Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) Now Open to Businesses Using Personal Banking Accounts

Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) Now Open to Businesses Using Personal Banking Accounts
 COVID-19
 
 26 October 2020

Speaking to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce earlier today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) is now available to businesses that have been operating out of a non-business banking account. This change follows last week’s announcement by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland. 

As of October 26, 2020, eligibility for CEBA has expanded by removing the previous March 1, 2020, condition for having an active business chequing/operating account in existence on March 1, 2020. With this removal, eligible businesses can now apply after opening a business chequing/operating account with their primary financial institution. 

TRREB and the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) welcome this much-needed change as the industry has been continuously advocating for changes to CEBA that would allow more brokerages to access the program. CREA has been advocating for and highlighted the need to make CEBA available to all business structures, including sole proprietors who conduct their business through personal bank accounts, during their in-person discussions with government officials, letters to Cabinet Ministers, and in a written brief to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance. 


Updated CEBA Eligibility Criteria 
To be eligible, businesses must have been operating as a business as of March 1, 2020, must successfully open a business account at a Canadian financial institution that is participating in CEBA, and meet the other existing CEBA eligibility criteria. The deadline to apply for CEBA is December 31, 2020. 
Businesses that have chosen to bank through a personal account may now be eligible for the CEBA program. The steps for these businesses to access CEBA are: 

1. Visit and complete the Pre-Screen Tool
2. Open a business chequing/operating account with your primary financial institution 
3. Apply for CEBA at your primary financial institution 

Follow instructions from your financial institution to complete all relevant parts of the CEBA application. 
For additional information and requirements, please visit the CEBA website, and to start the application process, please click here.  
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CEBA is part of the Government of Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan. The government is constantly assessing the evolving situation and is likely to introduce additional measures as it deems necessary. We are monitoring the implementation of existing measures and continue to advocate on behalf of REALTORS® as new initiatives are developed. 

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