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.

Saskatchewan REALTORS Care®
- No Condition
- All industries

The Land for Wildlife Fund
- No Condition
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

Higher Learning
- No Condition
- All industries

Assistance program for organizations working for the economic development of Quebec (PAODEQ)
- Maximum amount : 200,000 $
- Up to 50% of project cost
- All industries

SVP Vancouver
- Maximum amount : 100,000 $
- Health care and social assistance

BC Festival of the Arts Legacy Fund Grants
- No Condition
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

Healthy Community Grants
- From $500 to $100,000
- All industries

School bus electrification program – Stream 2 : Financial assistance for the acquisition and installation of charging infrastructure for electric school buses
- Maximum amount : 25,000 $
- Up to 75% of project cost
- Transportation and warehousing
- Educational services

PrairiesCan — Economic Development Initiative
- No Condition
- Professional, scientific and technical services
- Educational services
- Arts, entertainment and recreation
- Accommodation and food services

Program to support the fight against climate change in the bio-food sector – Component A
- From $40,000 to $330,000
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
- Manufacturing
Boissevain and Morton Foundation
- No Condition
- Educational services
- Health care and social assistance
- Arts, entertainment and recreation
- Other services (except public administration)

Annual Foundation Grants
- Maximum amount : 4,000 $
- Other services (except public administration)

Whistler Blackcomb Foundation - General Funding
- No Condition
- All industries

Community Cultural Engagement and Planning Grant Program
- Maximum amount : 20,000 $
- Up to 50% of project cost
- All industries

City Grant Program - Arts and Culture - Operating Assistance
- Maximum amount : 10,000 $
- All industries

The Ontario Paper Thorold Foundation
- No Condition
- Educational services
- Health care and social assistance

- No Condition
- All industries

- Maximum amount : 2,500 $
- Up to 25% of project cost
- All industries

Built Together
- From $50,000 to $50,000
- All industries

MusiCounts - MusiCounts Band Aid Program
- From $5,000 to $20,000
- All industries

SODEC — Support for entrepreneurial development — Stream 1
- Maximum amount : 75,000 $
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Information and cultural industries

Alberta Security Infrastructure Program Grant
- Maximum amount : 25,000 $
- All industries

Astley Family Foundation - Community Grants
- Maximum amount : 50,000 $
- Up to 100% of project cost
- All industries

MusiCounts - SiriusXM Soundwaves MusiCounts Community Fund
- Maximum amount : 20,000 $
- All industries

Agricultural and Sector Show Support Program – Stream 2
- Maximum amount : 30,000 $
- Up to 80% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
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Astley Family Foundation - Learning Grants
- From $5,000 to $25,000
- All industries

Delta Community Foundation
- Maximum amount : 5,000 $
- Educational services
- Health care and social assistance
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

Alberta Media Fund — Post-Production, Visual Effects and Digital Animation Grant
- From $500 to $200,000
- Up to 18% of project cost
- Information and cultural industries

- No Condition
- Health care and social assistance

ScienceUpFirst Community Engagement Grant Program
- Maximum amount : 15,000 $
- Health care and social assistance

SK Startup Institute — Business Advising
- No Condition
- All industries

Trade Commissioner Service — CanExport Associations
- From $20,000 to $250,000
- Up to 50% of project cost
- All industries

Support for Translation and Interpretation Program
- Maximum amount : 10,000 $
- Up to 100% of project cost
- Other services (except public administration)
- Public administration

Kanta Marwah Research Innovation Fund
- From $5,000 to $80,000
- All industries

FESBC — 2025-27 Fibre Utilization Funding
- No Condition
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
- Utilities
- Manufacturing
- Public administration

Greater Sudbury Charities Fund and Social Investment Partnership (SIPS)
- Maximum amount : 20,000 $
- All industries

AgriStability
- Up to 80% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

Port Coquitlam Community Foundation - Capacity Building Grant
- Maximum amount : 5,000 $
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

Women Entrepreneurship Strategy’s Ecosystem Fund
- From $250,000 to $3,000,000
- Retail trade
- Health care and social assistance
- Other services (except public administration)
- Public administration

Port Coquitlam Community Foundation - Projects Grant
- Maximum amount : 5,000 $
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

- No Condition
- All industries

Port Coquitlam Community Foundation - Professional Development Grant
- Maximum amount : 1,000 $
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

Respiratory Grants
- No Condition
- Educational services
- Health care and social assistance

Kenora and Rainy River District Business Accelerator Fund
- Maximum amount : 10,000 $
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Manufacturing

Port Coquitlam Community Foundation - Theatre Society Legacy Fund Grant
- No Condition
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

City Grant Program - Environmental Enhancement and Food Security Grant
- Maximum amount : 5,000 $
- All industries

Winkler Community Foundation - Darlene Gale Peters Endowment Fund Grants
- From $1,000 to $10,000
- Educational services
- Health care and social assistance

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

Winkler Community Foundation - Community Fund
- From $1,000 to $10,000
- Information and cultural industries
- Educational services
- Health care and social assistance
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

Toronto Main Street Innovation Fund
- From $25,000 to $100,000
- All industries
Find tailored funding for your business
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Look through over 4,000 grants, tax credits, loans and more financial aid on the helloDarwin application.

