Canadian Small Business Grants 2026: What Is Open Now and What Has Closed

Most of the government money available to Canadian small businesses at the end of 2026 runs through a short list of programs that are open right now: Canada Summer Jobs (a wage subsidy for hiring young people; the 2027 intake closes December 3, 2026), the Regional Tariff Response Initiative and the Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative delivered by the seven regional development agencies, NRC IRAP for technology companies, and provincial training grants such as the Ontario Job Grant. Two programs that many lists still show are not open: the Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) has ended, and CanExport SMEs is closed for 2026-27.

Every program below was checked on its official page on November 13, 2026 (see Sources at the end). "Open" means the program was accepting applications that day. Intakes can close early when funding runs out, so confirm on the official page before you apply.

If you want the wider picture beyond grants, our guide to non-dilutive funding for Canadian startups covers tax credits, loans and hybrid programs, and the GrantOps programs directory lists individual programs by province and type.

At a Glance: What Is Open on November 13, 2026

Federal Grants and Wage Subsidies Open Now

These programs are available in every province, either directly or through the regional development agency for your area.

1. Canada Summer Jobs 2027

Funding: Up to 50% of the provincial or territorial minimum wage for public and private sector employers; not-for-profits can receive up to 100%
Type: Non-repayable wage subsidy
Deadline: December 3, 2026, 11:59 p.m. Pacific time (the application period opened October 27, 2026)

Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) pays part of the wages of young people aged 15 to 30 hired for summer work. For many small businesses it is the easiest federal program here to qualify for: private employers need 50 or fewer full-time employees.

Who can apply:

• Private sector organizations with 50 or fewer full-time employees across Canada
• Not-for-profit organizations and public sector employers

Rules to know:

• CSJ-funded jobs must take place between April 19, 2027 and August 28, 2027.
• Applications are assessed against national and local priorities; you can look up the local priorities for the constituency where the job will be located.

How to apply: Use the CSJ applicant guide on canada.ca and submit before the December 3 deadline. ESDC answers questions about the application process during business hours until the deadline.

2. Regional Tariff Response Initiative (RTRI)

Funding: Up to $2 million in non-repayable liquidity support; pivot projects up to $1 million non-repayable, or repayable above $1 million
Type: Non-repayable and repayable contributions
Status: Accepting applications through all seven regional development agencies

The RTRI is the federal government's main support for businesses hurt by U.S. tariffs. The regional development agencies are delivering $3.45 billion through it.

What it offers:

• Liquidity assistance: non-repayable, up to $2 million (based on demonstrated need) at up to 50% of eligible costs, for up to 12 months ending no later than March 31, 2028.
• Pivot projects: up to $1 million non-repayable at up to 50% of costs for projects with local or regional benefits, or repayable funding above $1 million at up to 75% of costs; projects must be complete by March 31, 2029.
• A business can receive up to $3 million in combined non-repayable funding and up to $20 million in total RTRI funding.

Who it is for: Businesses facing tariff pressures with at least $1 million in annual revenue. Each agency assesses demonstrated need and your plan for responding to tariffs.

How to apply: Apply to the agency for your region: FedDev Ontario (southern Ontario), FedNor (Northern Ontario), CED (Quebec), ACOA (Atlantic Canada), PrairiesCan (Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta), PacifiCan (British Columbia) or CanNor (the territories). Our RTRI guide covers eligibility and the application steps in each region.

3. Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative (RAII)

Funding: In southern Ontario, $125,000 to $5 million per project, covering up to 50% of costs
Type: Interest-free repayable contribution for businesses (repayment normally starts one year after the project ends)
Status: Open, with different deadlines in each region

The RAII funds businesses that adopt AI or bring AI products to market. Its federal funding now totals $700 million, including an additional $500 million over five years under AI for All, Canada's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy.

