New U.S. tariffs: FORCE, PAUPME and funding for Québec businesses

Québec businesses affected by the latest U.S. tariffs now have two new provincial liquidity programs to assess: FORCE for eligible manufacturers and primary-sector companies with at least $2 million in annual revenue, and PAUPME for qualifying businesses with $1 million to $2 million in revenue. These are loans, not grants. Companies planning productivity, supply-chain or market-diversification projects should also compare federal contributions and other financing before deciding how to fund their response.

What changed in the Canada–U.S. tariff dispute?

On August 21, 2026, the Prime Minister of Canada announced that trade negotiations with the United States had been suspended. The statement said the United States intended to impose a 50% tariff on roughly $28 billion of Canadian goods and that Canada would respond with dollar-for-dollar tariffs. It also said further federal support measures would follow. Those figures describe the announced package, not a 50% tariff on every Canadian export.

Québec responded on August 22 with FORCE and the tariff-specific PAUPME. Both are designed to give viable businesses time to protect operations and prepare an adaptation plan. The practical question is not simply which program has the largest ceiling, but which instrument matches the company’s revenue, sector, tariff exposure, liquidity need and planned project.

Quick answer: which support should a Québec business examine?

• FORCE: Québec liquidity financing for eligible manufacturing and primary-sector businesses with annual revenue of at least $2 million and qualifying U.S. tariff exposure.

• PAUPME – Tariffs: a Québec MRC-administered working-capital loan for eligible businesses with annual revenue from $1 million to $2 million.

• Regional Tariff Response Initiative (RTRI): federal repayable or non-repayable contributions for eligible Québec manufacturing SMEs carrying out structured productivity or market-diversification projects.

• BDC Pivot to Grow loan: up to $5 million for eligible Canadian businesses responding to tariff pressure, including cash flow, equipment and supply-chain changes.

• EDC Trade Impact Program: working capital, credit insurance, foreign-exchange solutions and export financing for exporters and their suppliers.

FORCE: liquidity support for businesses with $2M or more in revenue

Who may qualify for FORCE?

The official Investissement Québec FORCE page says the applicant must be a for-profit business or a social-economy enterprise whose U.S. exports are subject to a new American tariff of at least 25% that took effect on or after March 4, 2025. The business must be registered and operating in Québec for at least two years, have generated at least $2 million in revenue in its latest completed fiscal year, and have been profitable in at least one of its last two completed fiscal years.

• Eligible sectors are manufacturing and primary industries such as agriculture, mining and forestry.

• Softwood-lumber producers are directed to the separate FORET program.

• For requests of $10 million or less, at least 25% of revenue must have come from U.S. exports in one of the last two completed fiscal years.

• Requests above $10 million are reserved for businesses considered strategic under the program’s criteria.

What does FORCE finance?

FORCE offers a loan of up to $50 million to cover tariff-related liquidity needs for a period of up to one year. Investissement Québec lists a 0% interest rate for the first year, a stepped interest rate beginning in year two, a maximum seven-year term and a principal-payment moratorium of up to 24 months. For interventions of $10 million or less, eligible expenses are capped at 50% of revenue generated from U.S. exports in the latest completed fiscal year. Other conditions may apply, and approval is not automatic.

How to start a FORCE request

Businesses should contact their Investissement Québec account manager. Companies without one can use Investissement Québec’s intake service. Prepare to document the tariffed products, effective dates, U.S. revenue share, expected cash-flow gap and the actions the company will take to remain viable.

PAUPME – Tariffs: working-capital loans for $1M–$2M businesses

Who may qualify for PAUPME?

The official Québec PAUPME – Tariffs page targets legally constituted for-profit businesses and social-economy enterprises with commercial activities. The business must have its head office in Québec, have been registered in the Québec enterprise register for at least two years, and have generated between $1 million and $2 million in revenue in its last completed fiscal year.

• The business must export tariffed goods to the United States or supply/subcontract for an affected exporter.

• At least 25% of 2024 revenue must have come directly or indirectly from U.S. exports.

• The company must show at least a 20% revenue decline compared with 2024 or forecast a tariff-related decline of at least 20% beginning in 2026.

• It must have been profitable in at least one of the last two completed fiscal years and present reasonable medium-term profitability prospects.

How much support is available and where do you apply?

The MRC may provide a loan of up to $150,000, equal to as much as 75% of the business’s liquidity needs for a 12-month period. The loan carries 0% interest for the first 12 months and a 12-month principal moratorium; an additional moratorium may be possible under program terms. The maximum amortization period is 60 months, excluding moratorium periods. A guarantee or surety acceptable to the MRC is required.

Applications go through the MRC, municipality or local organization responsible for the territory’s local investment fund. The business must submit, or commit to submitting within 12 months of receiving assistance, an adaptation plan covering measures such as productivity improvements, competitiveness, and market or product diversification. The program terms are listed as being in force until March 31, 2028, subject to available funding and program decisions.