National Chapter of Canada IODE 100th Anniversary Grant Program
- Maximum amount : 50,000 $
- Health care and social assistance
The Nunalingni Piruqpaalirut Fund
- Maximum amount : 75,000 $
- All industries

2021 Scientific Research Grant: Call for Proposals
- No Condition
- Professional, scientific and technical services

Alberta Women Entrepreneurs Programs
- No Condition
- All industries

Arc'teryx Community Grant Program
- Maximum amount : 5,000 $
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

Rural Innovation Fund (RIF)
- Maximum amount : 10,000 $
- All industries

Fund to stimulate international business tourism – Stream 3 - Support the implementation of incentives designed to attract international business events to Quebec
- Maximum amount : 200,000 $
- Up to 20% of project cost
- Arts, entertainment and recreation
- Accommodation and food services

Community Self-Determination Grants
- No Condition
- All industries

Alberta Innovates — Land and Biodiversity Program
- Maximum amount : 2,000,000 $
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
- Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction
- Utilities
- Professional, scientific and technical services

Health Care Unburdened Grant Program
- From $500,000 to $1,000,000
- Health care and social assistance

Community Compass Grant
- From $10,000 to $40,000
- All industries

True Patriot Love Foundation - Captain Nichola Goddard Fund
- No Condition
- All industries

Fonds Mon virage écologique
- From $2,000 to $15,000
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Manufacturing
- Retail trade
- Professional, scientific and technical services
- Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services

- From $500 to $3,000
- All industries

Love My Hood Matching Grant
- Maximum amount : 30,000 $
- All industries

IBM Sustainability Accelerator
- No Condition
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
- Manufacturing
- Transportation and warehousing
- Professional, scientific and technical services

Vision Fund - Grants for Flourishing Ministry Programs
- No Condition
- All industries

Local Festivals — Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage
- Maximum amount : 200,000 $
- Up to 100% of project cost
- Arts, entertainment and recreation
Connecting through Culture Project
- Maximum amount : 5,000 $
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

Elizabeth L. Gordon Art Program
- No Condition
- All industries

Smile Cookie Program
- No Condition
- Educational services
- Health care and social assistance

Creating Opportunity & Independence
- No Condition
- All industries

Civil Society - Increasing Access to Justice
- No Condition
- All industries

Partners for Places Mini Grant
- Maximum amount : 10,000 $
- All industries

Embark Student Foundation Major Grants Program
- Maximum amount : 500,000 $
- Educational services
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- From $25,000 to $25,000
- Other services (except public administration)

New Ventures BC Competition
- From $200 to $250,000
- Information and cultural industries

Canadian Emissions Reduction Innovation Network
- No Condition
- Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction

Spark Mentorships & Grants - Northwest Ontario
- From $3,000 to $3,000
- All industries

Canada-NAWCA Standard Grants
- No Condition
- All industries

Civil Society - Enhancing Community Philanthropy
- No Condition
- All industries

Caring for our Community Grant Program
- From $10,000 to $50,000
- Health care and social assistance

Residential Schools Missing Children - Community Support Funding
- No Condition
- All industries

Environment - Advancing Climate Change Solutions
- No Condition
- All industries

Calgary Learns - Initiative Grants
- No Condition
- Educational services
- Health care and social assistance

Emission Reductions Intake
- From $75,000 to $50,000,000
- All industries

Indigenous Communities Fund
- From $5,000 to $25,000
- All industries

- From $25,000 to $100,000
- Other services (except public administration)

Co-operators - Co-operative Development Program (CDP)
- Maximum amount : 20,000 $
- Up to 50% of project cost
- All industries

BOF Arts & Culture and Criminal Justice Grant Program
- From $25,000 to $50,000
- Health care and social assistance
- Arts, entertainment and recreation
- Public administration

Government assistance program for public transportation
- Up to 100% of project cost
- Transportation and warehousing

BOF & BCFC Grant and B3 Capacity Building Program
- From $20,000 to $20,000
- Up to 50% of project cost
- Educational services
- Health care and social assistance
- Arts, entertainment and recreation
- Other services (except public administration)

Electric Vehicle Incentive
- Maximum amount : 4,000 $
- Retail trade
- Transportation and warehousing
- Other services (except public administration)
- Public administration

Grants to hospital foundations
- No Condition
- All industries

Musicaction — Support for Indigenous Entrepreneurs
- Maximum amount : 75,000 $
- Up to 90% of project cost
- Arts, entertainment and recreation

City of Fort St. John - Grants in Aid
- Up to 20% of project cost
- Real estate and rental and leasing
- Health care and social assistance
- Arts, entertainment and recreation
- Other services (except public administration)

Community Funding Grants
- Maximum amount : 336,650 $
- All industries

Coastal GasLink Community Fund
- No Condition
- All industries

Indigenous Genomics Training and Capacity Program – Alberta
- Maximum amount : 400,000 $
- Professional, scientific and technical services
- Educational services
- Health care and social assistance

MRC de Thérèse de Blainville — Entrepreneurial financial assistance program
- No Condition
- Manufacturing
- Retail trade
- Information and cultural industries
- Professional, scientific and technical services