Deadlines checked on November 13, 2026:

• ACOA (Atlantic Canada): expressions of interest for the Atlantic-wide call close November 20, 2026, 11:59 p.m. ADT.
• PacifiCan (B.C.): the business intake closes at 12:00 p.m. Pacific time on November 23, 2026; PacifiCan says future intakes for SMEs will cover investments starting after April 1, 2027.
• FedDev Ontario (southern Ontario): open until January 19, 2027, 4:59 p.m. EST; apply by November 24, 2026 if your project and eligible costs start before March 31, 2027. FedDev accepts only one application from a business at a time.
• FedNor (Northern Ontario): eligible applicants include incorporated SMEs and Indigenous-led businesses; retail and service-based businesses will not be considered.

See our RAII deadlines by region and the FedDev Ontario RAII guide for the rest of the agencies.

4. NRC IRAP (Industrial Research Assistance Program)

Funding: Project-based; NRC publishes no standard maximum
Type: Advice, connections and, in some cases, non-repayable funding
Status: Continuous intake

NRC IRAP is the federal government's main innovation program for small and medium-sized technology companies. The National Research Council says it provides "customized advice, valuable connections and, in some cases, funding," and that the relationship typically starts with advice and referrals before any funding is provided.

To work with NRC IRAP, your business must:

• be incorporated, for-profit and operating in Canada
• employ up to 500 people (full-time equivalent)
• develop and commercialize innovative, technology-driven products or services
• be ready to create economic benefits in Canada

NRC IRAP does not support unlimited or limited liability corporations (ULCs or LLCs), sole proprietorships, partnerships or cooperatives, and it does not fund day-to-day operating costs, purely commercial activities or work done outside Canada.

How to start: A senior executive calls 1-877-994-4727. The contact centre decides whether you are ready to meet a client engagement advisor, who may refer you to an industrial technology advisor (ITA). Have your CRA business number, business plan, recent financial statements, ownership details and team résumés ready. Our NRC IRAP page and step-by-step IRAP application guide cover the process.

5. AgriMarketing Program: Market Diversification for SMEs

Funding: Normally less than $100,000 per project; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada pays up to 70%, you pay at least 30%
Type: Non-repayable contribution
Status: Open from February 13, 2026 until September 30, 2030, or until funding is committed

This is one of the few genuine marketing grants open in Canada. It funds for-profit agriculture, agri-food and seafood SMEs that want to diversify into new export markets or increase interprovincial trade, including the development of marketing strategies. Projects must cost at least $20,000 and run up to 18 months. Sectors hit by tariffs or trade disruptions in the past 12 months are assessed as a priority.

6. CanExport Innovation (Opens December 1, 2026)

Funding: Up to 75% of eligible costs, up to $37,500 per project
Type: Non-repayable contribution
Status: The portal opens at 12 p.m. EST on December 1, 2026 and stays open for 24 hours; applications are assessed first come, first served

CanExport Innovation is not the same program as CanExport SMEs. It pays costs of pursuing and signing collaborative R&D agreements with international partners, such as foreign IP protection, international certifications, travel to meet pre-identified partners, and translating and adapting promotional materials. You need a prototype at technology readiness level 4 or higher, control of the IP, and a plan to launch commercially within five years. Our CanExport page tracks every CanExport stream.

Training Grants (Run by the Provinces)

7. Employer Training Grants

There is no single national "Canada Job Grant" application: employer training grants are run by the provinces, several with federal money (the Ontario Job Grant is funded in part through the Canada-Ontario Labour Market Development Agreement), so each province sets its own rules and amounts. Three examples, all open:

• Ontario Job Grant: up to $10,000 per trainee. Employers with fewer than 100 employees pay at least one-sixth of training costs, or nothing (up to $15,000 per trainee) when they train previously unemployed new hires. Employers with 100 or more employees pay half. Applications are taken year-round; the ministry is currently accepting applications that involve 25 or fewer participants. Training must be delivered by an approved third-party provider.
• B.C. Employer Training Grant: the province reimburses 80% of eligible training costs, up to $10,000 per participant and $300,000 per employer per fiscal year (April 1 to March 31). You apply online with a Business BCeID. It does not fund diploma or degree programs.
• Canada-Alberta Productivity Grant: since October 8, 2026, the Government of Alberta pays 75% of eligible training costs, up to $5,000 per employed trainee and $100,000 per employer per fiscal year; business owners and employed family members are now eligible trainees.

