Trudeau’s Real Estate Plan Flops

Canada’s two largest provinces are helping businesses that can’t pay their rent during the coronavirus shutdown after a federal aid measure failed to gain traction. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a plan in April to subsidize rents for small business, but not many landlords have applied. Quebec gave them an incentive to participate by offering to shoulder a higher portion of the cost. In Ontario, Premier Doug Ford announced a temporary ban on commercial evictions. The program required landlords to swallow a temporary 25% reduction in rent for some business tenants. In return, the federal and provincial governments agreed to pay at least half of a tenant’s rent in the form of a forgivable loan to the landlord. Quebec, which had also previously announced a moratorium on evictions, said the measures aim to give about 35,000 retailers and restaurants more financial room for manoeuvre. The program, which started running May 25, hasn’t proved popular so far. Applications as of June 4 covered only 26,000 tenants for a total of C$90 million ($67 million) worth of subsidies. Lack of willingness is only part of the problem, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. Another is the strict qualifying criteria: Tenants need have to lost 70% of revenue due to the pandemic. Tenants and landlords have also both complained that the application process is confusing, according to the business group.