About the Better Way Alliance

 

Where Good Business Grows
We are Canada’s progressive business voice

The Better Way Alliance (BWA) unites employers and workers in a mission to build a resilient economy where sustainable work and predictable business costs drive long-term prosperity for Canadians.

 

Our Mission


Our philosophy is simple: create good jobs, build strong businesses, and unlock a more equitable Canadian economy.

Why do “Good Jobs” matter? Because they create a positive cycle: better wages lead to stronger workforce purchasing power. When everyone raises the bar together, workers have more to spend at our businesses and the security they need to show up at peak performance.

And contrary to what some trickle-down economists have told you for the last 40 years – YES investing in people is good for business. BWA members prove that high employment standards add to the bottom line rather than subtracting from it. Our member businesses:

  • Boost Local Wealth: Recirculate 2-4x more revenue locally than large chains
  • Increase Profitability: Add over 5% to monthly profit compared to peers thanks to their employment practices
  • Attract Talent: Attract new workers with 50% less effort than non-decent-work companies
  • Drive Resilience: Benefit from higher retention, improved productivity, and better customer experiences

Why? It’s simple – businesses depend on workers who can afford to live, raise families, and retire with dignity in Canada. When our workers do well – we ALL do well.

Join the Movement

We are growing our membership from coast to coast to coast. Whether you are in retail, food service, manufacturing, or professional services, there is a place for you in the Better Way Alliance. 

Are you an elected official that wants to understand how our policy positions can unlock deep value in your riding? Reach out for a discussion.

View Our Member Directory | Take the Good Jobs Quiz

What We Do

The BWA operates as an applied researcher, policy advocate, and community hub to support Canadian entrepreneurs across four key areas:

  1. Innovative Policy | We strive for the financial stability of business owners through systemic action – not just tax cuts. Currently, we are addressing the Fixed Cost Crunch – spiking commercial rents, insurance hikes, and rising utilities – that threatens Canadian businesses of all sizes. We advocate for:
  • A Commercial Renter Bill of Rights to protect retail tenants
  • Capital access to help more micro and small business owners purchase storefronts and exit volatile rental markets
  • Municipal incentives for “right-sized retail” that guides developers toward building smaller ground-floor retail spaces that fit the needs of small and micro-businesses
  • A Good Jobs tax credit to reward businesses actively investing in their workers
  • A micro-business designation to better measure and manage the over 70% of Canadian businesses with 1-9 employees who often feel left out of policy discussions
  1. Business Tools | We create business-friendly resources, such as our Good Jobs Quiz, to help entrepreneurs improve retention, productivity, and cohesion.

    We test the best ways to boost SME productivity and local community wealth with real-world experiments through partnerships with organizations like Kensington Market Community Land Trust.

     

  2. Research & Education | We partner with educational and industry leaders to identify systemic changes that help businesses create quality jobs and sustainable growth

     

  3. A Community of Peers | We provide a platform for business owners to connect and build stable foundations.

    When you join the BWA, you tap into a network of over 100 innovative employers – from BC to Newfoundland – sharing real-world resources and leading employment practices.

Our team primarily works in 3 areas:

Evidence-Based Advocacy

We offer policymakers a more sustainable economic perspective. While traditional business groups often prioritize short-term deregulation, we provide the data that proves Good Jobs are the foundation of Canada’s long-term economic success.

We engage with all levels of government to show how fair labor standards and a strong floor for workers create a more resilient consumer base and a stable, predictable environment for local businesses to thrive.

The Good Jobs ROI

Adopting the Good Jobs framework is a deliberate strategy to build a more profitable operation. We connect business owners to a peer network where we share the blueprints for reducing employee turnover and recruitment costs.

By focusing on job quality and stability, our members gain a significant competitive advantage, transforming their workforce into an engine for growth rather than a source of constant operational stress.

Business Affordability and Sustainability

Business success is impossible when fixed costs are unpredictable. We lead the fight for commercial rent reform and property tax fairness to protect the physical spaces our members call home.

By tackling the systemic overhead pressures that squeeze independent businesses, we ensure that being a good employer remains a financially viable and smart choice for every Canadian business.

BWA Beginnings

The BWA was founded in 2017. Our members prove that business success and good jobs go hand in hand.

At that time, we were the lead business voice for Ontario’s $15/hr minimum wage increase. Why? When our workers have more $$ in their pockets, our businesses have a more robust customer base – reinforcing a positive economic cycle.

Since then, we’ve expanded into advocating for Paid Sick Days and Fair Scheduling. We know from experience that reducing employee instability is a direct way to build more resilient, profitable businesses. Today, we continue to bridge the gap between business owners and the policymakers who shape our economic environment.

Our Recent Work

We focus on high-impact initiatives that tackle the structural barriers to running a successful, ethical business in Canada.

  • Sidewalks to Skylines (The Toronto Action Plan): Our Director, Aaron Binder, helped shape this 10-year strategic plan (2025–2035) to ensure small business affordability and job quality are at the centre of Toronto’s economic development. We represented the interests of “main street” in these long-term policy frameworks to ensure the city remains viable for independent employers and their staff.

  • The Commercial Renter Bill of Rights: We are taking our data on rent hikes and lease instability directly to provincial and municipal leaders. Our goal is to create a predictable environment where the math of running a business doesn’t break every time a lease is up for renewal.

  • The Good Jobs Network: Beyond policy, we maintain a peer network of owners across Canada. This serves as a practical lab where members share the operational blueprints – like fair scheduling and living wage implementation – that reduce the high costs of staff turnover.