Other provinces run their own versions; our grants by province pages list them.

Loans and Financing That Work Alongside Grants

These are repayable, but several are designed for businesses that are too new or too small for most grants.

8. Futurpreneur Canada

Funding: Up to $75,000 in total: up to $25,000 from Futurpreneur plus up to $50,000 from BDC, its co-lending partner (minimum $5,000)
Type: Collateral-free loan with up to two years of mentorship
Best for: Founders aged 18 to 39

Futurpreneur is the main national program for young entrepreneurs. You must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident living in Canada, aged 18 to 39 when you apply, and your business must be either not yet operating or operating full time for 24 months or less (the Side Hustle Program is the exception). Mentorship is a condition of the loan. Tailored programs include the Under 30 and Black Entrepreneur startup programs (each up to $75,000 including BDC co-financing), the Indigenous Entrepreneur Startup Program and the Side Hustle Program (up to $25,000). Read our Futurpreneur guide for rates, documents and the application steps.

9. BDC Small Business Loan and Start-up Financing

• Small Business Loan: apply online for $10,000 to $350,000. For loans up to $100,000, BDC says you are more likely to qualify with at least $100,000 in annual revenue, 24 months in business, current profits and a personal credit score of 600 or more; larger loans look for at least $250,000 in revenue. BDC lists launching a marketing campaign, buying inventory and hiring or training staff among the uses.
• Start-up Financing: up to $150,000 for young businesses that have been operating for at least 12 consecutive months and are generating revenue.

10. Canada Small Business Financing Program (CSBFP)

The CSBFP makes it easier to borrow from a bank or credit union because the government shares the risk with the lender. Small businesses and start-ups with gross annual revenue of $10 million or less can borrow up to $1.15 million: up to $1 million in term loans (for equipment, leasehold improvements, real property and, within limits, intangible assets and working capital) and up to $150,000 in lines of credit. You apply through a bank, caisse populaire or credit union, which alone approves the loan.

11. Women Entrepreneurship Loan Fund and Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund

• Women Entrepreneurship Loan Fund: partner organizations, mostly not-for-profits, lend up to $50,000 to women business owners to start up, scale up or reach international markets. The federal government renewed the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy with $173.7 million over five years in June 2026, including $59 million for the Loan Fund. Find a lender through the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy page on ised-isde.canada.ca.
• Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund: loans of $10,000 to $250,000 for Black business owners and entrepreneurs across Canada, administered by the Federation of African Canadian Economics (FACE) in partnership with BDC.

Tax Credits That Work Like Grants

Refundable tax credits pay cash even when you owe no tax, so for many businesses they work like grants. You claim them on your tax return instead of applying in advance.

12. SR&ED Tax Credits

Rate: 35% enhanced refundable credit on the first $6 million of qualified expenditures for Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs) and eligible Canadian public corporations; 15% basic rate otherwise
Type: Investment tax credit, plus a deduction against income

SR&ED is the largest federal source of R&D support, at approximately $4.5 billion a year. The $3 million to $6 million increase in the enhanced expenditure limit applies to tax years beginning after December 15, 2024 and became law with Bill C-15 on March 26, 2026. Provincial R&D credits stack on top; in Quebec, a CCPC can recover up to 65% of eligible R&D spend (35% federal plus 30% provincial). Since April 1, 2026, you can also ask the CRA for optional pre-claim approval before you start the work.

Work qualifies when it advances science or technology through systematic investigation, which often includes software development and engineering. Start with our SR&ED tax credit page, then the SR&ED guide and the IRAP vs. SR&ED comparison.

13. Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit

Rate: Up to 30% of the capital cost of eligible clean technology property acquired and available for use from March 28, 2023 to December 31, 2033 (up to 15% in 2034; the credit ends after 2034)
Type: Refundable investment tax credit for taxable Canadian corporations

Eligible property includes equipment that generates electricity from solar, wind or water energy, fixed electrical energy storage, active solar heating equipment and air-source and ground-source heat pumps, non-road zero-emission vehicles and their charging or refuelling equipment, and geothermal equipment. Employers that elect to meet the labour requirements avoid the reduced rate. See our clean technology tax credits guide.

Ontario Small Business Grants and Funding

Ontario has the widest set of small-business programs, delivered by the province, the Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI), NOHFC in the north and two federal agencies. The short version, all checked on November 13, 2026:

• Starter Company Plus: a grant of up to $5,000 plus one-on-one advice, workshops and a mentor to start, expand or buy a small business in Ontario. You must be 18 or older, an Ontario resident and a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and not attending school full-time or returning to school. You contribute at least 25% of the grant amount in cash or in kind. Apply through an Ontario Small Business Advisory Centre.
• Ontario Job Grant: up to $10,000 per trainee, or up to $15,000 with no employer share for small employers training previously unemployed new hires (details above). Year-round intake.
• OCI Retail Modernization Project Grant: up to $5,000 non-repayable for digital tools such as point-of-sale systems, inventory software and CRM tools. For Ontario businesses with a physical storefront that sell directly to consumers (retail, restaurants, salons and similar), 1 to 50 full-time staff, at least one year in operation and at least $100,000 in annual revenue. OCI says it is now accepting applications, first come, first served.
• OCI Digital Modernization and Adoption Plan: up to $15,000 toward a digital plan built with a Digital Adoption Consultant, for Ontario for-profit SMEs with 1 to 499 employees, first come, first served. You can apply to this or the retail grant, not both. OCI's follow-on Technology Demonstration Program (up to $50,000) is currently closed.
• NOHFC Invest North, Launch stream: a conditional contribution of up to 50% of eligible costs, to $200,000, to launch a new business in Northern Ontario. You put in at least 15% from your own resources and work in the business full time. Eligible costs include marketing new products or businesses (up to 20% of project costs or $75,000). Retail, service, wholesale, accommodation and food service businesses are not eligible.
• Ontario Together Trade Fund: grants or loans, typically 10% to 20% of eligible costs and up to $5 million, for businesses with at least five full-time equivalent employees and three years of operations that invest at least $200,000 in response to U.S. tariffs. Intake is continuous; loans are interest-free during the project and up to 30% can be forgiven if targets are met.
• FedDev Ontario and FedNor: the RTRI and RAII (items 2 and 3) in southern and Northern Ontario.
• Summer Company: for students aged 15 to 29, up to $3,000. The 2026 program closed on May 15, 2026.

For every Ontario program, including R&D tax credits such as the 8% Ontario Innovation Tax Credit, see our Ontario small business grants hub.

British Columbia

• B.C. Employer Training Grant: 80% of training costs, up to $10,000 per participant and $300,000 per employer per year (item 7).
• PacifiCan: the RTRI is accepting applications, and the RAII business intake closes at noon Pacific time on November 23, 2026.
• Innovate BC: the Ignite program and the Go-To-Market Microgrant are closed; the Commercialization and Investment Readiness Microgrant is listed as opening soon.

The British Columbia grants hub has the full list, including B.C.'s R&D and digital media tax credits.

Quebec

• PME MTL (Montreal): loans and grants, including the Fonds PME MTL and the Fonds locaux de solidarité for start-up or growth projects and the Fonds Entrepreneuriat commercial for storefront businesses.
• Investissement Québec: loans (liquidity, productivity, real estate, acquisition), loan and line-of-credit guarantees, venture and development capital, and government programs that include non-repayable contributions.
• CED: accepting RTRI applications in Quebec; it also delivers the RAII.
• CDAEIA: Quebec's e-business tax credit can now be claimed only when the Investissement Québec certificate covers activities that significantly integrate artificial intelligence features (Revenu Québec). See our CDAE and CDAEIA guide.

