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.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was higher in late-morning trading, helped by strength in energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also moved up.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 34.91 points at 23,736.98.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 178.05 points at 41,800.13. The S&P 500 index was up 28.38 points at 5,661.47, while the Nasdaq composite was up 133.17 points at 17,725.30.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.56 cents US compared with 73.57 cents US on Monday.
The November crude oil contract was up 68 cents at US$69.70 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up three cents at US$2.40 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$7.80 at US$2,601.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.28 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
OTTAWA – Canada’s inflation rate fell to two per cent last month, finally hitting the Bank of Canada’s target after a tumultuous battle with skyrocketing price growth.
The annual inflation rate fell from 2.5 per cent in July to reach the lowest level since February 2021.
Statistics Canada’s consumer price index report on Tuesday attributed the slowdown in part to lower gasoline prices.
Clothing and footwear prices also decreased on a month-over-month basis, marking the first decline in the month of August since 1971 as retailers offered larger discounts to entice shoppers amid slowing demand.
The Bank of Canada’s preferred core measures of inflation, which strip out volatility in prices, also edged down in August.
The marked slowdown in price growth last month was steeper than the 2.1 per cent annual increase forecasters were expecting ahead of Tuesday’s release and will likely spark speculation of a larger interest rate cut next month from the Bank of Canada.
“Inflation remains unthreatening and the Bank of Canada should now focus on trying to stimulate the economy and halting the upward climb in the unemployment rate,” wrote CIBC senior economist Andrew Grantham.
Benjamin Reitzes, managing director of Canadian rates and macro strategist at BMO, said Tuesday’s figures “tilt the scales” slightly in favour of more aggressive cuts, though he noted the Bank of Canada will have one more inflation reading before its October rate announcement.
“If we get another big downside surprise, calls for a 50 basis-point cut will only grow louder,” wrote Reitzes in a client note.
The central bank began rapidly hiking interest rates in March 2022 in response to runaway inflation, which peaked at a whopping 8.1 per cent that summer.
The central bank increased its key lending rate to five per cent and held it at that level until June 2024, when it delivered its first rate cut in four years.
A combination of recovered global supply chains and high interest rates have helped cool price growth in Canada and around the world.
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem recently signalled that the central bank is ready to increase the size of its interest rate cuts, if inflation or the economy slow by more than expected.
Its key lending rate currently stands at 4.25 per cent.
CIBC is forecasting the central bank will cut its key rate by two percentage points between now and the middle of next year.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is also expected on Wednesday to deliver its first interest rate cut in four years.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
FREDERICTON – New Brunswick‘s finance minister says the province recorded a surplus of $500.8 million for the fiscal year that ended in March.
Ernie Steeves says the amount — more than 10 times higher than the province’s original $40.3-million budget projection for the 2023-24 fiscal year — was largely the result of a strong economy and population growth.
The report of a big surplus comes as the province prepares for an election campaign, which will officially start on Thursday and end with a vote on Oct. 21.
Steeves says growth of the surplus was fed by revenue from the Harmonized Sales Tax and federal money, especially for health-care funding.
Progressive Conservative Premier Blaine Higgs has promised to reduce the HST by two percentage points to 13 per cent if the party is elected to govern next month.
Meanwhile, the province’s net debt, according to the audited consolidated financial statements, has dropped from $12.3 billion in 2022-23 to $11.8 billion in the most recent fiscal year.
Liberal critic René Legacy says having a stronger balance sheet does not eliminate issues in health care, housing and education.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
