Business Financing in Canada
Funding is a crucial element for any business looking to start, grow, or innovate. In addition to traditional options such as bank loans or relying on investors, there is a frequently underestimated alternative: grants. This detailed guide explores the various sources of grants available, as well as the financial services and sustainable funding strategies for businesses in Canada. By following the outlined steps, entrepreneurs can identify grants suited to their projects, whether they are government programs, innovation funds, or initiatives specifically targeting certain sectors. Grants are an advantageous solution, often non-repayable, allowing businesses to fund their projects without resorting to debt.

Atlantic Innovation Fund — Private Sector Businesses
- No Condition
- Professional, scientific and technical services
- Educational services
- Other services (except public administration)

Reserve Land and Environment Management Program
- Up to 80% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
- Other services (except public administration)
- Public administration

Regional Action Support Program (RASP)
- Up to 30% of project cost
- Arts, entertainment and recreation
- Accommodation and food services
- Other services (except public administration)
- Public administration

Arts & Culture Festival Funding
- Maximum amount : 14,000 $
- Up to 50% of project cost
- All industries

Barb Bromley Fund for Seniors and Elders
- From $1,000 to $7,000
- Health care and social assistance

Agri-Land Accessibility and Enhancement
- Maximum amount : 35,000 $
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

Capacity Grants
- Maximum amount : 10,000 $
- All industries

Rogers Indigenous Film Fund Program
- From $5,000 to $20,000
- Up to 80% of project cost
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

Grants That Foster Inter-Group Development
- No Condition
- Educational services
- Health care and social assistance
- Arts, entertainment and recreation
- Other services (except public administration)

Ontario Together Trade Fund (OTTF)
- From $200,000 to $5,000,000
- Up to 75% of project cost
- Manufacturing

- No Condition
- All industries

Évolution-Compétences - Professional Norms Component
- Up to 100% of project cost
- Educational services

Social economy support program (PSES) – Stream 4
- Maximum amount : 100,000 $
- Up to 70% of project cost
- Other services (except public administration)
- Public administration

Southwestern Ontario Development Fund (SWODF) — Business Project Grants
- From $500,000 to $1,500,000
- Up to 15% of project cost
- Manufacturing

Northern and Indigenous Crime Prevention Fund (NICPF)
- No Condition
- Other services (except public administration)
- Public administration

Alberta Innovates — Methane Emissions Reduction Program
- Maximum amount : 2,000,000 $
- Up to 25% of project cost
- Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction

- From $2,000 to $50,000
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

The Ontario Trillium Foundation - Capital Grants
- From $10,000 to $200,000
- All industries

Sustainable Development Support Program for Mining Sector Companies — Stream D
- Maximum amount : 50,000 $
- Up to 80% of project cost
- Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction

Tourisme Baie-James — EPRTNT – Studies and consulting services
- From $5,000 to $50,000
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Arts, entertainment and recreation
- Accommodation and food services

Venture Investment Program
- Maximum amount : 15,100 $
- All industries

Golf Canada Foundation Heritage Grant Program
- Maximum amount : 2,000 $
- Information and cultural industries
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

Luke Charpentier Memorial Fund
- No Condition
- All industries

Community Action Program in the Field of Education (PACTE)
- Maximum amount : 120,000 $
- Up to 100% of project cost
- Educational services

Support for Entrepreneurs and Economic Development (SEED) — Micro-business
- Maximum amount : 6,000 $
- Up to 30% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
- Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction
- Arts, entertainment and recreation
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- No Condition
- All industries

Regional Economic Growth Through Innovation & Southern Ontario Prosperity Program
- Minimum amount : 125,000 $
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
- Manufacturing
- Information and cultural industries
- Professional, scientific and technical services

Indigenous Community-Based Climate Monitoring Program
- No Condition
- All industries

Workforce Analysis and Planning Program (WAPP)
- Maximum amount : 400,000 $
- Up to 70% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

Launch Lab — Entrepreneurs In Residence (EIR)
- No Condition
- Professional, scientific and technical services

Professional and Institutional Development (P&ID) Program
- No Condition
- All industries

Podium Mines
- From $20,000 to $50,000
- Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction
- Manufacturing

- Maximum amount : 35,000 $
- All industries

Brian Bronfman Family Foundation
- No Condition
- Health care and social assistance
- Other services (except public administration)

Export Market Access Program (EMAP)
- From $5,000 to $15,000
- Up to 45% of project cost
- All industries

- No Condition
- All industries

Caribou Conservation Stewardship Program (CCSP) 2025-26
- Up to 20% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
- Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction
- Professional, scientific and technical services
- Educational services

Program to support the processing of end-of-life tires through reuse, recycling and energy recovery, as well as out-of-province processing.
- No Condition
- Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services
- Maximum amount : 25,000 $
- Health care and social assistance

Historic resource conservation grants
- From $1,000 to $100,000
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Arts, entertainment and recreation
- Public administration

Fisheries and Aquaculture Energy Efficiency Innovation Fund (FAEEIF)
- Maximum amount : 250,000 $
- Up to 80% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

- No Condition
- All industries

Alberta Petrochemicals Incentive Program (APIP)
- Minimum amount : 50 $
- Up to 12% of project cost
- Manufacturing

Indigenous Habitat Participation Program: Grant component
- No Condition
- All industries

- No Condition
- All industries

Workforce Training and Employment — Employment Assistance Services
- No Condition
- All industries

Economic Development Initiative in southern Ontario
- Maximum amount : 500,000 $
- Up to 70% of project cost
- All industries

Anti-Crime Capacity Building Program (ACCBP)
- No Condition
- Public administration

MRC des Appalaches - Economic Diversification Fund (FDE)
- Maximum amount : 150,000 $
- All industries

INOVAIT Pilot Fund
- From $100,000 to $150,000
- Up to 3333% of project cost
- Professional, scientific and technical services
- Health care and social assistance
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Pay It Forward (PIF) Muskoka Program
- Maximum amount : 2,500 $
- All industries

Ontario On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF)
- No Condition
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

Alberta — Value-Added Program
- From $50,000 to $250,000
- Up to 25% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
- Manufacturing

Upside Down Tree
- No Condition
- Other services (except public administration)

BC On-Farm Technology Adoption Program
- From $300 to $150,000
- Up to 65% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

Engage and Sustain — Artistic Catalysts
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

- Maximum amount : 30,000 $
- All industries

Matane — Grant programs for eco-friendly purchases
- Maximum amount : 200 $
- Up to 50% of project cost
- All industries

CRIBIQ — PSO-Bioproducts and bioprocesses
- Maximum amount : 1,500,000 $
- Up to 40% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
- Manufacturing
- Professional, scientific and technical services

- No Condition
- Health care and social assistance

Agricultural biodiversity enhancement program
- Up to 75% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

Community Social Investment Program - Sustainable Food Security Fund
- Maximum amount : 50,000 $
- All industries

AFA — Visual Arts and New Media Individual Project Funding
- Maximum amount : 18,000 $
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

BCAC — Arts Circulation and Touring – Organizations
- Maximum amount : 25,000 $
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

Community Enhancement Grants
- From $200 to $1,000
- All industries

NGen — Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Value Chain Program (EVMP)
- Up to 35% of project cost
- Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction
- Manufacturing
- Transportation and warehousing

Community Initiatives Program (CIP) - Operating Grants
- Maximum amount : 75,000 $
- All industries

AI Sovereign Compute Infrastructure Program
- No Condition
- Manufacturing
- Information and cultural industries
- Professional, scientific and technical services
- Educational services

Agriculture Water Infrastructure Program – Stream 1
- From $200,000 to $1,000,000
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

NGen — Feasibility Studies
- From $100,000 to $500,000
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Manufacturing
- Professional, scientific and technical services
- Educational services

Early Childhood Educator Training Wage Program
- Maximum amount : 12,000 $
- All industries

Canadian Cleantech for Mining Mission to Australia and Indonesia
- Maximum amount : 5,000 $
- Up to 75% of project cost
- Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction
- Utilities
- Manufacturing
- Professional, scientific and technical services

Environmental Trust Fund
- No Condition
- All industries

PacifiCan — Economic Development Initiative (EDI)
- No Condition
- Information and cultural industries
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

- Maximum amount : 15,000 $
- All industries
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Green and Inclusive Community Buildings (GICB) Program
- Minimum amount : 100,000 $
- Up to 80% of project cost
- Educational services
- Health care and social assistance
- Arts, entertainment and recreation
- Public administration

Together CK - Core Grant Program
- Maximum amount : 25,000 $
- Up to 50% of project cost
- All industries

AFA — Summer School Project Funding
- Up to 40% of project cost
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

Affordable Housing Initiative
- No Condition
- All industries

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls+ Community Response Fund
- Maximum amount : 40,000 $
- All industries

Agri-Tech Innovation Initiative : Stream 3 – Agri-Tech Energy Costs Savings
- Maximum amount : 100,000 $
- Up to 35% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
- Manufacturing

Workplace Innovation and Productivity Skills Incentive
- From $5,000 to $100,000
- Up to 100% of project cost
- All industries

Indigenous Economic Development Fund — Regional Partnership Grants Program
- No Condition
- Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction

Cinespace Technician Roster
- No Condition
- Information and cultural industries

Support for Entrepreneurs and Economic Development (SEED) — Strategic Investments
- Maximum amount : 75,000 $
- Up to 30% of project cost
- All industries

MEDTEQ+ — PARTENAR-IA — Academic
- Maximum amount : 1,500,000 $
- Up to 35% of project cost
- Transportation and warehousing
- Health care and social assistance

INVEST North Program — Regional Tile Drainage
- Maximum amount : 1,000,000 $
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

EV ChargeON Program
- Maximum amount : 1,000,000 $
- Up to 75% of project cost
- Utilities
- Transportation and warehousing
- Public administration

- Up to 5% of project cost
- All industries

Advance Brampton Fund
- Maximum amount : 25,000 $
- Up to 100% of project cost
- All industries

Improving Access to Veterinary Care
- From $150,000 to $750,000
- All industries

Local Food Infrastructure Fund - Large Scale Projects
- No Condition
- All industries

Turn to excellence!
- From $2,000 to $7,000
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

Operating Assistance to Cultural Organizations
- Maximum amount : 25,000 $
- All industries

MEIE — Program to support the development of strategic sectors and niches of excellence (PADS)
- No Condition
- All industries

AFA — Film and Video Individual Project Funding
- Maximum amount : 18,000 $
- Up to 75% of project cost
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

- From $3,500 to $3,500
- All industries

Community & Neighbourhood Grant
- Maximum amount : 250,000 $
- All industries

Emerging Farmers Award
- From $3,500 to $7,500
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

Strong Neighbourhood Grants
- Maximum amount : 1,500 $
- All industries