Business owners on two commercial strips in the borough of Montréal-Nord already have a merchants’ association, but now they want to take it a step further in an effort to strengthen the local economy and attract shoppers to the area.
“We’re looking for new ways to promote businesses and make sure customers keep coming back,” said Olivier Trudeau, project manager for the merchants’ association that covers Charleroi Street and Pie-IX Boulevard.
Montreal has a long-standing program that allows merchants on commercial strips to form a non-profit organization called a Société de développement commercial (SDC).
The city then collects dues from merchants, inflates the amount with public funds and then hands it to the SDC so it can invest in economic development — attracting customers to the area through ad campaigns, promotional activities and events like festivals or sidewalk sales.
Montreal has 24 SDCs spread across its territory, involving more than 12,000 businesses.
However, forming an SDC isn’t just a matter of filling out a form and sending it off for approval.
The local merchants’ association covers sections of Charleroi Street and Pie-IX Boulevard in Montréal-Nord. (CBC)
There is a process, according to Tasha Morizio, executive director of the SDC on St-Laurent Boulevard and president of Montreal’s association of SDCs.
“There has to be a bunch of merchants who are mobilized and who want an SDC in their territory, which Montréal-Nord has,” she said, but the process of getting an SDC approved is comparable to a referendum as merchants can vote against forming one.
Paying dues to get a return
It is the borough council that determines the boundaries of a commercial zone. How much the merchants pay in dues is determined by the SDC and approved by the borough council. Then the city handles the billing.
With the dues obligatory rather than voluntary, SDCs are able to plan for long-term projects and activities to attract customers, explained Morizio.
And the extra funding from the city is just the tip of the iceberg as forming an SDC makes grants and other government funding opportunities more accessible, she said. For every dollar that merchants pay in dues, they normally get that back three fold, she said.
Olivier Trudeau says his merchants’ association works with 170 businesses and there is a strong interest in forming an SDC. (CBC)
SDCs allow for large-scale promotional campaigns that go well beyond what most merchants are able to do on their own, Morizio said. While many business owners don’t have the money or time to invest in advertising, SDCs can pump thousands into promoting the entire commercial strip, she said.
But not everybody wants to pay the dues, and sometimes attempts to form an SDC fail. That’s why it is crucial that merchants’ associations educate business owners in their area, she said.
Hesitant to spend the money
One hesitant restaurant owner is Aldo Louis who has had a business on Pix-IX for more than 12 years.
He remembers a time when the place was hopping, but then construction on Pie-IX began in November 2018 to make way for a rapid-bus service. Business hasn’t been the same since. Now he’s wondering if paying dues for an SDC is worth the price, he said.
“We have a lot to pay already,” said Louis, owner of Resto Dèdèt. “We’re not talking little cents and dollars. It’s a lot of money.”
Aldo Louis said there was a significant decline in customers since the city developed a rapid-bus service on Pie-IX Boulevard. The construction deterred customers, he said. (CBC)
Trudeau remains confident that merchants will support the effort, as the Association des commerçants de Charleroi et Pie-IX has been working with 170 merchants for a number of years.
“They have seen some results of what we could do with a SDC,” he said, but he admits there are still merchants who need convincing.
“It is true that some have expressed concern about the contribution amount, but we have not faced strong opposition so far,” Trudeau said. “We are still in consultation mode and ready to listen to the merchants’ concerns.”
Trudeau said the association will submit its demand to become an SDC to the borough next month and, once approved, the first step will be to launch more promotions, not just locally but also further away as the area does attract shoppers from places like Laval.
“We want to make sure that people know that we exist and that we have different services and goods to offer,” he said.
Montréal-Nord Coun. Abdelhaq Sari, representing the Marie-Clarac district, said elected officials are in favour of forming an SDC.
“We look forward to continuing to work with those who keep our local commercial streets alive, whatever their decision on this matter,” he said in a statement.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VICTORIA – British Columbia is forecasting a record budget deficit and a rising debt of almost $129 billion less than two weeks before the start of a provincial election campaign where economic stability and future progress are expected to be major issues.
Finance Minister Katrine Conroy, who has announced her retirement and will not seek re-election in the Oct. 19 vote, said Tuesday her final budget update as minister predicts a deficit of $8.9 billion, up $1.1 billion from a forecast she made earlier this year.
Conroy said she acknowledges “challenges” facing B.C., including three consecutive deficit budgets, but expected improved economic growth where the province will start to “turn a corner.”
The $8.9 billion deficit forecast for 2024-2025 is followed by annual deficit projections of $6.7 billion and $6.1 billion in 2026-2027, Conroy said at a news conference outlining the government’s first quarterly financial update.
Conroy said lower corporate income tax and natural resource revenues and the increased cost of fighting wildfires have had some of the largest impacts on the budget.
“I want to acknowledge the economic uncertainties,” she said. “While global inflation is showing signs of easing and we’ve seen cuts to the Bank of Canada interest rates, we know that the challenges are not over.”
Conroy said wildfire response costs are expected to total $886 million this year, more than $650 million higher than originally forecast.
Corporate income tax revenue is forecast to be $638 million lower as a result of federal government updates and natural resource revenues are down $299 million due to lower prices for natural gas, lumber and electricity, she said.
Debt-servicing costs are also forecast to be $344 million higher due to the larger debt balance, the current interest rate and accelerated borrowing to ensure services and capital projects are maintained through the province’s election period, said Conroy.
B.C.’s economic growth is expected to strengthen over the next three years, but the timing of a return to a balanced budget will fall to another minister, said Conroy, who was addressing what likely would be her last news conference as Minister of Finance.
The election is expected to be called on Sept. 21, with the vote set for Oct. 19.
“While we are a strong province, people are facing challenges,” she said. “We have never shied away from taking those challenges head on, because we want to keep British Columbians secure and help them build good lives now and for the long term. With the investments we’re making and the actions we’re taking to support people and build a stronger economy, we’ve started to turn a corner.”
Premier David Eby said before the fiscal forecast was released Tuesday that the New Democrat government remains committed to providing services and supports for people in British Columbia and cuts are not on his agenda.
Eby said people have been hurt by high interest costs and the province is facing budget pressures connected to low resource prices, high wildfire costs and struggling global economies.
The premier said that now is not the time to reduce supports and services for people.
Last month’s year-end report for the 2023-2024 budget saw the province post a budget deficit of $5.035 billion, down from the previous forecast of $5.9 billion.
Eby said he expects government financial priorities to become a major issue during the upcoming election, with the NDP pledging to continue to fund services and the B.C. Conservatives looking to make cuts.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said the debt would be going up to more than $129 billion. In fact, it will be almost $129 billion.
NANAIMO, B.C. – Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney says he’ll be advising the Liberal party to flip some the challenges posed by an increasingly divided and dangerous world into an economic opportunity for Canada.
But he won’t say what his specific advice will be on economic issues that are politically divisive in Canada, like the carbon tax.
He presented his vision for the Liberals’ economic policy at the party’s caucus retreat in Nanaimo, B.C. today, after he agreed to help the party prepare for the next election as chair of a Liberal task force on economic growth.
Carney has been touted as a possible leadership contender to replace Justin Trudeau, who has said he has tried to coax Carney into politics for years.
Carney says if the prime minister asks him to do something he will do it to the best of his ability, but won’t elaborate on whether the new adviser role could lead to him adding his name to a ballot in the next election.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says she has been taking advice from Carney for years, and that his new position won’t infringe on her role.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
