FR | Export Grants: Everything You Need to Know About PSCE and CanExport 2026

Launching into export isn't just about "selling elsewhere." For a Quebec SME, it's a complete project that requires choosing a market, validating it, adapting your commercial approach, and planning concrete expenses like prospecting, travel, marketing, or representation. In this context, understanding Canadian export grants can make a real difference, especially when starting out or transitioning from trial to structured strategy.

Two programs frequently come up in export initiatives in Quebec and Canada: PSCE (Quebec) and CanExport (federal). The objective of this article is to compile, in a practical guide, information discussed on exporting and available grants, while remaining factual. When a detail is not explicitly confirmed, it is marked as "To be validated."

1) Export: Think in Terms of Process, Not Just Expense

A common mistake when starting out is to define export by a single action, for example "going to a trade show" or "launching ads." In reality, export works better when treated as a series of logical steps. You start with a hypothesis (which market, which customer, which offer), test it, then gradually invest in execution. This logic helps both reduce field risk and make a funding application credible.In a typical process, there's first market selection. Selecting doesn't mean randomly choosing the "coolest" or largest country. It means establishing simple and realistic criteria: market accessibility, presence of competitors, delivery capacity, available sales channels, regulatory barriers (To be validated by sector), price and margin levels, sales cycle, internal resources. The goal isn't to find "the world's best market," but a market where the company can actually execute, learn, and sell. Next comes validation. Here, we want to avoid the scenario where we build a complete budget on assumptions. Validating can mean analyzing market data, comparing segments, understanding purchasing habits, identifying competitors, and clarifying your value proposition. But validating also means doing fieldwork: exploratory calls, targeted emails, discussions with potential distributors, participation in networking activities, or meetings at B2B events. The idea is to accumulate enough concrete signals to justify the investment that follows. After validation, we move to the go-to-market strategy. This is where we clarify how the company will sell: direct sales, partners, distributors, agents, or a combination. We specify messages, positioning, channels, and priorities. We also define reasonable and measurable objectives over a 12 to 24-month horizon, even if we adjust afterward. For an SME, this step is crucial because it prevents dispersing the budget and team's time. Finally, there's execution, often the most costly part: structured prospecting, travel, participation in fairs or exhibitions, performance marketing (within applicable limits), recruitment or assignment of commercial resources, pipeline management, and managing first customers. In some cases, execution leads to establishment (in the sense of a more permanent local presence). This last step isn't necessary to start, but it can become a lever if the market responds well.

This sequence is important because several business grant programs seek to fund coherent projects. An application that tells a logical story, from market to actions, often has a better chance of being understood and evaluated effectively.

2) What Grant Programs Expect from an Export Project

Even without going into unconfirmed official criteria, we can describe the level of clarity expected for an export project to be "readable." A solid application shows that the company knows what it wants to do, why it's doing it, and how it will do it. Concretely, this shows in three places: objectives, plan, and budget.Objectives shouldn't be vague. Saying "we want to develop the market" is too broad. An SME benefits from defining simple objectives: number of targeted customers, number of meetings to obtain, targeted pipeline, first sales expected over a given period. It's not a guaranteed promise, it's a structured intention.The action plan must connect activities to the objective. If the objective is to obtain distributors, the plan must explain how to identify them, how to approach them, which events or which initiatives support these meetings, and how to manage negotiation. If the objective is to sell directly, the plan must explain how to generate leads, how the team responds, and which actions support the sales cycle.The budget is often the element that tips an application. The programs presented work on cost-sharing (50 percent mentioned). This means the project must be serious enough to justify a request, but also realistic enough to be executed. A budget that's too ambitious can become a problem if the company doesn't use the aid as planned (To be validated on exact implications). A budget that's too small may not reach a minimum of expenses (this is explicitly the case in PSCE stream 2). Therefore, the budget must align with actual capabilities and market logic.

Timing also matters. When an opening window is short, preparation must be done beforehand. Otherwise, you end up submitting in a rush, which increases the risk of errors or inconsistencies. In many processes, the best advantage isn't "having a better program," it's being ready to submit as soon as it opens.

3) PSCE (Quebec) Stream 2: Parameters, Typical Expenses, and Limits

PSCE is presented as a Quebec program with several streams. In the information discussed, attention focuses on stream 2, which targets a project in the Canadian market outside Quebec. The opening dates mentioned for this stream are January 15 to 29 (To be validated if windows vary by year).

