Overview

The Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant offers financial assistance to Alberta businesses, cooperatives, and non-profit organizations that were ordered to close or curtail operations, and that experienced a revenue reduction of at least 30%, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The program offers 2 payments to eligible applicants, with up to $20,000 in available funding per eligible application.

Businesses, cooperatives and non-profits can use these funds as they see fit to help offset a portion of the impact of new public health measures or their relaunch costs, such as implementing measures to minimize the risk of virus transmission, which could include:

  • physical barriers
  • purchasing personal protective equipment and disinfecting supplies
  • paying rent and employee wages
  • replacing inventory and more

Application status: Open

  • Applications for the first and second payment are open. Application intake will remain open until March 31, 2021.

Ministry responsible: Jobs, Economy and Innovation

Eligibility change for new businesses

New businesses that began operations between March 1 and October 31, 2020 and meet the updated 30% threshold can apply for the grant starting February 4, 2021. Do not apply before the portal has been updated on February 4 to ensure your application isn't deemed ineligible.

Funding

The Government of Alberta has committed up to $500 million in funding for the program.

The program provides funding to organizations that saw a 30% revenue reduction in April or May 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

First payment

Grant funding amounts for the first payment are calculated based on 15% of the eligible organization’s pre-COVID-19 monthly revenue up to a maximum of $5,000 per business, cooperative or non-profit organization.

  • Each applicant will receive one first payment representing 15% of one month’s worth of pre-COVID-19 revenue up to a maximum of $5,000.
  • Applicants can choose either April or May 2020 to demonstrate their 30% revenue reduction.

Second payment

A second payment is available to businesses, cooperatives and non-profits in areas on the provincial watch list that were required to curtail operations as a result of new public health orders in effect from November 6, 2020 and later.

The second payment is valued at 3 times the amount of the approved first payment, up to a maximum of $15,000.
 

For more information, refer to the:

Eligibility

Businesses, cooperatives and non-profit organizations that were ordered to close or curtail operations as a result of public health orders issued by Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health may be eligible.

Applicants will be required to demonstrate a revenue reduction of at least 30% in April and/or May 2020 as a result of COVID-19 public health orders.

  • Eligible organizations

    To be eligible, an Alberta business, cooperative or non-profit organization must meet all of the following criteria.

    • Be one of the following legal entities as of February 29, 2020:
      • corporation registered under the Business Corporations Act (Alberta)
      • partnership registered under the Partnership Act (Alberta)
      • sole proprietor with a trade name registered under the Partnership Act (Alberta)
      • corporation incorporated under a special act or a private act of the Alberta legislature
      • non-profit registered under a special act or a private act of the Alberta legislature
      • non-profit registered under part 9 of the Companies Act (Alberta)
      • society registered under the Societies Act (Alberta) or Agricultural Societies Act (Alberta)
      • cooperative registered under the Cooperatives Act (Alberta)
    • Maintain a permanent establishment (as defined in Appendix I of the Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant program guidelines) in Alberta and be established (and in good standing) with the requirements of the applicable legislation.
    • Be carrying on business/operations or were eligible to carry on business/operations in Alberta on February 29, 2020.
    • Have less than 500 employees (full time, part-time and contract combined):
      • Seasonal businesses may use the number of employees from the year prior to when the COVID-19 public health orders were introduced, or the average number of employees over the 3 years prior to the COVID-19 public health orders introduced.
    • Have been ordered to temporarily close or curtail operations through a COVID-19 public health order. See COVID-19 orders and legislation for more information.
    • Have experienced a reduction in revenue of at least 30% in April and/or May 2020 in comparison to April 2019, May 2019 or February 2020 as a result of COVID-19 public health orders.
      • Seasonal businesses that only operate for part of the year may use their average monthly sales revenue for the full months they were in operation during 2019.
    • Are open or plan to reopen as public health orders are lifted through Alberta’s phased relaunch.
    • May have received payments, grants, or amounts directly from the following assistance programs:
      • Alberta Workers’ Compensation Board premium relief
      • Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP)
      • Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA)
      • Western Diversification Regional Relief and Recovery Fund
      • Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)
      • Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA)
      • Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) including both base subsidy and lock-down support
      • Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)/Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB)
      • Canada United Small Business Relief Fund (CUSBRF)
      • Government of Alberta grant relief funding for the child care sector
      • Relief funding from municipalities

    If any other payments, grants or amounts were received from federal or provincial government sources or from insurance to replace or compensate for the loss of revenue (other than the sources listed above), your organization is not eligible to apply.

    To be eligible for the second payment, organizations must be operating in a region affected by the public health orders in effect from November 6, 2020 and later, and must have been required to curtail operations by those public health orders.

    Organizations with multiple Alberta permanent physical establishments that have seen revenue reduction are eligible to apply for funding for each establishment. This includes scenarios where an organization has more than one location/chapter/branch that has seen revenue reduction of at least 30% due to COVID-19 public health orders.

