As part of Canada's Economic Action Plan, the Government of Canada has announced an additional $5 billion in loans and other financial support to businesses that might otherwise have difficulty accessing additional credit. As part of this plan, the Business Credit Availability Program has provided funding to crown corporations, such as the Business Development Bank of Canada and Export Development Corporation, as well as private sector financial institutions, to help them increase the flow of credit to businesses.

In particular, the Business Development Bank of Canada has just launched a new "line of credit guarantee" program that will allow businesses to maintain or increase their line of credit:

• Operating Line of Credit Guarantee

More new funding programs will be launched over the next few months.

If your business is struggling and needs access to more credit, you may be able to benefit from some of the new programs that are being created or the increases in funding to existing programs. To find out what options may be available to your business, contact the Business Development Bank of Canada, the Export Development Corporation (for exporters) or your financial institution to learn about new and increased financing.