The federal government is promising a 75 per cent wage subsidy for qualifying small and medium-sized businesses to help them survive the COVID-19 crisis and keep their workers on the payroll.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the measure Friday at a press conference outside his Ottawa residence, saying his government recognizes that it needs to go much further in the climate of uncertainty than its original plan for a 10 per cent wage subsidy for smaller businesses.

This means that people will continue to be paid even though their employer has had to slow down or stop operations because of COVID-19, he said. Were helping companies keep people on the payroll so that workers are supported and the economy is positioned to recover from this. That is our priority.