‘Canada United’ Initiative Aims to Support Local Businesses with Major Partnerships
Canada United is a movement encouraging Canadians to come together in support of small, local, and Canadian businesses.
The initiative was spearheaded by RBC which brought together more than 50 of Canada's leading brands, the national Chamber of Commerce network, and business associations to rally Canadians to “show local some love” by buying, dining, and shopping local.
“Canada United was created to kick-start an economic rebound by rallying consumers to give local businesses the support they need to re-open during these uncertain times. By bringing together government, business associations, and corporate Canada, we are looking to start a movement to get Canadians to buy local and support businesses across the country. We are genuinely excited by the energy that all of our partners are bringing to this effort.”
Canadians are invited to join the Canada United movement by buying and dining local, including celebrating and supporting local businesses during the Canada United Weekend from August 28 to 30.
“Helping move small business from Bricks and Mortar to Bricks and Clicks has been our goal since consumers shopping habits started to shift on line. These unprecedented times have only amplified this need. With the help and support of this announcement and commitments by an unprecedented number of corporate sponsors, companies, educational institutions and volunteers we are that much closer to making Ontario’s small businesses that much more resilient.
Canadians are also encouraged to watch the Canada United videos online at GoCanadaUnited.ca, like posts from @GoCanadaUnited on social media and use #CanadaUnited on Twitter to demonstrate their support. For each of these actions until August 31, RBC will contribute five cents up to a maximum contribution amount of $2 million to the Canada United Small Business Relief Fund.
Digital Main Street is proud to support the Canada United initiative.
“Helping move small business from Bricks and Mortar to Bricks and Clicks has been our goal since consumers shopping habits started to shift on line. These unprecedented times have only amplified this need. With the help and support of this announcement and commitments by an unprecedented number of corporate partners, we are able to launch this campaign aimed at bringing people back to main street. Our main streets are the heart and soul of our communities, and we want to ensure they survive and thrive.”
Mike Dobbins, Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer at RBC, said the bank has been working with small businesses throughout the crisis.
“In order for them to fully recover you need to have a massive economic stimulus. That kind of led us to what role can we play and ultimately what we concluded was we really needed to create unity of purpose. We need to band together and create something large enough but in one voice. Send the right message to Canadian consumers to support their Main Streets,” said Dobbins, adding that the media campaign is intended for any business to plug into.
“If you’re a small business, you have the benefit of a massive advertising campaign that obviously small businesses can’t run.”
The intent is that in one voice with unity of purpose to create a movement.
“We want customers to come out and take micro actions,” said Dobbins.
Small business owners who are interested in the program can visit GoCanadaUnited.ca to learn more about grant application details, including eligibility criteria, and to apply.