Alberta and the Prairies

• Canada-Alberta Productivity Grant: 75% of training costs, up to $5,000 per trainee (item 7).
• Alberta Innovates: its funding list shows open intakes for the Venture Development Grant, the Campus Alberta Small Business Engagement (CASBE) program, the Strategic Industries Technology and Knowledge Development Grant and Accelerating Innovations into CarE (AICE).
• PrairiesCan: the RTRI intake for Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta is open until December 31, 2028 or until funding is committed. See our PrairiesCan guide.

Atlantic Canada

• ACOA Business Development Program (open): interest-free, unsecured repayable funding for up to 50% of the capital you need to start or expand, plus interest-free contributions of up to 75% of the costs of staff training, marketing and trade activities, productivity improvements and quality assurance.
• Regional Economic Growth through Innovation (open): productivity improvements, scale-up, technology adoption and market expansion.
• RTRI and RAII: ACOA is delivering the expanded RTRI; the RAII expression-of-interest call closes November 20, 2026.

See our ACOA funding guide, and the regional development agencies guide for all seven agencies.

Marketing, E-commerce and Digital Grants in 2026

There is no general federal grant for e-commerce, websites or online marketing open in November 2026. The programs most often searched for have ended:

• Grow Your Business Online (a micro-grant of up to $2,400 for e-commerce costs) and Boost Your Business Technology were both part of CDAP, which has ended.
• Ontario's $2,500 Digital Transformation Grant through Digital Main Street has closed its portal.
• CanExport SMEs, which funded international marketing, is closed, and Innovate BC's Go-To-Market Microgrant is closed.

What does exist is narrower, so match it to your situation:

1. Ontario storefront businesses: OCI's Retail Modernization Project Grant, up to $5,000 for point-of-sale, inventory and CRM tools.
2. Ontario SMEs planning a bigger digital project: OCI's Digital Modernization and Adoption Plan, up to $15,000 for the plan.
3. Atlantic Canada: ACOA's Business Development Program can cover up to 75% of marketing and trade activity costs as an interest-free contribution.
4. New businesses in Northern Ontario: NOHFC's Invest North Launch stream counts marketing new products or businesses (up to 20% of project costs or $75,000) as an eligible cost.
5. Agri-food and seafood companies: the AgriMarketing Program, normally under $100,000 at up to 70%, for new markets and marketing strategies.
6. Technology companies working with foreign partners: CanExport Innovation (December 1), which can cover translating and adapting promotional materials.
7. Staff skills: provincial training grants pay for third-party courses your employees take, which can include digital marketing or e-commerce training if the course and provider meet the program's rules.
8. Financing: BDC's Small Business Loan lists launching a new marketing campaign among its uses, and Futurpreneur funds young founders' launch costs.
9. Free help: Digital Main Street offers a free digital onboarding that ends with a personalized to-do list, plus training programs, and Starter Company Plus includes workshops on topics from writing a business plan to marketing campaigns.

Grants and Funding for Young Entrepreneurs

Most support for young founders in Canada is financing plus mentoring rather than free money. The verified options:

• Futurpreneur (ages 18 to 39): up to $75,000 in total including BDC, with up to two years of mentorship; the Under 30 Startup Program, run in collaboration with RBC, also goes up to $75,000 including BDC co-financing.
• Starter Company Plus (Ontario, 18 and older, not in full-time school): a grant of up to $5,000 with mentoring.
• Summer Company (Ontario students aged 15 to 29): up to $3,000, paid as up to $1,500 up front and up to $1,500 on completion. The 2026 intake closed May 15, 2026; watch ontario.ca for 2027.
• Hiring young people: Canada Summer Jobs covers youth aged 15 to 30 (deadline December 3, 2026). The Digital Skills for Youth program is closed for applications; businesses looking for digital interns are directed to its delivery organizations.

