Small business loans in Alberta: where to get one

This guide covers Alberta and the routes that its sources say operate there or across Canada. It starts from the Government of Alberta’s own page on capital and financing supports for entrepreneurs, then adds Community Futures, whose offices a federal agency’s directory lists by province. It is a map of where to look, not a ranking, and it does not say which lender or loan suits any business or whether a business will qualify. The sources describe programs without giving you a decision, so ask each lender what conditions it sets. Use the sections below to decide whom to call first, and what to ask when you do.

What the Alberta government’s page lists

The Government of Alberta’s page on capital and financing supports for entrepreneurs names several routes. It says ATB Financial offers financing solutions and access to experts and resources to help Alberta businesses start and grow. It describes the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation as a provincial Crown corporation. It also lists the Canada Small Business Financing Program and BDC, and tells readers to connect with the Biz Connect Team for small business support. Under financing options it also names Export Development Canada and Alberta Women Entrepreneurs, a non-profit organization that the page says supports women in business through advising, financing, mentoring, and skills and network development. The page is a directory, so the real terms sit with each lender. Treat it as a list of names to research, and read each lender’s own pages for what it will fund.

ATB Financial

The Alberta page describes ATB Financial in the terms above: financing solutions plus access to experts and resources for Alberta businesses that are starting or growing. That is the page’s own wording, and it does not describe ATB’s loan products or conditions. For those, go to ATB. Because the Alberta page also lists the Canada Small Business Financing Program, ask any lender whether the loan being offered is a CSBFP loan or a product of its own, and what each one would require from you.

AFSC and what it lends for

The Alberta page says the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation is a provincial Crown corporation that provides producers, agricultural businesses and other small businesses with farm and commercial loans, among other services. That is as far as the page goes, so it does not tell you what a commercial loan from AFSC covers or who qualifies. If your business is not in agriculture, ask AFSC directly whether its commercial lending applies to you before you spend time on an application.

CSBFP lenders and BDC

The Alberta page describes the Canada Small Business Financing Program as a loan-sharing program between the federal government and financial institutions. The program’s own page says it shares risk with lenders and tells you to contact a lender near you, and the loan-finder page says to present your business plan to any bank, credit union or caisse populaire. BDC’s small business loan page lists buying inventory among the uses of the loan, and it says that meeting its eligibility criteria does not guarantee approval. The Alberta page adds that BDC offers financing solutions to finance projects and protect cash flow, as well as advisory services. For the national picture, see our guide to government loans for small businesses in Canada.

Community Futures lenders in Alberta

Prairies Economic Development Canada, known as PrairiesCan, has a page on Community Futures in the Prairie provinces. It describes Community Futures, or CFs, as non-profit corporations run by volunteer boards of directors, supported by salaried staff, and primarily focused on creating jobs outside major urban centres. It says each CF delivers a variety of services ranging from strategic economic planning, technical and advisory services to businesses, loans to small and medium-sized businesses, self-employment assistance programs, and services targeted to youth and entrepreneurs with disabilities. To find the CF closest to you, the page links to a database that lists CF addresses by province, with Alberta among them. The page does not set out what a given CF lends for, so ask the one nearest you. Futurpreneur is a separate route: a national organization, it describes its Startup Program as providing loan financing and mentorship.

Questions to ask any of these lenders

The same questions help with every route above, and putting them in writing keeps the answers on file. If you are buying a business rather than funding operations, the CSBFP guide for buyers covers that case.

• Does this lender serve my kind of business, and is my purpose an eligible use of the loan?
• What documents does the lender need to see before it decides?
• Is the loan secured, and is a personal guarantee part of the request?
• What fees and what interest rate apply, and can they change during the term?
• If the loan is under a federal program, what does the lender say the program adds to my application?