Why tariff liquidity support is not the same as a grant

FORCE and PAUPME address a short-term cash-flow problem. They can help an otherwise viable company maintain operations while it adjusts, but the money must be repaid. A grant or non-repayable contribution usually supports defined project costs and outcomes—such as new equipment, automation, certification or export-market development—and normally requires a detailed project budget and proof of completion.

A business may need both types of support: a liquidity facility for immediate pressure and project funding for a longer-term adaptation. The same expense may appear in more than one financing plan only where the applicable stacking rules allow it; it cannot be reimbursed twice beyond those limits. Applicants should disclose other government support and confirm stacking limits with every funding body before committing costs.

Federal grants and financing that may complement Québec’s response

Regional Tariff Response Initiative for structured projects

For a Québec manufacturing SME, the Regional Tariff Response Initiative delivered by Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions may support productivity and market-diversification investments. The program lists non-repayable contributions of up to $1 million for structured productivity-and-diversification projects, up to $300,000 for diversification-only projects, and repayable contributions above $1 million for major structured investments. The maximum assistance rate is 50% for non-repayable contributions and 75% for commercial projects receiving repayable support, with a minimum assistance request of $100,000.

Eligible activities can include equipment, digitalization, automation, technology adoption, new-market strategy, supply-chain optimization, standards compliance and technology demonstrations. The Québec intake is listed as accepting applications on a continuous basis until the envelope is used. Businesses should not incur new costs solely because a program page exists; confirm eligibility and the allowable project start date with DEC.

What helloDarwin’s RTRI award data shows

As of August 24, 2026, helloDarwin’s public-award database contained 2,885,096 funding records collected across Canadian programs and deduplicated within each source using its acceptance identifier. Within the Regional Tariff Response Initiative family, the data identifies 424 successful awards representing $387.9 million in announced funding. Québec accounts for 224 of those awards and $157.1 million. The helloDarwin’s Québec RTRI program guide is linked directly to 11 Québec awards totalling $7.3 million.

This record-level view tracks publicly announced awards rather than helloDarwin client applications, giving businesses a market-level picture of where funding has been committed. Taken together, the figures show a program family already supporting tariff-response projects at meaningful scale. They are useful for benchmarking program activity and funded-project scale; an individual application still depends on the current criteria and the strength of the project.

BDC and EDC for financing, insurance and export risk

BDC’s tariff and economic-uncertainty support page lists loans for working capital, equipment and supply-chain adjustments, including a Pivot to Grow loan of up to $5 million and sector-specific facilities. These are financing products subject to credit assessment, not grants.

EDC’s Trade Impact Program can help eligible exporters and suppliers with working capital, trade credit insurance, foreign-exchange risk management, export financing and market-diversification support. This can be especially relevant where tariff uncertainty affects payment terms, receivables or the risk of entering a new market.

Tariff remission and customs relief

Companies importing inputs should also review the federal government’s tariff-remission and relief information. Remission is not a grant; it may waive or refund tariffs in specific circumstances. Customs classification, origin, end use and documentation matter, so companies should validate the treatment with a qualified customs professional.

Build one funding strategy instead of separate applications

1. Quantify exposure: list affected products, tariff rates and dates, U.S. customers, suppliers, revenue share and margin impact.

2. Separate immediate liquidity from adaptation projects: payroll, inventory and receivables belong in a different analysis from automation, certification or market development.

3. Create a 12-month cash-flow scenario with a base case, tariff case and mitigation case.

4. Define measurable project outcomes such as cost reduction, production capacity, new-market revenue, supplier concentration or lead-time improvement.

5. Map every cost to one funding source and confirm stacking rules before signing contracts or placing purchase orders.

Documents to prepare now

• Financial statements for the last two or three completed fiscal years and current interim results

• Sales by customer, market and product, including direct and indirect U.S. exposure

• Evidence that products or inputs are subject to the relevant tariffs

• A 12-month cash-flow forecast and explanation of the funding gap

• An adaptation plan with milestones, project budget, supplier quotes and expected results

• A list of other requested or approved government assistance for the same period and costs

Common mistakes to avoid

• Calling every public support measure a grant when FORCE, PAUPME, BDC and many EDC tools are repayable or commercial financing

• Applying based only on revenue size without proving tariff exposure, viability and financial impact

• Seeking reimbursement for the same invoice or payroll cost beyond applicable stacking limits, or failing to disclose other requested or approved assistance

• Starting a project or committing costs before confirming the program’s eligible-cost date and approval requirements

• Treating a temporary loan as the adaptation plan instead of defining how the business will improve productivity, diversify markets or reduce supply-chain risk

What should your business do next?

Start with a tariff-impact and cash-flow assessment. If the immediate problem is liquidity, compare FORCE or PAUPME with BDC and EDC financing. If the response requires equipment, automation, certification, new suppliers or market diversification, build a separate project budget and assess programs such as the RTRI. helloDarwin can help organize the project, compare potentially relevant grants and funding, and prepare the evidence needed for a stronger application.

Program status, envelopes and rules can change quickly. The information above was checked against official sources on August 24, 2026. Confirm current eligibility, intake status and stacking rules with the responsible government body before applying or incurring costs.