Grants, tax credits and financing for companies in Canada: the programmes that exist, who they are for, and how to read them
Canada funds companies through many doors, each with its own rules. The mistake is to look for one grant. The method is to map the doors against the plan.
The short answer
- Grants and contributions: CanExport (export market entry, up to CAD 50,000), IRAP (R&D for companies up to 500 staff), the Strategic Innovation Fund (large projects), the regional development agencies.
- Tax credits: SR&ED for R&D, the clean economy investment tax credits (clean technology, manufacturing, hydrogen, carbon capture, electricity).
- Financing: BDC, EDC, the Canada Infrastructure Bank, the Canada Growth Fund.
- Doors: Invest in Canada and the provincial agencies, with the Major Projects Office for nation-building projects. The full list with links is on the programmes directory.
The map
Four kinds of money. Grants and contributions pay part of a project cost, sometimes repayable. Tax credits reduce tax or pay out cash on eligible spending, after the spending. Financing is lent or invested on commercial terms. Agencies open doors and coordinate but do not pay. A plan usually uses two or three kinds at once; the incentive checklist keeps them from counting the same dollar twice.
Grants and contributions
- CanExport SMEs: up to CAD 50,000 per project to develop a new export market; the 2026 to 27 intake is closed and the next one is posted on the page.
- NRC IRAP: for-profit, incorporated in Canada, up to 500 full-time employees, technical and business staff beyond the founders; advisory plus contributions through an Industrial Technology Advisor.
- Strategic Innovation Fund: large-scale projects and consortia.
- Regional agencies: FedDev Ontario, PacifiCan, PrairiesCan, CED, ACOA, CanNor, each with programmes for its region.
Tax credits
- SR&ED: credits on qualifying R&D; the enhanced refundable rate for Canadian-controlled private corporations is what makes R&D in a Canadian subsidiary attractive; rates and limits on the CRA page.
- Clean economy ITCs: clean technology and clean technology manufacturing at up to 30%, plus hydrogen, carbon capture and clean electricity credits, each with labour conditions and phase-out dates.
Read with the six checks: eligibility, timing, stacking, conditions, refundability, the current guide.
Financing
- BDC: loans, growth capital, venture capital and advisory for businesses in Canada.
- EDC: insurance, guarantees and financing for exporters and their buyers.
- Canada Infrastructure Bank and Canada Growth Fund: co-investment in infrastructure and clean growth projects.
The method
- Write the plan without any programme.
- Map each line of spend to the doors it could fit, from the directory.
- Run the six checks per programme; drop what fails.
- Have a qualified adviser confirm eligibility; The Accounting Doc handles the tax credit claims for its clients.
- Put the net figure in the business case, dated.
Checklist
- Plan written without programmes first
- Spend mapped to doors
- Six checks per programme
- Adviser sign-off per claim
- Intake dates tracked
Mistakes we see
- Looking for one grant
- Counting the same dollar under two programmes
- Planning on a closed intake
- Quoting last year's rate
Sources
WeOpen.ca is an independent initiative, not a government agency. Programmes and rules are named for context; the official pages in force prevail over anything on this page, and eligibility is confirmed by a qualified adviser. Checked 13 November 2026.