    Applicants will be required to submit separate applications for each location/chapter/branch, and check the appropriate box in the application form.

  • Ineligible organizations

    An organization whose operations were not closed or substantially curtailed due a public health order by the Chief Medical Officer of Alberta as a result of COVID-19 are not eligible. All awarded applicants may be required, upon an audit, to substantiate how the public health orders affected them and how they influenced their operations and revenues.

    For information on the public health orders please refer to the COVID-19 orders and legislation.

    Non-profit organizations that receive operational funding from government (such as, education supports and health care), except for agricultural societies, are ineligible.

    Non-profit organizations that receive funding from the programs below are also ineligible:

    • Canada Emergency Support Fund
    • Canada Emergency Support Fund for Cultural, Heritage and Sport Organizations
    • Canada Emergency support for women’s shelters and sexual assault centres
    • Alberta Emergency Funding for Charities, Non-profits and Food Banks (administered by FCSS)
    • Alberta Mental Health and Addiction COVID-19 Community Funding grant
    • Alberta Emergency Funding for Women and Homeless Shelters.

    Other ineligible entities include municipalities and overnight camps and those that have received the Government of Alberta’s Faith-based and Cultural Facility Relaunch Grant.

How to apply

Businesses, cooperatives and non-profits from all regions of the province may apply at any time until application intake for the program closes.

Applicants who have not yet applied can apply for both their first and second payments using a single application.

Watch the How to fill out a new application for SMERG video.

Applicants who have already submitted an application for their first payment will be given the option to fill out and submit an application for the second payment. The application for the second payment will be accessible through the online application portal as an add-on to the first submitted application. Starting a completely new application will result in the application being flagged by the system as a duplicate and will cause payment delays.

Watch the How to apply for SMERG second payment video.

  • Step 1. Read the guidelines

    Before completing your application, read the:

  • Step 2. Create a user account and log into the online application portal

    All applications must be submitted through the online application portal.

    • In order to access the online application portal, you must have a My Alberta Digital ID (MADI) user account with a secure login name and password. If you already have a MADI, please log in with your existing credentials.
    • If you do not have a MADI, visit the MADI webpage to set up an account before accessing the online application portal.
      • Instructions to create a MADI can be found in the Companion Guide (PDF, 2.2 MB).
      • For this program, you are only required to register for a basic MADI account using a valid email (you are not required to register for a Verified Account, and do not need to verify your account with a valid driver's licence or identification card).
      • Once the account has been created, use your new credentials to log in to the online application portal below.
      • The portal hosts live application forms and templates available for submission.

    Online Application Portal

  • Step 3. Complete and submit the online application package

    Applications must be submitted through the online application portal before application intake closure.

    Ensure you have the following critical pieces of information:

    • Legal Business Name
    • Corporate Access Number (CAN) or Alberta Registration Number
    • Permanent Establishment Address
    • Financial details of pre-COVID revenue and COVID-impacted revenue
    • Social Insurance Number (for Sole Proprietors only)
    • Banking Information
      • Financial Information including Branch, Transit and Account Numbers
      • Financial Institution Address

    You will also be required to provide the following:

    • a completed Application Form with basic information to establish eligibility
    • an affirmative Attestation(s)
    • agreement to comply with the program’s terms and conditions, including audit and compliance controls

    For detailed information on the supporting documents required, review the “Application Requirements” section of the program guidelines.

    Online Application Portal

After you apply

The program aims to process applications and issue payments within 10 business days following submission.

  • After you have submitted your application, your application will appear on the main page of the online application portal in "Submitted" status. Check the main page for further updates on the status of your application.

Approved applicants will receive funds via Electronic Fund Transfer directly into their bank account.

  • Please ensure the banking information provided at the time of application is accurate to avoid payment delays.
  • The grant is a taxable benefit and must be declared on your annual returns.

Applications with incomplete or incorrect information, or that require manual review, will experience a delay in processing and will not receive payment within 10 business days.

  • Applications flagged for manual review will appear on the main page of the online application portal in "Review" status.
  • The applicant may be contacted by a program officer for more information to complete the review.
  • Applicants who have already submitted their application should not reapply. Resubmitting an application could cause further delays.

Audit and compliance

All applications and corresponding grants are subject to a potential audit by the Government of Alberta, or their authorized representatives, upon reasonable notice to the recipient.

  • Any audit process would encompass taking copies and extracts of the records and books of account maintained by the recipient in accordance with eligible criteria outlined in the “Eligibility criteria” section of the program guidelines.
  • If records or accounts are deemed inadequate to permit a determination of eligibility, repayment of the grant funding by the recipient will be required.

Contact

For questions and to connect with Small and Medium Enterprise Support program staff:

Email: [email protected]