Canadian tech and business groups plan to weigh in on a forthcoming Competition Bureau consultation on the competitive landscape of debt financing options for small businesses, including startups.

This week, Canada’s Competition Bureau launched consultations on how to best conduct a 12-month study on competition for small and medium-sized business loans. The agency said the research will explore how Canada can improve the lending landscape for small- to mid-size enterprises (SMEs), which is dominated by big banks. At the same time, it plans to look at how non-traditional financial lenders—such as FinTech companies—could benefit from increased competition.

The Competition Bureau said it will focus on term loans, not equity or venture capital, in response to concerns about financing access

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