What’s happening in Fredericton commerce, and what you need to know to run something here.

Probably not, and this surprises people. Fredericton has no general business licence; the City’s permits page simply points you to BizPaL, the federal-provincial-municipal permit finder, with a reminder that it is your job to make sure you have everything. What the City does license is specific trades: peddlers, taxis and vehicles for hire, pawnbrokers and second-hand dealers, plumbers. Your real to-do list is provincial: register the name or incorporate through Service New Brunswick, then sort zoning, signs and building permits with Community Planning. Service Fredericton, 506-460-2020, is the number for everything else.

Sources: City permits & licences

Send the Sidewalk Café Application to Community Planning ([email protected]) with a scaled site plan, a $2-million liability certificate naming the City, and sign-offs from Public Health, liquor licensing and the Fire Marshal where they apply. Keep a 2-metre clear path between café and curb and 1.1 metres to your door. If the patio eats parking, it is $500 for one space or $1,000 for two. Patios traditionally come down by September 30; Council stretched that to October 15 in 2020, so confirm this year’s date with Planning before you order the heaters.

Sources: Sidewalk café permits

Every new or replacement sign needs a permit under Section 6 of Zoning By-law Z-5, which sets the size, type and placement allowed in each zone. Apply with the Sign Permit Application to Community Planning at City Hall, 397 Queen Street, with drawings that show dimensions, materials, lighting and where it sits on the building. Downtown, expect an extra look at anything on a heritage facade. The City publishes no fee on the sign page, so ask before you order the sign, not after. Landlords often have their own sign rules in the lease, which is a second conversation.

Sources: Sign permits

The City does, which is one of Fredericton’s quiet perks. Crews clear all 263 kilometres of sidewalk, downtown sits at Priority 1, and everything is meant to be done within 48 hours of a storm ending. Your obligations are mostly negative: do not push or pile snow onto the street or sidewalk, and keep your own entrance, steps and private walkway safe, since a slip at your door is your liability. The overnight winter parking ban runs midnight to 7 a.m. through May 31, and it applies to your customers’ cars and yours.

Sources: Snow removal

If your business or building sits inside the Business Improvement Area (Government House to the Walking Bridge, river to mid-block between Brunswick and George), you are a Downtown Fredericton Inc. member whether you signed anything or not. Under the provincial Business Improvement Areas Act the City passes a levy by-law each year setting a rate on non-residential assessment inside the boundary. It lands on the property tax bill, so owners pay it directly and tenants usually pay it through the lease. DFI spends it on promotion, streetscape, advocacy and events. Business Fredericton North runs the same model across the river.

Sources: DFI member info · Levy by-law

First, the name: Ignite Fredericton is now simply Ignite, the economic development agency for thirteen Capital Region communities, at 40 Crowther Lane in Knowledge Park. For a new business the useful parts are concrete. Business navigators help with the plan, pricing, hiring and marketing. Planet Hatch next door is the incubator and coworking space. The Impact Loan offers $5,000 to $50,000 in working capital to Greater Fredericton entrepreneurs, which matters because CBDC loans are for rural areas and skip the city. Free online Business Basics and Marketing Basics sessions run most months. Ignite’s own 2026 tally: 229 businesses supported, 40 new startups.

Sources: Ignite · Loans and grants

Manage expectations: most of it is loans, not grants. Ignite’s Impact Loan gives $5,000 to $50,000 to Fredericton-area startups. CBDC lends up to $150,000 but serves rural Atlantic Canada, not the city proper. ACOA’s Business Development Program offers interest-free, unsecured repayable funding for up to half of capital costs, and non-repayable help for up to 75 per cent of soft costs like training and marketing; call 1-888-576-4444 first. Opportunities NB assigns navigators (1-833-799-7966) and aims its growth capital at export-facing firms. The Small Business Investor Tax Credit pays your investors back 50 per cent (individuals) or 25 per cent (corporations, proposed in May 2026). Futurpreneur lends up to $20,000 to founders aged 18 to 39.

Sources: ACOA BDP · ONB · GNB funding

Everything runs through Service New Brunswick’s Corporate Registry online, so no counter. A sole proprietorship or partnership registers a business name for $112, including the mandatory $12 Royal Gazette notice, with renewal at $62. Incorporating a New Brunswick corporation is $262 online or $312 on paper; $362 buys two-day expedited service instead of the usual ten working days. Corporations then owe an annual return, $60 online or $80 on paper. You will also want a free federal business number from CRA for GST/HST, which becomes mandatory once you pass $30,000 in revenue over four quarters, and for payroll.

Sources: SNB Corporate Registry · Fees

Three registrations and one number. The number: New Brunswick’s minimum wage has been $15.90 an hour since April 1, 2026, indexed to inflation and rounded to the nearest nickel. Payroll: open a payroll account under your CRA business number before the first payday; regular remitters send deductions by the 15th of the following month, and a small employer withholding under $1,000 a month with a clean record can remit quarterly. WorkSafeNB: coverage is mandatory once you have three or more workers at any point in the year, and you must register within 15 days; with one or two staff you can still opt in. Employment Standards sets hours, vacation pay, holidays and notice, and is worth reading before the first paycheque rather than after.

Sources: Minimum wage · WorkSafeNB coverage · CRA remitting

Meters run Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., excluding holidays: $1.50 a half hour, $2.50 an hour, $2 an hour on four-hour stays. Evenings and weekends are free. The City garages (East End, Frederick Square, York Street) are $1.50 an hour; the Officers’ Square and Tannery lots $2.50, the Queen lot $2, all on the HotSpot app. To pick up a customer’s tab, join HotSpot’s merchant validation: a small annual fee plus a wallet you top up, and an NFC tile at the counter that customers tap to waive their session. Monthly staff permits sell first-come, five days before month end.

Sources: Street parking · Parking