Business Counselling

Community Business Development Corporation offers business counselling, advice and other assistance to both new and established business owners and entrepreneurs.

Business Management Skills Training

Our team offers many different types of training programs all intended to help business people and entrepreneurs improve their business management skills so they can improve their businesses or build new ones. We provide business skills training on lots of different and business topics, such as market development, feasibility studies, bookkeeping, finance, business analysis and more.

Business Navigators

Our Business Navigators can give you personalized and timely help with regulation and requirements, including registration, permit and licences. They can help free up your time so you can focus on your job: building a successful business. Nova Scotia’s business navigators help business owners with business needs such as:

Registering a business
Determining what permits and licenses are required to operate a business
Understanding applicable inspection requirements
Finding resources to assist with financing, taxes, staffing and other needs

Business Taxes

This site includes information on income tax, GST/HST, payroll, business numbers and customs rates.

Canada Business Nova Scotia Events Calendar

Learn about various events offered for entrepreneurs in Nova Scotia.

Canada Green Corps Program

If your business or non-profit organization is looking to reduce its environmental footprint or increase sustainability, you can apply for a wage subsidy to hire an eligible youth. Eligible employers must:   Offer meaningful work experience Offer a 4 to 6 month term Pay a portion of the youth’s salary   Eligible participants must: Be between 18 and 30 years of age Be legally entitled to work in Canada Not be a full-time student or co-op student

Canada Revenue Agency

Learn how to manage various aspects of your business administration through a selection of online videos and recorded webinars for business owners. The videos and webinars cover topics such as:   Starting a business GST/HST Payroll and preparing T4 and T4A Reporting business income and expenses Keeping Records

Canada Revenue Agency- Scientific Research and Experimental Development

This website provides information about the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Program, including what you need to know to claim SR&ED tax incentives.

Canada Small Business Financing Program

July 2022 update: The amendments to the Canada Small Business Financing Regulations and Canada Small Business Financing Act came into force on July 4, 2022. They provide lenders and small businesses with additional financing products, new class of loans, increased loan amounts and terms, improved loan conditions and decreased administrative burden. Financial institutions are currently in the process of rolling out these changes to start offering all of the enhanced features shortly. The Canada Small Business Financing Program makes it easier for small businesses to get loans from financial institutions by sharing the risk with lenders. Term loans can be used to finance the following costs: purchase or improvement of land or buildings used for commercial purposes purchase or improvement of new or used equipment purchase of new or existing leasehold improvements, that is, renovations to a leased property by a tenant intangible assets and working capital costs Lines of credit can be used to pay for working capital costs, that is, day-to-day operating expenses of the business. The maximum loan amount for any one borrower is $1.15 million. Contact your nearest lending agency, or agency of choice to learn more: Credit Unions East Coast Credit Union Limited 1168 East Margaree Road Margaree NS St. Joseph’s Credit Union 3552 Highway 206 Petit De Grat NS New Waterford Credit Union 3462 Plummer Avenue New Waterford NS Sydney Credit Union 95 Townsend Street P.O. Box 1386 Sydney NS Bank of Montreal 37 Union Street Glace Bay NS Bank of Nova Scotia 765 Main Street Sydney Mines NS 299 Commercial Street P.O. Box 40 North Sydney Ns 125 Commercial Street Glace Bay NS 634 Reeves Street Unit 18 Port Hawkesbury NS Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce 11 Keltic Drive Sydney River NS 15 Dorchester St. Sydney NS Toronto Dominion Bank 292 Charlotte Street Sydney NS

Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA)

On November 30, 2018, Canada, the United States and Mexico signed the new Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), on the margins of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Buenos Aires. Parties are now undertaking their domestic process towards ratification and implementation of the CUSMA. The CUSMA outcomes preserve key elements of this trading relationship and incorporate new and updated provisions that seek to address 21st-century trade issues and promote opportunities for the nearly half a billion people who call North America home.