Non-repayable + interest-free loan
Open, closes when funds are committed
Regional Tariff Response Initiative
Canada's 7 regional development agencies · $5M to $10M by region
Up to $5M per project through PrairiesCan at 50% of eligible costs, with up to $3M of it non-repayable effective September 2026, and repayable ceilings reaching $10M at agencies like FedDev Ontario and PacifiCan. Demonstrated liquidity need becomes an eligible use in September, up to $2M.
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The program totals $3.45 billion over four years. That figure already includes the $1.5 billion added on August 25, a detail some coverage double counts.
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Minimum funding request of $500K through PrairiesCan, so Prairie projects start around $1M in total cost. Regional caps differ sharply: FedDev Ontario runs $125K to $10M repayable or up to $1M non-repayable, and PacifiCan lends interest-free up to $10M per project (published caps, still showing the pre-September non-repayable figure).
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The $3M non-repayable portion is carved out of the $5M ceiling, not added on top. The repayable balance is normally interest-free: a 1-year grace period after project completion, then 60 equal monthly payments, with final terms set in each contribution agreement.
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Cost share differs by stream and region: the non-repayable stream covers up to 50% of costs everywhere that publishes a rate, while the repayable stream reaches 75% at FedDev Ontario, PacifiCan, FedNor and CED.
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Qualify by showing at least 25% of sales in tariff-affected markets, or by documenting impact: higher input costs, lost orders, supply disruption. ACOA and CanNor accept indirect impact explicitly, and PacifiCan accepts a high likelihood of impact.
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Proof of matching money also differs: PrairiesCan wants every other funding source confirmed at application, while FedDev Ontario confirms matching within 30 days after approval.
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Costs are claimable retroactively up to 12 months before you apply, back to March 21, 2025 at the earliest.
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PrairiesCan accepts applications until December 31, 2027 or until funds are committed. Projects must finish by March 31, 2028.
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Applicants are normally limited to one RTRI project, though rules vary by agency, and the non-repayable stream can be accessed once. Scope it properly the first time.
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Steel businesses have a dedicated $150M envelope within RTRI.
Our take
The anchor program for any established business with a real tariff response to fund. If you only apply to one thing on this page, this is it.
Contribution (stream of the Strategic Response Fund)
Announced August 25, 2026, intake ramping up via the regional agencies
Canada Strong Diversification Fund
Strategic Response Fund, intake via regional development agencies · $2B fund
A new $2 billion stream of the Strategic Response Fund, created August 25, 2026 for tariff-impacted companies with shovel-ready capital maintenance projects. Medium-sized firms are explicitly included.
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Targets shovel-ready projects supporting ongoing capital maintenance, unusually broad language for a federal fund.
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Runs intake and triage through regional development agency programming, so it feels procedurally adjacent to RTRI.
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A fast-track, one-step review and approval process is being implemented in place of the usual expression-of-interest-plus-application sequence.
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Look at it alongside RTRI rather than instead of it: overlapping scopes get caught in triage, distinct projects can run in parallel.
Our take
If you postponed equipment replacement or facility work during the tariff squeeze, get your project into the regional agency queue early. Funds this size are committed, not spent evenly.
Loan (0% first year)
Open now
BDC Pivot to Grow
Business Development Bank of Canada · $250K to $5M
Working capital loans of $250K to $5M through the liquidity stream: 0% interest for the first 12 months, interest-only payments for 36 months, amortization over 96 months. A second $500M liquidity envelope opened August 25, 2026, with pivot and equipment financing streams running alongside.
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The annual revenue floor was lowered to $1 million on August 25, 2026, which also applies to BDC's targeted steel, aluminum and forestry programs.
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The quieter gates: at least 3 years in business and historically positive cash flow. The liquidity stream wants 15%+ of sales from US exports plus tariffs equal to at least 5% of revenue; the pivot and equipment streams accept either the export test or a documented 10% tariff-driven revenue drop or cost increase.
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Pivot to Grow runs three streams (liquidity, pivot, equipment financing) and is available until March 31, 2028. Existing BDC exporter clients can also request a six-month principal payment deferral.
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The liquidity stream carries a sunset clause: it terminates automatically if the August 2026 US tariffs are repealed or suspended.
