The Better Way Alliance Blog
Better Wages, Better Business: How Minimum Wage Increases Boost Local Economies
A groundbreaking Canadian study has found that minimum wage hikes are good for a large group of...
Boosting Your Business: How Paid Sick Days Can Uplift Productivity
Small businesses face tough choices about where to invest limited resources. But Better Way...
More Articles from the BWA
The OSFI “Great Redirect”: Why Cheaper Loans Won’t Save Us Without Rent Reform
If your landlord doubles your rent tomorrow, does a "cheaper loan" from the bank solve your problem?Cheaper Loans are Coming—But They Won't Stop the Rent Crisis Starting in 2027, Canada's federal banking regulator (OSFI) plans to make it cheaper and easier for big...
The Business Case for Investing in Canada Post
What Canada can learn from the UK's Royal Mail privatization - and why we should avoid it.Why Small Businesses Need Canada Post to Work The Reality of the "Holiday Scramble" This past holiday season, Province of Canada made a difficult choice: they walked away from...
We Are Hiring: Membership Growth Lead
The BWA is hiring a Membership and Outreach Manager to help grow our network in 2026.
BWA 2025 Holiday Market
Happy Holidays from Better Way Alliance businesses! We know shoppers want to make their spending count this season - not just bringing joy to their loved ones, but also Buying Canadian, Supporting Local, and helping Canadians be strong and free. That’s why we’ve put...
The Costco Effect: Why Good Jobs Are Smart Economics
How ethical employment practices can lead to sustainable growth and community well-being.When Costco opened a warehouse in rural Meiwa, Japan in 2023, a nearby noodle shop called Yamada-udon faced a crisis. Costco was offering starting wages of 1,500 yen per hour- 60%...
Better Way Alliance’s analysis of the federal Budget 2025
November 7, 2025 This week, the Carney government tabled its new budget - the first in this Prime Minister's term in office, and an important one given the challenges of tariffs, trade, economic slowdown and war. The Budget was framed as an offensive, take-charge...
The Fixed-Cost Crunch: Rent, Not Wages, Are Driving Costs for Toronto Small Businesses
As minimum wage increases in Ontario and other provinces this fall, BWA's new analysis reveals what's actually driving small business cost pressures. Our Fixed Cost Crunch report presents five years of comparative data showing that fixed costs - not wages - are...
A redesigned Canada Small Business Financing Program (CSBFP) will unlock efficient growth for Canadian SMEs
The Canada Small Business Financing Program (CSBFP) needs an urgent overhaul to address today’s small business financing barriers. The program has not kept pace with the realities of rent volatility, succession risk, and constrained credit markets. It also fails to...
Better Way Alliance Submits SME-Focused Recommendations to Canada’s 2025 Budget
Toronto, ON — August 28, 2025 — The Better Way Alliance (BWA), a national voice for smarter local business policy, is pleased to submit its recommendations to the Canadian government as part of its official 2025 Pre-Budget Consultations focused on building a stronger...