Amounts and Minimum Project Size

In the parameters mentioned, PSCE stream 2 operates at 50 percent of expenses, with aid up to $60,000, on a maximum of $120,000 in eligible expenses. An important practical point is the minimum expense: a project must reach $50,000 in expenses to be eligible, otherwise it's considered too small. This minimum completely changes how to plan. If a company was thinking to "test" with a small budget, it must either enlarge the project (with eligible expenses) or reconsider the program option.

In a PSCE stream 2 project, certain expense categories are mentioned as typical: salary of a sales representative, market study, fees related to a marketing strategy, and participation in trade fairs or exhibitions. The general idea is that you can finance both preparation (analysis and strategy) and execution (commercial and events), provided you respect the program's limits and structure.

Advertising, Professional Fees, and Caps

Two caps are explicitly mentioned as points of vigilance. First, professional fees have a cap of $25,000 in total expenses. Next, advertising has a cap of $10,000 in total expenses. With a 50 percent rate, this means the "advertising" portion can lead to a maximum of $5,000 in aid, if using the complete cap. In practice, this pushes companies to use advertising as a complementary lever and not as the major part of the project.

When preparing the budget, these caps force discipline: you can't put the entire project into fees or ads. A more stable strategy consists of balancing expense items, for example by combining a validation portion (study), a strategy portion, and an execution portion via a commercial resource and field actions. This approach makes the project more coherent and avoids quickly hitting limits.

Sales Representation: Employee Expected, Subcontracting to Avoid

One point is very clearly stated: if the project includes sales representation, the expected logic is a salary, therefore an employee, and not subcontracting. In other words, hiring a representative as a consultant is not presented as the eligible approach in this framework. It's also mentioned that certain forms of subcontracted prospecting, notably telephone prospecting, are no longer covered in the version discussed. The described orientation is that prospecting be performed by employees, particularly the commercial resource.

In parallel, it's mentioned that tools like B2B matchmaking platforms or contact databases can support a prospecting approach, but the exact eligibility of these expenses must be confirmed according to official rules. In all cases, the idea isn't to "completely subcontract sales development," but to build internal capacity that executes, learns, and repeats.

Another operational detail concerns the representative's location. It's indicated that it's not necessarily inadmissible if the person is based in Quebec, but that it's not ideal if the target market is outside Quebec. This nuance suggests the program seeks alignment between the resource and the market, which is logical for execution. Exact expectations must be validated in the guide.

Expenses Before or After Submission

A principle mentioned is that eligible expenses must start after the application is submitted. Example given: launching ads after the submission date. This implies simple but crucial planning: if the company already has recurring expenses, it must distinguish what's already underway and what officially starts in the project after submission. Exact modalities, expected proof, and eligibility dates must be validated according to the official program. An indicative processing time of 6 to 8 weeks is mentioned, without guarantee, as it depends on volume. It's also mentioned that the program is competitive and that the envelope decreases as applications are submitted. On a practical level, this reinforces a behavior: prepare the application before opening, then submit early.

Eligible Markets and United States

An important point is indicated: in the discussed calendar, the United States is not covered by PSCE. Since programs can evolve, the most prudent recommendation is to confirm the list of eligible markets and opening periods in the official version for the target year.

Financial Documents and Startup Companies

It's indicated that audited financial statements are requested, with a nuance for startup companies that don't have a complete year. In this case, preliminary, projected, or interim statements are mentioned as possible options. Exact requirements, accepted formats, and conditions must be validated according to the guide.

There's also mention of a revenue range "from 1 to 50" associated with PSCE, but the unit and official wording are not detailed. This point is therefore To be validated.

Multiple Applications and Fiscal Year

It's mentioned that you cannot make multiple simultaneous applications in the same fiscal year, and that a subsequent application would be possible in a new fiscal year. It's also mentioned that a second submission could be at a reduced rate (example mentioned: 40 percent), but exact rules, the definition of fiscal year, and conditions must be validated.

4) CanExport (Federal): International, New Markets, Travel, and Project Structure

CanExport is presented as a federal program oriented toward international markets, therefore outside Canada, with a logic of developing new markets. In the parameters mentioned, the program is at 50 percent of expenses, with a cap of $100,000 in eligible expenses, which leads to a maximum of $50,000 in aid. It's also mentioned, as an observation, that it's rare to reach the maximum and that acceptances around $30,000 are often seen, but this point must be understood as an observed trend and not as an eligibility rule.

