The Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce has partnered up with the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission (CEDC) to launch the Small Business Tariff Response Fund.

The goal of the program is to provide short-term support to small and medium-sized businesses (50 employees or less) affected by the U.S tariffs on exported goods or retaliatory tariffs on U.S imports.

It will assist businesses in transitioning their operations and diversifying their export and import markets.

“(The fund) will really help with some of those small costs, but big costs for small businesses, things like maybe some legal fees or maybe some consulting fees, some research into new markets just because it’s such a dynamic environment right now,” explained Chamber President Charla Robinson. “We wanted to make sure that we had some sort of support available for them, and thrilled to be working with the CEDC to deliver this program.”

A total of 15 projects will receive $7,500 with a minimum project cost of $10,000.

This is a one-time program with the CEDC and Chamber trying to get ahead of potential local impacts from tariffs while potential federal and provincial programs are being developed.

“We want to make sure that businesses know that there’s something that is much more, you know, quick and responsive to their needs so that they’re not left holding the bag, so to speak,” explained Robinson. “So that’s why we wanted to roll this out as quickly as we can, recognizing that there might be other programs available in the future, but we want to be as quick as we can so that we can help so that businesses can continue to move forward.”

Applications will remain open until May 30.

“We’ve got all of the eligibility information on the application page, and it’s really about telling us the story about how this is going to impact your business, right?,” added Robinson. “And so what is the breadth of the impact? How are you going to transition it, and what kind of resources are you needing so that we can evaluate, you know, who needs the money the most?”

The Chamber and CEDC say they have identified that the 15 projects should be sufficient to address the need locally.

More information and applications can be found by clicking here.