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This is debt, not a contribution. Debt generally sits outside grant stacking limits, unlike contributions, but each program's own rules decide, so confirm treatment with the granting agency when running it alongside RTRI or the Diversification Fund.
Our take
The right tool when the problem is timing. Take the cheap bridge now, and use the runway to build a grant-funded fix so you are not still carrying the debt problem in two years.
Non-repayable
Closes August 31, 2026 at 12:00 pm ET (2026-27 intake, non-US markets)
CanExport SMEs
Trade Commissioner Service, Global Affairs Canada · $50K per project
Between $10,000 and $50,000 in funding at a 50% cost share for entering new export markets: trade events, international travel, market research, marketing adaptation, expert advice, and IP protection. The 2026-27 intake closes August 31, 2026 at 12:00 pm ET.
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The US stream is closed: the $3.1M allocated to US-targeting projects was fully spent, and no new US-market applications are being accepted. A project may target up to 5 non-US markets, never the US and another market together.
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The 2026-27 eligibility floor rose: 3 to 500 full-time employees and $300K to $100M in annual revenue, up from 1 employee and $100K. Incorporated, for-profit, with a CRA business number. Product certification, registration fees, advertising and SEO are no longer eligible costs.
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Agri-food, alcohol, and fish and seafood exporters moved to the AgriMarketing Program's market diversification stream; agtech and food technology remain eligible here.
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Defence and dual-use technology projects get priority treatment this cycle, in line with the Defence Industrial Strategy.
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The program decides whether you get a grant (paid up front, you report on results) or a contribution (you spend, then claim). Decisions aim for 60 business days, and applications are assessed on a rolling competitive basis while funding lasts.
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Stacks cleanly with RTRI: CanExport funds the market entry, RTRI funds the productive capacity behind it.
Our take
Small dollars next to RTRI, but strong odds for a federal program: roughly 40% of eligible applicants were approved in 2025-26. The natural first move of a diversification plan. If the deadline has passed when you read this, prepare for the next window; the 2026-27 intake opened February 4, 2026.
Refund of duties paid
Ongoing, remission requests assessed continuously
Duty Remission and Duty Drawback
Department of Finance / Canada Border Services Agency · No cap
Recover Canadian counter-tariff surtaxes you have already paid. The Finance Canada remission framework covers inputs you cannot source domestically, and the CBSA Duty Drawback program refunds duties on imported goods you later export.
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Remission applies where a US input cannot reasonably be sourced from Canada or a non-US supplier, or where exceptional circumstances make the surtax severely damaging. Canada-registered companies request it through Finance Canada.
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Generally available remission already exists at the border: eligible steel and aluminum manufacturing inputs and public-health goods can clear with special authority codes, no application needed, for imports before July 1, 2027.
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Drawback refunds duties, including surtaxes, on imported goods that are subsequently exported, as-is or built into a finished product. Claims go through the CARM portal, with a look-back of up to 4 years. You cannot claim drawback and the Duties Relief Program on the same goods, so pick the one that fits your flow.
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The timing matters: most 2025 counter-tariffs on US goods were removed September 1, 2025, but steel, aluminum and autos kept theirs, and new 15/25/50% counter-tariffs on $27.6B of US goods begin September 8, 2026.
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This is not a grant program. It is recovering your own money, which makes it the highest-certainty line item in a tariff response plan.
Our take
If you import tariffed US inputs, quantify this first. Recovered surtaxes are real cash with no project obligations attached, and they strengthen the impact story every other application on this page asks for.
Financing, insurance, guarantees
Open
EDC Trade Impact Program
Export Development Canada · $5B envelope
A $5 billion envelope helping exporters absorb tariff losses and reach new markets: credit insurance on foreign receivables, financing guarantees that unlock bank lending, and foreign exchange facility guarantees.
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Delivered through EDC's named products: Portfolio Credit Insurance, the Export Guarantee Program, the Trade Expansion Lending Program, and Foreign Exchange Facility Guarantees. About $3 billion has been deployed across 6,000+ transactions since March 2025.
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Expanding September 1, 2026: EDC announced on August 27 that it will take on more risk, focus on the SMEs hit hardest by the new US tariffs, and add a $700 million direct financing envelope.