Closed or Paused in 2026

How to Find and Apply for Grants

Step 1: Write Down Your Eligibility Profile

Programs screen on the same handful of facts, so note them first:

• Where you operate (province and, for regional agencies, the region)
• Whether you are incorporated; NRC IRAP, for example, does not work with sole proprietorships or partnerships
• Number of full-time employees and annual revenue
• Years in business; the Ontario Together Trade Fund wants three years of operations, Futurpreneur wants 24 months or less
• What you will spend the money on, and when

Step 2: Search the Right Sources

1. The federal Business Benefits Finder on innovation.canada.ca, which NRC IRAP also points to when it is not the right fit.
2. Your regional development agency for tariff, AI and business-growth funding.
3. Your province: our grants by province pages list provincial programs with official links.
4. Your municipality and local small business centre, which deliver programs such as Starter Company Plus.
5. The GrantOps programs directory, which covers individual Canadian funding programs; inside the app, GrantOps tracks 6,000+ Canadian funding programs, 4,200+ of them currently open.

Step 3: Prioritize by Fit and Timing

• Eligibility match: do you clearly meet every requirement?
• Deadline: dated intakes (Canada Summer Jobs, the RAII windows, CanExport Innovation) come before continuous ones.
• Effort versus amount: a short application for $5,000 can be worth it; a $5 million repayable project needs a full business case.
• Repayable or not: check whether the money is a grant, an interest-free repayable contribution or a loan.

Step 4: Prepare a Strong Application

• Answer exactly what is asked.
• Use specific numbers: "increase interprovincial sales by 25% within 18 months" beats "grow our business."
• Build the budget from real quotes and salary data.
• Show that your team can deliver the project.

Our grant application writing guide covers this step by step.

Step 5: Submit and Follow Up

• Keep your confirmation and all correspondence.
• Answer requests for information quickly.
• Do not start spending before approval unless the program allows it; FedDev Ontario, for example, says costs incurred before a decision are at your own risk.
• If you are turned down, ask for feedback and reapply.

Common Grant Application Mistakes

1. Applying to the wrong program. If your project does not match the program's purpose, polished writing will not save it. NRC IRAP funds technology development, not day-to-day operating costs or purely commercial activities.

2. Missing an eligibility criterion. Revenue minimums ($1 million for the RTRI), employee counts (50 or fewer full-time employees for private employers in Canada Summer Jobs) and business type rules (no retail or service businesses in FedNor's RAII) rule out many applications before they are read.

3. Vague project descriptions. Describe the specific problem, your approach, the expected outcomes and how you will measure them.

4. Unrealistic budgets. Inflated or suspiciously low budgets both raise flags. Use real quotes and reasonable contingencies.

5. No clear business case. Public programs exist to create jobs, exports, productivity or Canadian intellectual property; show which one your project delivers.

6. Incomplete documentation. Missing financial statements or signatures can stop an application before it is assessed on merit.

7. Last-minute submissions. Portals slow down on deadline day, and first-come, first-served programs such as CanExport Innovation and OCI's grants can run out of money before a deadline.

8. Poor expense tracking. Most grants reimburse costs after the fact, so keep clean records of every eligible expense.

Stacking Multiple Programs

You can usually combine programs as long as you never claim the same expense twice and stay under each program's limit on total government assistance.

How Stacking Works (Hypothetical Example)

An Ontario software company (a CCPC) runs a $400,000 R&D project:

1. NRC IRAP agrees to contribute toward part of the developers' salaries; say $150,000 (IRAP sets amounts project by project).
2. SR&ED: the IRAP contribution is government assistance, so it comes out of the SR&ED base. The 35% enhanced credit on the remaining $250,000 of qualified spending is about $87,500, before Ontario's 8% Ontario Innovation Tax Credit.
3. Ontario Job Grant: a separate training course for a new hire, up to $10,000 per trainee.

That is roughly $237,500 of support on the $400,000 project before the provincial credit, plus the training grant on its own expense. The figures are illustrative; your ITA and tax advisor set the real numbers.

