markham made the list. They include GoPeer, Blade Filters, Lactiga, and SUKU Vitamins.
Big Boom Will See East Gwillimbury Grow Almost as Large as Newmarket by 2051
York Region is expected to add another 800,000 residents, with Newmarket’s population to grow from 90,000 to 110,000 by 2051. But by that year, the population of East Gwillimbury — currently about 31,100 — is anticipated to be almost as large.
SMALL BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
Small Business Success Story: Falcon Lam
The York Small Business Enterprise Centre, which is part of York Region Economic Development, supports hundreds of entrepreneurs and small business owners each year. We followed up with Marlene Falcon, Co-Owner of Falcon Lam, to see how her business was doing after working with one of our Small Business Consultants. In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, Marlene has managed to adjust her business model and take advantage of multiple support programs. WATCH VIDEO
York Region’s Small Businesses Remain Hopeful Despite COVID-19’s Hefty Toll
Locally owned and operated businesses are the social, cultural and economic heart of a community. Unfortunately, this past year has left many unsure if they can continue. Despite the impact of COVID-19 on York Region’s businesses, hope persists.
York Region Companies Turning to Online World to Cope With COVID-19 Crunch
Running Hutchings Farm provides enough work for her and her husband, Kevin, without the added task of bringing their farm store online. Business is busiest in summer and at Christmas, but come January, February and March, sales drop.
‘Now is a Good Time to Enter the Workforce’: Georgina Businesses Revving Up Employment In Hopes of Summer Rush
Bill Wilde hired a number of new employees during the pandemic and plans to hire more in hopes of a summer rush. The Georgina resident and owner of Wild Bill’s Bistro in Keswick is among the 15 per cent of local businesses that hired during the pandemic and that plans to hire in the near future, according to the latest economic outlook survey hosted by the Georgina Chamber of Commerce.
Explore #ShopLocalYR Campaigns Across York Region
As the economy begins to reopen again, York Region is encouraging residents to shop, eat and support local businesses during these challenging times. Residents can support local-based businesses by choosing to #shoplocalYR. Now more than ever they need community support.
YORK REGION PLANNING & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REPORTS
2020 York Region Growth & Development Review
The Growth and Development Review is released annually to provide an update on key development activity and population indicators in York Region, and reports on the competitiveness of York Region’s economy within the Greater Toronto and Hamilton (GTHA), the Province and Canada.
2020 York Region Centres and Corridors Update
The Regional Centres and Corridors Updates provides an annual highlights of development activity, transit investments and programs that occurred within York Region’s Centres and Corridors in 2020. It identifies ongoing trends, impacts of COVID-19 and future initiatives that continue to drive the Region’s city building initiatives and commitment to planning for complete communities.
2020 York Region Development Activity Summary
The 2020 Development Activity Summary is published annually to provide an update on new development applications received by York Region in 2020 compared to past years, using data collected from YorkTrax.
YORK REGION ECONOMIC DATA & BUSINESS EVENTS
Unemployment Rates (%) | January 2019 – February 2021*
*Statistics Canada, Labour Force Characteristics, 3-month moving average, unadjusted for seasonality, March 2021
CMA – Census Metropolitan Area
A Selection of Upcoming Business Events:
04/16 | 2021 Vaughan Economic Summit | Vaughan Chamber of Commerce
04/20 | Career Recharge: Cultural Intelligence & Diversity II | Seneca College
05/04 | How To Start A Small Business Virtual Group Session | YSBEC
Subscribe to our other monthly e-newsletters on these topics:
YORK REGION BUSINESS UPDATE / AGRI-FOOD / SMALL BUSINESS
York Link | York Region Economic Development
The York Link team are here to help and are committed to supporting local businesses. We are still providing business advisory and consultation services, information on business resources, support for startups, and more in a virtual capacity at this time.