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Works through your bank in most cases, so start the conversation with your account manager and EDC together.
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Not a grant: it prices risk. Its job in a tariff plan is making banks comfortable financing your diversification.
Our take
Worth a call the moment new-market orders start landing. Insured receivables and guaranteed facilities are often the difference between taking a big first foreign order and declining it.
Credit lines + payment deferrals
Open
FCC Trade Disruption Customer Support
Farm Credit Canada · $1B program
A $1 billion lending program for agriculture and food businesses hit by trade disruption: additional credit lines up to $500K, new term loans, and deferral options on existing FCC loans.
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Open to existing FCC customers and new clients across the agriculture and food value chain who meet FCC's lending criteria, and extended until March 5, 2027.
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Primary producers largely sit outside RTRI, which points to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada programming. FCC support and AgriStability, with its raised 90% compensation rate and doubled $6M payment cap for 2025, are the working alternatives.
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For processors, this stacks under a bigger plan: FCC liquidity now, RTRI or Diversification Fund capital projects next.
Our take
The agri-food answer to BDC's program. If your lender is already FCC, the deferral conversation is the cheapest liquidity available to you.
EI wage top-up + grants
Open, tariff special measures run to March 31, 2027
Workforce Retention and Retraining Program
Employment and Social Development Canada · $15K per worker
The EI Work-Sharing program and the Worker Retention Grant, merged August 25, 2026 into one offering: employees work reduced hours while EI tops up wages, employers receive $5,000 to $15,000 per retained worker, plus up to $1,000 per participant for training and administrative costs.
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Tariff special measures relax the usual Work-Sharing rules through March 31, 2027, with agreements running up to 76 weeks.
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The Worker Retention Grant pays employers $5,000 to $15,000 per retained worker, lifting income replacement from 55% to roughly 70% of normal wages. Under its pre-merger rules, applications close December 31, 2026 at 3:00 pm ET with grant weeks running no later than March 31, 2027; watch for updated program guidance.
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Worker-side EI measures were extended in the August 25 package: the one-week waiting period stays waived for another year, workers can collect EI before exhausting severance, and long-tenured workers keep access to additional weeks.
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Alongside it, the $570M Workforce Tariff Response funds retraining for up to 66,000 workers in tariff-hit industries through the provinces, including $68.5M for Alberta.
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The math your CFO should run: Work-Sharing on a 30% hour reduction versus severance, rehiring, and retraining costs when demand returns.
Our take
If layoffs are on the whiteboard, price this first. Losing a certified welder to a competitor during a six-month trough costs far more than the paperwork.
Loan facility
Open
Large Enterprise Tariff Loan Facility
Canada Enterprise Emergency Funding Corporation · $10B facility
A $10 billion federal loan facility for large employers whose access to conventional credit has tightened. The August 25 package extended liquidity coverage from 24 to 36 months of need and stretched maximum terms from 10 to 15 years.
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Eligibility starts around $150 million in annual Canadian revenue (lowered from $300 million in September 2025), with significant operations or workforce in Canada.
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The 36-month coverage and 15-year terms come from the August 25 announcement; CEEFC's posted factsheet may still show the earlier 24-month and 10-year figures until it is refreshed.
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A large-employer instrument with conditions to match: most SMEs are better served by RTRI, the Diversification Fund, or BDC.
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Included here because supply chains are ecosystems: if your anchor customer is wobbling, this facility existing is relevant to your forecast.
Our take
Most readers of this page will never apply. Know it exists, and know your biggest customer might be using it.
Non-repayable
Open
Alberta Export Expansion Program
Government of Alberta · $15K per year
Up to $15,000 per fiscal year covering travel and trade show costs for Alberta businesses developing export markets. Small, fast, and repeatable, and it stacks with CanExport on the same expansion plan.
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Requires a permanent physical presence in Alberta for at least one year.
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Paid after travel on a reimbursement basis: $400 per day for the first traveller and $200 for a second, covering event days plus two travel days.
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Elsewhere: Saskatchewan exporters work through the STEP trade organization, and Ontario's $50M Ontario Together Trade Fund runs continuous intake at up to $5M per project.
Our take
Not life-changing money, but free money for trips you were taking anyway. Every Alberta exporter running a diversification plan should hold an active AEEP file.
