The Ontario government has provided another weapon in the war against tariffs with an announcement on Tuesday in Windsor.
Queens Park has pledged $2-million in new funding for Futurpreneur Canada, designed to help entrepreneurs aged 18 to 39 start and develop their own businesses.
Ontario Associate Minister of Small Business Nina Tangri was among those making the announcement at Timber + Plumb, a cabinetry business in Windsor's Olde Riverside area.
"This new funding will help up to 320 young Ontarians launch and grow their businesses," said Tangri, the MPP for Mississauga-Streetsville.
The funding is part of the provincial government's mandate to strengthen Ontario's economy and protect jobs across the province in the face of tariffs being imposed by the U.S. government.
Tangri said that while it's difficult to gauge how the tariffs have affected the process of government business grants and loans, she acknowledged that the tariffs have generated considerable interest.
"There's always a vast amount of interest in these programs, which we do like to see," said Tangri. "When we see them succeed, it helps us to go on. I actually increased funding into the Small Business Enterprise Centres last year. I did a lot of top-up funding right across the province that helped a lot more people start and grow their businesses."
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said that despite larger companies expressing a desire to invest in the region, it is small businesses that drive the local economy.
"It's essential that they have the support to help them prosper, to grow, to thrive, to help some of them just get off the ground, and put a good idea into use and into action," said Dilkens.
Futurpreneur Canada is a national non-profit group that provides collateral-free loans for young business owners up to $75,000. Business owners are also talked through every step of the process through mentorship and in-person programming that lasts up to two years.