Federal government extends deadline to repay emergency loans

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government is extending by a year the repayment deadline for loans it made to small businesses during the pandemic.

The Canada Emergency Business Account was brought in during the pandemic to reopen operations that had been closed due to public health measures.

Under this program, interest-free loans were offered by the federal government.

The loan repayment deadline was by the end of 2022 which was later extended to 2023.

Any business that doesn't repay the loan by that deadline will start accruing interest and have until the end of 2025 to repay the loan in full.

But that deadline has now been extended to the end of 2026.

Businesses have also been given a short extension till 18 January 2024 to qualify for the forgivable portion of the loan.

5% interest will begin on all unpaid loans by January 19.

It is worth noting that nearly $49 billion was given to nearly 900,000 businesses under this loan program, but only 21% of businesses have fully repaid their loans as of May 31.