Typical Expenses Mentioned: Trade Shows, Travel, Prospecting

One element that stands out is the place of travel. CanExport is presented as covering not only participation in trade shows, but also travel related to trade shows and prospecting trips. For many SMEs, this is what makes the program particularly useful internationally, because travel quickly becomes the dominant budget item.

In practice, this pushes to structure a project where each trip has a justification: what objective, which meetings, which event, what sequence. The program doesn't finance "a trip just because," it finances travel integrated into a market development plan.

Number of Markets

It's indicated that the project can cover up to five markets, and that a market corresponds to a country. This rule, even simple, has an important impact on the application. If you put five countries in a project, you must be able to explain a strategy per country, or at minimum a clear logic and prioritization plan. Otherwise, the project may seem scattered.

For an SME, targeting fewer markets, but better structured, is often more realistic. But the mentioned maximum number gives flexibility if the company already has a multi-country strategy or wants to test a limited portfolio of coherent markets.

New Markets and Revenue Already Achieved

CanExport emphasizes the notion of "new markets." A criterion related to revenue already achieved in the target market is mentioned, with reference to a threshold of around 10 percent, but the exact detail is not provided. Here, caution is essential: the exact threshold, reference period, revenue definition, and expected proof are To be validated. This verification is important because it can determine whether a country is still eligible as a "new market."

How to Make a CanExport Project Credible

Without inventing criteria, we can say that a CanExport project becomes convincing when it's structured around clear logic. First, you must name the targeted countries and explain why they're priorities. Next, you must describe planned actions: prospecting, events, meetings, development activities. Then, you must link expenses to these actions, notably travel. Finally, you must demonstrate that the company has execution capacity: who manages prospecting, who does follow-up, how to transform meetings into opportunities, and how to measure progress.

5) Can You Combine PSCE and CanExport?

Combining programs can be an excellent strategy, but only if you respect a simple principle: don't finance the same expense twice. The information discussed also mentions a limit of 65 percent cumulative government aid per expense in the discussed case. Official details on cumulation, how to calculate it, and possible exceptions must be validated.

The cleanest way to manage a PSCE and CanExport combination is to separate budgets and supporting documents. For example, PSCE stream 2 can support a Canada outside Quebec project, while CanExport supports an international project. In this scenario, you naturally avoid double financing, because markets and associated expenses don't overlap. Reporting also becomes much simpler, because each invoice attaches to a program, a market, and an action.

When mixing too much, for example by trying to "split" the same invoice between programs, risk increases. Even if you believe you're respecting percentages, you expose yourself to administrative complications. In B2B, the practical rule is therefore to choose simplicity: one expense, one program, one clear objective.

Key Takeaways

PSCE stream 2 is presented as an option for Canada outside Quebec, with a 50 percent rate and a maximum of $60,000 in aid on $120,000 in expenses. The project must reach a minimum of $50,000 in expenses. Two caps stand out: $25,000 for professional fees and $10,000 for advertising, in total expenses. Sales representation is expected in the form of salary, not subcontracting. CanExport is presented as an international option at 50 percent, with $100,000 in capped eligible expenses, therefore up to $50,000 in aid, and it includes travel such as trade show-related trips and prospecting trips. Several details remain to be confirmed in official guides, notably the definition of "new market."

A common error is to build an export project around a single action, without connecting market, strategy, and execution. Another is to submit too late, especially when an opening window is short and the program is competitive. Budget-wise, exceeding category caps like advertising or fees can reduce expected aid or complicate the application. On execution, trying to subcontract sales representation expected as salary can make the expense problematic. Finally, trying to finance the same expense in two programs increases risks and makes reporting heavier.

Certain sectors, notably food and food processing, may have programs connected to export, with names mentioned like CEB and CIAM. Full names, responsible organizations, opening dates, eligible expenses, and criteria must be confirmed. For an SME, the interest in these leads is simple: when a program is sector-specific, it can better match the sector's expense reality, but you must verify compatibility with PSCE, CanExport, and cumulation rules. Certain elements must be confirmed before submitting a final application. For CanExport, the official definition of "new market," the revenue threshold already achieved in the market, the reference period, and expected proof are to be validated. For PSCE, the mentioned revenue range "from 1 to 50" must be clarified, including the unit and exceptions. Exact rules on multiple applications, rates for a second submission, and dates related to fiscal year are to be validated. Finally, complete lists of eligible and ineligible expenses, as well as exact documentary requirements, must be confirmed in official guides.