Seasonal campaigns intended to direct shoppers to local small merchants

@ Mira Hasan
As more and more Canadians are getting vaccinated and we finish the fight against COVID-19 and begin to safely reopen, the Government of Canada is committed to supporting small businesses from coast to coast to coast.
On 9th of august, the Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Member of Parliament for Honoré-Mercier, and Rachel Bendayan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade and Member of Parliament for Outremont, on behalf of the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, announced an investment of up to $7.2 million for Shop Local promotions across Quebec to encourage people to shop locally. The Minister and Parliamentary Secretary were joined by Charles Milliard, President and CEO of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec (FCCQ).
This is part of a national investment of $33 million to support Shop Local campaigns across the country announced by Minister Ng on June 21.
Funding for Shop Local in Quebec will be provided through the FCCQ to support awareness-building campaigns that promote consumer confidence and local businesses.
The FCCQ may use this funding to support a range of activities that encourage consumers to shop locally in a way that is safe and aligns with current public health guidelines. It may solicit applications directly from local organizations or associations or have open calls for proposals that promote consumer awareness and demonstrate benefits to the broader business community, such as:
shop-local branding and digital content
seasonal campaigns intended to direct shoppers to local small merchants
promotions of online shopping, curbside pickup and delivery, as well as public health measures being implemented to make retail spaces safe and raise consumer confidence
marketing materials such as videos, social media visuals, and radio and newspaper ads that encourage consumers to buy from local businesses and patronize local restaurants and attractions
This investment will be flexible to respond to the unique circumstances of Quebec’s regions and ensure campaigns are tailored to local needs and priorities, ultimately helping small businesses as they recover from this unprecedented public health and economic crisis.
Shop Local is an important initiative to supplement the Government of Canada’s ongoing and comprehensive support for small and local businesses—programs such as the Canada Recovery Hiring Program, the Canada Digital Adoption Program, the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy, Lockdown Support and the Canada Emergency Business Account—so they could get through this pandemic to the economic recovery and growth that will follow in the months and years to come.