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.

PANAM recognition program
- No Condition
- Educational services
- Health care and social assistance
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

OAC — Diffusion – French-language projects
- Maximum amount : 20,000 $
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

Enfant Soleil - Care Environment Fund
- No Condition
- All industries

Community Funding - Emergency Funding
- No Condition
- Other services (except public administration)
- Public administration

Vision Fund - Seed Grants for Innovative Ministry
- Maximum amount : 5,000 $
- All industries

Community Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador - Community Fund
- Maximum amount : 2,000 $
- Other services (except public administration)

Community Funding - Emerging Community Need Funding
- Maximum amount : 30,000 $
- Other services (except public administration)
- Public administration

Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program — CleanBC Communities Fund
- No Condition
- Utilities

Ontario Transit Investment Fund (OTIF)
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Transportation and warehousing

Ministerial initiative “Agricultural succession and entrepreneurship”
- From $5,000 to $25,000
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

Community Economic Development Fund
- Maximum amount : 3,000,000 $
- All industries

Community Funding - Sustainability Funding
- No Condition
- Health care and social assistance
- Other services (except public administration)
- Public administration

Film — Promotional Travel Assistance
- Maximum amount : 2,000 $
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Information and cultural industries

Community Funding - Capital Funding
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Health care and social assistance
- Other services (except public administration)
- Public administration

Medium to Large-Scale Festivals Program
- Maximum amount : 250,000 $
- Up to 10% of project cost
- Information and cultural industries

Professional Arts Organizations Operating Grant Program
- No Condition
- All industries

Innovative Solutions Canada — Inclusive industrial protective headwear
- Maximum amount : 300,000 $
- Utilities
- Construction
- Manufacturing

City of Kelowna Grants
- Maximum amount : 25,000 $
- All industries

Enhancement of Official Languages Program - Promotion of Linguistic Duality Component - Appreciation and Rapprochement
- Maximum amount : 300,000 $
- All industries

RBC Foundation - Grant for Community Spaces RBC Foundation (Development stream)
- From $25,000 to $2,500,000
- Up to 0.5% of project cost
- All industries

Enhancement of Official Languages Program - Second Language Learning Component
- No Condition
- All industries

CleanBC — Custom-Lite Program
- Maximum amount : 84,000 $
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Utilities

RBC Foundation – RBC Foundation and IAS Scholarships
- From $2,590 to $2,590
- Other services (except public administration)

NRCAN — Mining Decarbonization Demonstration
- From $1,000,000 to $5,000,000
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction

Cultural Funding - Heritage Funding Program
- Maximum amount : 15,000 $
- Up to 90% of project cost
- Information and cultural industries
- Educational services
- Arts, entertainment and recreation
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STIP — Community Airport Program
- Up to 75% of project cost
- Transportation and warehousing

Ethnocultural Support Program
- Maximum amount : 1,000 $
- All industries

Indigenous Priorities Fund
- Maximum amount : 50,000 $
- All industries

H.S. Varley Fund for Rural Life Grants
- No Condition
- All industries

Carbon Capture Kickstart
- Maximum amount : 5,000,000 $
- Up to 10% of project cost
- Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction
- Utilities
- Manufacturing
- Public administration

Lotteries Yukon Funding Programs - Funding for travel assistance
- Maximum amount : 400 $
- All industries

National Bank Financial Group - Donations
- No Condition
- All industries

Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA)
- From $6,000 to $6,000
- Professional, scientific and technical services
- Educational services
- Health care and social assistance

Ontario Creates-CMF — IDM Futures Forward Program
- Maximum amount : 20,000 $
- Up to 75% of project cost
- Information and cultural industries

Xecs call 4 – electronic components and systems
- No Condition
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
- Transportation and warehousing
- Information and cultural industries
- Health care and social assistance

Economic Diversification Fund (FDE) - Centre-du-Québec and Mauricie regions
- No Condition
- Manufacturing
- Professional, scientific and technical services
- Other services (except public administration)
- Public administration

Cultural Funding - Capacity Building Program
- Maximum amount : 15,000 $
- Up to 90% of project cost
- Information and cultural industries
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

Pauw Foundation True Sport Youth Fund
- No Condition
- All industries

Research Investment Opportunities: Transformative Programs
- No Condition
- All industries

OAC — Visual arts and crafts – Francophone projects
- Maximum amount : 15,000 $
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

Lab to Market grants
- No Condition
- Educational services
- Health care and social assistance

Tourisme Baie-James — EPRTNT – Structuring the tourism offer
- From $25,000 to $200,000
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Arts, entertainment and recreation
- Accommodation and food services

Revitalization Project Macro-Grant
- From $2,501 to $20,000
- All industries

Forest Biomass Program — Indigenous bioeconomy partnerships stream
- Maximum amount : 250,000 $
- Up to 80% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

takeCHARGE Business Efficiency Program
- Maximum amount : 50,000 $
- Up to 75% of project cost
- All industries

Ottawa Rural Clean Water Program
- Maximum amount : 15,000 $
- Up to 90% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
- Educational services

Métis Entrepreneurs’ Assistance Program (MEAP)
- Minimum amount : 20,000 $
- Up to 30% of project cost
- All industries

Perennial Crop Development Efficiency
- Maximum amount : 100,000 $
- Up to 50% of project cost
- All industries

INVEST North Program — Innovation – Industrial Research Chair
- Maximum amount : 1,000,000 $
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Professional, scientific and technical services
- Educational services