Stacking Rules to Follow

• Never claim the same expense under two programs. IRAP-funded salaries are excluded from your SR&ED claim.
• Keep separate accounting for each program's costs, for audits and claims.
• Check each program's cap on total government assistance. FedDev Ontario counts SR&ED as other government assistance and asks applicants to exclude SR&ED-eligible costs when possible.
• Sequence your applications. FedDev Ontario accepts one application from a business at a time.

Our IRAP and SR&ED stacking guide explains how to file both on the same project.

Next Steps

1. Pick the dated items first. Canada Summer Jobs closes December 3, the RAII windows close November 20 (ACOA), November 23 (PacifiCan), and November 24 or January 19 (FedDev Ontario), and CanExport Innovation opens December 1 for 24 hours.
2. Check your province. Start with the Ontario or British Columbia hub, or grants by province.
3. See this month's deadlines in our November-December 2026 grant roundup.
4. Get matched. Our free eligibility assessment shows which programs fit your business.

Sources

All sources below are official program pages, read on November 13, 2026.

Federal programs

• ESDC: Apply for Canada Summer Jobs funding (modified October 27, 2026): application period October 27 to December 3, 2026, 11:59 p.m. PT; funding levels; 50 or fewer full-time employees; job dates April 19 to August 28, 2027
• FedDev Ontario: Regional Tariff Response Initiative in southern Ontario (modified October 19, 2026): $3.45 billion, liquidity and pivot terms, $3 million and $20 million caps, $1 million revenue minimum
• FedDev Ontario: Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative, When to apply and How funding works: $700 million, deadlines, $125,000 to $5 million, one application at a time, SR&ED as other government assistance
• PacifiCan: Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative (modified November 10, 2026) and PacifiCan RTRI
• ACOA: Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative, ACOA funding programs (modified October 9, 2026) and Business Development Program
• FedNor: RAII for Northern Ontario and FedNor RTRI; CED: RTRI; PrairiesCan: RTRI; CanNor home page (RTRI notice)
• NRC: Financial support for technology innovation (modified January 8, 2026): NRC IRAP requirements, exclusions and how to start
• Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada: AgriMarketing Program, Market Diversification for SMEs (modified September 15, 2026)
• Trade Commissioner Service: CanExport SMEs, CanExport Innovation (modified October 28, 2026) and the funding and financing hub (modified November 9, 2026)
• ISED: Canada Small Business Financing Program, helping small businesses get loans (modified June 22, 2026)
• ISED: Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (modified November 6, 2026), the June 2026 renewal release and the September 2026 Ecosystem Fund call
• ISED: Black Entrepreneurship Program (modified October 28, 2026)
• ISED: Digital Skills for Youth and its FAQ
• CRA: SR&ED tax incentives, What are SR&ED tax incentives and SR&ED news and updates (Bill C-15, $6 million limit)
• CRA: Clean Technology ITC: about, who can claim, what property qualifies

Financing

• Futurpreneur FAQ and eligibility: $25,000 plus up to $50,000 from BDC, 24-month rule, tailored programs
• BDC Small Business Loan and BDC Start-up Financing

Provinces

• Ontario: Starter Company Plus (updated September 23, 2026), Ontario Job Grant (updated October 26, 2026), Start a summer company (updated September 23, 2026), Entrepreneurship funds for people under 30 and Ontario Together Trade Fund
• Ontario Centre of Innovation: Digital Competence Centre: Retail Modernization Project Grant, Digital Modernization and Adoption Plan, Technology Demonstration Program
• NOHFC: Invest North, Launch
• Digital Main Street: Programs for Ontario businesses (Grow Your Business Online and Digital Transformation Grant status) and home page
• WorkBC: B.C. Employer Training Grant
• Innovate BC: Programs
• Alberta: Canada-Alberta Productivity Grant and Alberta Innovates: Funding programs
• PME MTL: Financement, Investissement Québec: Financement and Revenu Québec: Crédit d'impôt pour le développement des affaires électroniques