June 4, 2020: News From Main Street

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June 2020 / canurb.org Resilience Service launched to help Small Businesses The Business Resilience Service (BRS) is a new program that will allow any Canadian SME, non-profit or charity to speak with a CPA to help them with business, financial, and tax planning. This four-week program is being run through the Canadian Chamber's Canadian Business Resilience Network in collaboration with Ernst & Young and with support from CPA Canada and Imagine Canada. Learn more Main Street Design Challenge  The Main Street Design Challenge is a coordinated engagement effort for all Canadians interested in design and the future of Main Streets.  Participants are invited to develop innovative, responsible, sustainable, and resilient design solutions that can be implemented during COVID-19 recovery and post-pandemic. This joint effort by the Canadian Urban Institute and the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada will result in a free, open-access playbook of innovative tools that communities will need to rebuild after this global health emergency. Learn more Read our latest Memos Memo #1  Why Main Streets Matter Memo #2 Scan of Provincial Main Street re-opening Plans Memo #3 How to Make CECRA Work for Main Street Memo #4 Types of Main Streets Across Canada  Memo #5 New Online Models Helping Main Street Businesses during COVID-19 CityTalk webinars on Main Streets CUI’s virtual town square, CityTalk Canada, features candid conversations and analysis on the new urban reality under COVID-19.  As of June 4, we’ve hosted more than 25 sessions, and you can find recordings, key takeaways and transcripts of all sessions at CityTalkCanada.ca  Watch and read more about our sessions that feature discussion on the importance of bringing back main streets:  How do we bring back our main streets? How can we build community wealth as our economies recover? What are the impacts on local economies? Visit CityTalk Canada SmallBusinessInCrisis.ca Small Businesses in Crisis is an interactive map to track the status of threatened small businesses across our country. The map identifies 661 businesses that are likely to permanently close and 14,195 employees at these businesses in danger of being laid off permanently.  Share this page with your networks by email or social media and encourage small business owners to add their business to the map. Visit SmallBusinessinCrisis.ca Five Bright Ideas Signs of innovation, creativity, and resilience on our main streets: Painted circles are helping New Yorkers enjoy summertime while remaining physically distant in Domino Park, Brooklyn. Wellington Street in Montreal's Verdun neighbourhood becomes pedestrian-only for the summer in order to encourage the local economy and facilitate physical distancing.  Digital Main Street is a program and service helping small businesses across Ontario become e-commerce ready. Downtown Halifax launches placemaking grant program for public art, outdoor lighting, and murals to transform downtown streets. #EatWithMeYEG is hosting virtual lunches in Edmonton neighbourhoods to support local businesses, build community connection, and fight racism and xenophobia. Pictures of your Main Street We’d love for you and your organization to share a picture of your main street – from either your personal or organization’s Twitter account – to help us raise awareness of how COVID-19 has impacted main streets across Canada. Make sure to include the name of the street, city and whatever else you want to add to the post.   And of course, please tag us @CANURB and use #BringBackMainStreet. Thank you to our partners We are grateful to all of our partners for supporting us in building a stronger urban Canada Donors and Program Funders Business Improvement Areas and Economic Development Organizations across Canada, Vancity and Vancity Community Investment Bank Partners Bloor-Yorkville BIA, Canadian Business Resilience Network, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Canadian Institute of Planners, City of Edmonton, City of Toronto, Downtown Halifax, Downtown Yonge BIA, Financial District BIA, International Downtown Association Canada, National Preservation Council, National Trust for Canada, Ontario Chamber of Commerce, Regina Downtown BID, Retail Council of Canada, Royal Architecture Institute of Canada, Rues principales, Save Canadian Small Business, St. Lawrence BIA, Tamarack Institute, The Waterfront BIA, Toronto Entertainment District BIA, Trinity Centres Foundation Research Team 360 Collective, Happy City, Simon Fraser University, Fathom Studio, JC Williams Group About CUI CUI is Canada's Urban Institute. We are the national platform that houses the best in Canadian city building – where policymakers, urban professionals, civic and business leaders, community activists and academics can learn, share and collaborate with one another from coast to coast to coast. Copyright © 2020 Canadian Urban Institute Canadian Urban Institute 30 St. Patrick Street, 5th Floor Toronto, ON  M5T 3A3  Canada Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.