MaRS — Supply AI
- No Condition
- Manufacturing
- Transportation and warehousing
- Professional, scientific and technical services
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Arts Funding Program - Project Grants
- No Condition
- All industries

- Minimum amount : 100,000 $
- All industries

High Volume User Program
- Maximum amount : 10,000 $
- Real estate and rental and leasing

B.C. Employer Training Grant (ETG)
- From $300,000 to $300,000
- Up to 80% of project cost
- All industries

Community Investment Fund
- From $500 to $65,000
- Up to 75% of project cost
- All industries

- Maximum amount : 30,000 $
- Information and cultural industries
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

Program for financial contributions to the ecological transition
- Maximum amount : 50,000 $
- Up to 75% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
- Transportation and warehousing
- Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services

Saint-Hyacinthe Technopole — FLI/FLS
- Maximum amount : 150,000 $
- Manufacturing
- Professional, scientific and technical services
- Educational services
- Health care and social assistance

Rain Ready Ottawa
- Maximum amount : 5,000 $
- All industries

AFA — Dr. MacEwan Literary Arts Scholarship
- Maximum amount : 7,000 $
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

PISAQ – Stream 2
- From $2,000 to $30,000
- Up to 80% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
- Educational services
- Health care and social assistance

PacifiCan — Lytton Business Restart Program
- Maximum amount : 1,000,000 $
- Retail trade
- Health care and social assistance
- Accommodation and food services
- Other services (except public administration)

Lead Pipe Replacement Program
- No Condition
- All industries

Agriculture Research and Innovation — Agriculture Technology Advancement
- Maximum amount : 80 $
- Up to 75% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

Economy & Environment Program
- No Condition
- All industries

Rural Association Partnership Program
- Maximum amount : 7,500 $
- Retail trade
- Arts, entertainment and recreation
- Other services (except public administration)
- Public administration

Strategic Energy Management for Industry (SEMI)
- Maximum amount : 1,000,000 $
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
- Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction
- Utilities
- Construction

Alberta Innovates — Commercialization Associates Program
- Maximum amount : 120,000 $
- Up to 75% of project cost
- Professional, scientific and technical services

AFA — Art Acquisitions by Application
- No Condition
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

Program to support the fight against climate change in the bio-food sector – Component B
- From $57,142 to $330,000
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
- Manufacturing

Rural Economic Development (RED) program
- Maximum amount : 250,000 $
- All industries

Cranberry Industry Development Program (CIDP)
- Maximum amount : 45,000 $
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

Regional Economic Growth through Innovation — Regional Innovation Ecosystems — ACOA
- No Condition
- All industries

PrairiesCan — Francophone economic development in the Prairie provinces
- No Condition
- All industries

MRC Caniapiscau — Structuring projects
- Up to 80% of project cost
- All industries
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MEDTEQ+ — Impact
- Maximum amount : 1,500,000 $
- Up to 40% of project cost
- Professional, scientific and technical services
- Educational services
- Health care and social assistance

Territorial and sectoral development program — Stream 2.1
- From $5,000 to $250,000
- Up to 80% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

RDAR — Accelerating Agricultural Innovations 2.0
- Up to 60% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

OAC — Exhibition Assistance
- From $500 to $2,000
- Up to 40% of project cost
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

Neighbourhood Matching Fund
- No Condition
- All industries

Operating Grant Program
- No Condition
- Health care and social assistance

Canada Periodical Fund - Business Innovation
- Maximum amount : 10,000 $
- All industries

Adaptation Canada 2026 Opportunity
- No Condition
- Educational services
- Other services (except public administration)
- Public administration

MyPG Community Grant
- Maximum amount : 10,000 $
- All industries

Community Workforce Response Grant — Workforce Shortages Stream
- From $15,000 to $300,000
- All industries

Community Interaction Program — Awareness-raising
- Maximum amount : 200,000 $
- Up to 70% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
- Other services (except public administration)

Partnered Initiatives
- No Condition
- All industries

The Joyce Family Foundation
- No Condition
- All industries

Calgary Flames Foundation - Inclusion Program
- No Condition
- All industries

Self-Employment Benefit — Workforce Expansion
- No Condition
- All industries

AFA — Organization Activation Projects Funding
- Maximum amount : 30,000 $
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

Innov'Action agroalimentaire Program
- No Condition
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
- Manufacturing

Manitoba — Research and Innovation
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
- Manufacturing
- Professional, scientific and technical services

Apprenticeship START
- Maximum amount : 25,000 $
- All industries

Contributions Program for Non-Profit Consumer and Voluntary Organizations
- Maximum amount : 500,000 $
- All industries

Manitoba Accessibility Fund
- Maximum amount : 50,000 $
- Up to 10% of project cost
- Educational services
- Health care and social assistance
- Arts, entertainment and recreation
- Public administration

Alberta Community Partnership (ACP)
- Maximum amount : 1,500,000 $
- Up to 75% of project cost
- Public administration

Lab Services Incentive Program (LSIP)
- Maximum amount : 100,000 $
- Up to 60% of project cost
- Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction
- Utilities
- Professional, scientific and technical services
- Educational services

Call for Proposals: Improving Access to Primary Care for Vulnerable Communities in Quebec
- No Condition
- All industries

Poultry Biosecurity Preparedness Initiative (PBPI)
- Maximum amount : 500,000 $
- Up to 70% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting