HALIFAX -- Nova Scotia businesses struggling because of the pandemic have two more weeks to apply for reopening grant after the province extended the deadline to Friday, July 17.

The province has set up the $25-million program to provide grants of up to $5,000 to small businesses, non-profits, charities and social enterprises as they resume operations.

"As further restrictions are lifted, more and more small businesses are reopening and adapting to the new reality," said Minister of Business Geoff MacLellan. "For many, the costs associated with reopening safely are an added pressure during an already stressful time."

The province says the program is open to businesses that were "ordered to close or greatly reduce their operations by the Public Health Order, or who were significantly impacted by social distancing and orders to stay home."

To be eligible, businesses must have been established before March 15, 2020 and experienced a year-over-year revenue decline of at least 30 per cent from either April 2019 to April 2020 or May 2019 to May 2020.

  • the amount of the grant is calculated as 15 per cent of sales revenues for either the month of April 2019, May 2019 or February 2020 (applicant chooses the month) up to a maximum of $5,000
  • businesses do not currently need to be open to apply. Applications will be accepted if they have plans to reopen
  • a "business-continuity voucher" of up to $1,500 can be used for advice and support to help them become more resilient in the coming months.

More information on the Small Business Reopening and Support Grant is available at:  https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/small-business-reopening-support-grant/

Businesses and other organizations can find information to help them reopen safely at https://novascotia.ca/reopening-nova-scotia

A list of supports announced for businesses is available at https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/support/#support-for-business