Department of Finance of Canada

04/26/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/26/2024 11:43

Remarks by the Deputy Prime Minister on empowering young entrepreneurs

Remarks by the Deputy Prime Minister on empowering young entrepreneurs

From: Department of Finance Canada

Speech

Remarks by the Deputy Prime Minister on empowering young entrepreneurs

April 22, 2024 - Montréal, Quebec

Good afternoon.

First, I would like to acknowledge that we are gathered on the traditional territories of many First Nations, including the Mohawk Nation territory.

I am so glad to be in Montreal today with my colleague, Minister Rechie Valdez, and with my dear colleague from Quebec, MP Angelo Iacono. And I am so glad to be here at Lab Grenouille Rouge with some incredible young entrepreneurs. Lab Grenouille Rouge is a perfect example of the kind of creativity and innovation we need in Canada. Our government recognizes that, and we want to empower you to put more of your great ideas to work here in Quebec and in Canada. And that is what I want to talk about today.

We are living in a pivotal moment for Millennials and Gen Z.

These young Canadians have so much talent and so much potential.

But today, too many young Canadians feel as though the deck is stacked against them. They can get a good job, they can work hard, but far too often, the reward of a secure, prosperous, comfortable, middle class life remains out of reach.

We are acting today to ensure fairness for every generation.

We are moving to help build more homes, faster.

We are making life cost less.

And we are driving the kind of economic growth that will ensure every generation of Canadians can reach their full potential.

Our country works best when our economy is growing and when opportunities exist-for every generation.

To drive the kind of growth that will deliver prosperity for Canada-and for the young entrepreneurs here with us today-the budget I tabled last week includes measures to attract investment, increase productivity, boost innovation, and create good-paying and meaningful jobs.

Entrepreneurs like yourselves are a very important part of this equation. That is why we are investing $60 million in Futurpreneur Canada. And Futurpreneur Canada's leaders are here with us today. The entrepreneurs who are here, including our young farmers from Montréal, have all benefitted from Futurpreneur Canada's support. That means they've received support from the federal government. I am very proud of that.

For over two decades, Futurpreneur has helped more than 17,700 young entrepreneurs launch 13,900 businesses across Canada, supporting thousands of jobs in the process.

The budget I tabled last week includes measures to attract investment, increase productivity, and create good jobs, just like Futurpreneur is doing.

This new funding is going to help Futurpreneur build on its important work and help even more young entrepreneurs launch and grow a business-with support like financing and mentorship.

And to really maximize this investment, Futurpreneur Canada will match our $60 million investment with funding received from other orders of government and private sector partners.

All together, by 2029, the funding we are announcing today will help 6,250 more businesses owned by young Canadians to launch and scale-up. That is going to contribute hugely to our economy, to local communities, and it's going to create thousands of great new jobs.

We know we need to do more, though. That is why our budget includes a number of measures that will help entrepreneurs and small business owners grow and thrive in Canada.

For example: We are making Canada's tax system more fair.

In Canada and around the world, the economy of the 21st century has been a winner-takes-all economy, while too many middle class Canadians are struggling just to avoid falling behind.

The job of our tax system is to lean against these structural inequalities-for example, to fund investments in the middle class, especially in young Canadians, by asking those who are benefitting the most from the winner-takes-all economy to pay a little bit more.

Today, our tax system doesn't do that. Today it is possible for a carpenter or a nurse to pay tax at a higher marginal rate than a multi millionaire. That isn't fair. And that must change.

That's why we are supporting small businesses by increasing the lifetime capital gains exemption to $1.25 million.

Currently, Canadians can exempt around $1 million in capital gains tax-free on the sale of small business shares as well as farming and fishing property.

In that same spirit, we are creating a new Canadian Entrepreneurs' Incentive for entrepreneurs like those who are with us today. With this incentive, the inclusion rate will be reduced to 33.3 per cent on a lifetime maximum of $2 million in eligible capital gains when it is fully rolled out.

Entrepreneurs will then have a combined exemption of at least $3.25 million when selling all or part of a business. Then, between $3.25 million and $3.5 million, they will benefit from an inclusion rate of 50 per cent, as is the case today. As a result, and starting on June 25th when the measures in our budget come into force, Canadian entrepreneurs with capital gains of up to $6.25 million will be in a better tax position, and we talked about this with the young entrepreneurs who are here.

This will ensure entrepreneurs get to keep a bigger share of the profits from the risks they take and the hard work they do-and have more money to reinvest into their next venture.

We are also introducing Accelerated Capital Cost Allowances (ACCA) for innovation-enabling and productivity-enhancing assets.

This enhancement to the ACCA means that investments in things like computers, data network infrastructure, and more, will be eligible for immediate write-offs. This will encourage companies to reinvest, create more jobs, and make their businesses more productive and innovative.

We know that a prosperous future and abundant good paying jobs depend on Canada's entrepreneurs.

Thank you for your hard work. I really appreciate what you do. I am proud of you. Canada needs innovative businesses like Lab Grenouille Rouge. That's why we are supporting you.

We're acting now because the cost of inaction today would be borne chiefly by younger Canadians. And we won't leave them behind. Instead, we will help them realize the promise of Canada with a responsible economic plan that creates new career opportunities and grows the economy for every generation.

Today we say to our younger generations, and to those who care about them: We are putting the power of government to work for you.

Together, we will unlock the door to the middle class for more Canadians-for more Quebecers-and renew the promise of our great country.

Thank you.