Last reviewed October 16, 2026. Figures are the latest official numbers published by the Department of Finance Canada, as of November 19, 2024, unless noted.
The Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) lent $49 billion to Canadian small businesses and not-for-profits during the pandemic. Most of it has been repaid, but tens of thousands of loans are still outstanding, and the final repayment date is December 31, 2026. Here are the key numbers in one place.
Where the $49 billion went
| Status | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Repaid | $28.3B | 58% |
| Forgiven (repaid on time, kept up to $20,000 forgiveness) | $12.6B | 26% |
| Still outstanding | $8.1B | 17% |
| Written off | $0.1B | 0.2% |
Loans already with the CRA
By November 2024, nearly 70,000 CEBA loans had been assigned to the Canada Revenue Agency for collection. Most had not yet been worked:
| CRA collection status | Loans | Principal |
|---|---|---|
| Collections needed (no contact attempted yet) | 62,143 | $3,109M |
| Active (borrower contacted) | 3,785 | $155.1M |
| Repayment arrangement in place | 1,112 | $41M |
| Insolvent (EDC) | 1,654 | $90.3M |
| Paid in full after assignment (EDC portion) | 153 | $3.1M |
| Arrangement broken | 42 | $1.67M |
The average assigned loan was about $49,000. A backlog this large means many owners have not yet heard from the CRA, but the debt does not go away: the limitation period for collecting CEBA loans is six years.
What the outstanding loans look like
- About 175,000 loans were still outstanding, averaging roughly $46,000 each.
- About 134,000 had no repayments at all; about 41,000 were partly repaid (about $422 million paid down).
- Roughly 80% of all CEBA loans were repaid by the January 18, 2024 forgiveness deadline.
What waiting has cost
Outstanding loans have been charged 5% a year since January 19, 2024. Interest is calculated daily and paid monthly. From January 19, 2024 to December 31, 2026 is 1,077 days, so a balance that was never paid down will have cost about 14.75% in interest by the deadline:
| Balance | Interest per month | Total interest, Jan 2024 to Dec 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| $20,000 | $83 | about $2,950 |
| $40,000 | $167 | about $5,900 |
| $60,000 | $250 | about $8,850 |
Calculated by ceba.ca at 5% simple annual interest on an unchanged balance. Your lender’s statement shows your exact amount.
Key dates
- April 2020 to June 2021: applications open; loans of up to $40,000, later $60,000.
- December 31, 2023: ineligible loans due in full.
- January 18, 2024: forgiveness deadline (March 28, 2024 for businesses that applied to refinance by January 18).
- January 19, 2024: unpaid eligible loans convert to 3-year term loans at 5% interest.
- December 31, 2026: all remaining principal due. Loans not repaid are likely to be assigned to the CEBA Program for collection, with the CRA assisting.
What to do with these numbers
If your business is one of the roughly 175,000 still carrying a balance, you have three realistic choices before December 31: pay it from cash, refinance with a new lender, or let it go to collection and negotiate with the CRA. Our guides explain each one: refinance or CRA collections, who is personally liable, and payoff steps for your bank and industry.
Using these figures
Journalists, accountants and researchers are welcome to cite this page. Please credit “ceba.ca, using Department of Finance Canada data” and link to this page. For comment, contact Garron Helman through our contact page.
Sources: Department of Finance Canada, briefing binder for the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, December 2024 (part 8, part 2, part 1); official program site ceba-cuec.ca. ceba.ca is an independent website and is not affiliated with the Government of Canada. Percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.