PARO Centre for Women’s Enterprise-Canada welcomes Federal Budget 2025 as a Plan for Renewal, Resilience, and Shared Prosperity

Joins WEOC in advancing women entrepreneurs as partners in Canada’s renewal

THUNDER BAY, ON – November 4, 2025 — PARO welcomes the 2025 Federal Budget as a plan focused on fiscal stability, competitiveness, and generational prosperity. The organization joins the Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada (WEOC) in affirming the importance of responsible stewardship and investment in women-led businesses as a cornerstone of Canada’s economic renewal and long-term strength.

“This budget reinforces what we know to be true — when women entrepreneurs have equitable access to financing and support, they don’t just build strong businesses, they help build stronger, more resilient communities across Canada.”

“At PARO, we see firsthand how investing in women’s entrepreneurship fuels innovation, inclusion, and long-term prosperity for everyone.”
— Rosalind Lockyer, Founder and CEO, PARO Centre for Women’s Enterprise-Canada

Through WEOC’s national loan fund and the network of women’s enterprise centres and organizations, including PARO, more than $25 million in loans have supported over 560 women-owned businesses over the past three years. In Ontario, 303 women-owned businesses have been aided by the WEOC National Loans Fund, providing 143 Business Expansions and 160 Start-Ups with $12,862,855.00 in funding to date. This illustrates how targeted financing and wraparound support help women start, grow, and scale businesses that anchor communities.

“This budget reflects responsible stewardship and strategic investment in Canada’s future,” said Victoria Lennox, MSM, Chief Executive Officer of the Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada (WEOC). “The strength of women’s entrepreneurship lies in our collaboration. Together with partners across the country, we are advancing a unified vision of long-term stability, competitiveness, and generational prosperity.”

PARO welcomes measures that support innovation, small-business productivity, and trade diversification, and encourages attention to equitable access for rural, Indigenous, newcomer, and under-represented women.

Next Step:

PARO will participate in WEOC’s National Post-Budget Dialogue: Women Powering Canada’s Prosperity on November 19, 2025. Partners, policymakers, and entrepreneurs can register at  weoc.ca/budget2025 or contact info@weoc.ca.

About ORGANIZATION

PARO Centre for Women’s Enterprise is one of Canada’s leading organizations supporting women entrepreneurs, providing business advising, training, and peer lending programs to help women start, grow, and scale their enterprises across Ontario. As the Ontario representative within the Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada (WEOC) network, PARO collaborates nationally to advance equitable access to financing and opportunities for women-led businesses.

Media contact

Kylee Monteith | Communications and New Media Officer
PARO Centre for Women’s Enterprise-Canada
communications@paro.ca | 807-625-0328 or 1-800-584-0252 | www.paro.ca

About the Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada (WEOC)
WEOC is the national voice advancing women’s entrepreneurship and economic leadership. Working through a network of women’s enterprise centres and organizations, WEOC delivers programs, capital, and capacity to help women start, grow, and scale their businesses. Through its national loan fund and partnerships with government and industry, WEOC strengthens Canada’s women’s entrepreneurship ecosystem and drives inclusive prosperity across the country.

Media Contact
Lindsay Stewart Glor | Communications Manager
Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada (WEOC)
lstewartglor@weoc.ca | 204-296-0544 | www.weoc.ca