AI grants and programs for Canadian businesses (2026)
For restaurants, shops, attractions, and event venues. Most small venues fit a training grant, and some fit a BDC loan. The large regional AI funds are repayable, and they are written for established firms.
Each program decides its own applications. A line on this page is not an approval and not a promise of money. If a program page and this guide disagree, follow the program page.
Do I qualify?
Match the floor the program’s own page states. Meeting a floor is not an approval. A venue under five people, under three years old, or under $1 million in revenue is usually looking at the B.C. training grant, or at nothing federal yet.
Staff
- Under 5 people: PacifiCan and FedDev adoption streams ask for at least 5 full-time equivalent employees. Their commercialization streams start at 1. ACOA asks for a request of at least $1 million.
- 5 to 500: the adoption range those two agencies print. FedDev says fewer than 500. PacifiCan says 5 to 500.
Years operating
- Under 1 year: the PacifiCan and FedDev streams above ask for at least one year of operations. Adoption asks for three.
- 1 to 3 years: commercialization is the stream those pages describe. Adoption is not.
- 3 years or more in the province: the adoption floor on the PacifiCan and FedDev pages.
Revenue
- Under $1 million: the BDC LIFT page says at least $1 million in revenue.
- $1 million or more, with demonstrated profit: LIFT is the loan to read. The page names hotels as an exception.
- Québec, 250 employees or fewer, and at least $2.5 million in revenue: ESSOR streams 1B and 1C.
What you do
- Restaurant, shop, attraction, or event venue in B.C.: the Employer Training Grant names tourism and AI among its priority factors. That raises you in the queue. It does not promise a yes.
- The same kind of business anywhere in Canada, profitable, at $1 million or more, and not a hotel: read BDC LIFT. It is a loan.
- A firm building an AI product, rather than a venue using one: NRC IRAP’s AI Assist page is the one written for you.
- RAII adoption pages name health, energy, transportation, agriculture, and manufacturing as priority sectors. Hospitality is not on those lists.
Open now
Grouped by where the business operates. A card is here only while its deadline is still ahead, or while the program page shows no deadline. The AI for All strategy says a further $500 million over five years brings RAII to $700 million, and it sets a target to raise business use of AI from 12 percent to 60 percent by 2034.
British Columbia
Includes businesses on Vancouver Island and in the Okanagan. PacifiCan is the federal development agency for the province. The training grant is provincial.
B.C. Employer Training Grant
Open80% of eligible training costs, up to $10,000 per participant and $300,000 per employer per fiscal year (April 1 to March 31). The employer pays the other 20%.
Open for the 2026/27 fiscal year, for training that begins on or after April 1, 2026. No closing date is posted. A decision is due within 60 days.
Strongest public fit for a small B.C. venue that wants staff trained, including on AI tools. Small business, tourism, and AI are priority factors. A priority factor is a place in the queue, not an approval.
WorkBC’s March 23, 2026 note says the grant is open for 2026/27. You apply with a Business BCeID before you know the decision. Training may start before that decision; if the application is denied, the employer pays the full cost. The employer pays the training first and claims a reimbursement after it has started. Third parties cannot apply for you. Participants must be Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or protected persons. The grant does not fund a diploma or a degree.
Last checked Oct 26, 2026
Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative — PacifiCan
OpenBusinesses: $200,000 to $5 million per project, as a repayable contribution of up to 50% of eligible costs.
Open until 12:00 p.m. PT on November 23, 2026, for businesses seeking funding that begins in 2026–27. A later intake is described for non-profits and SMEs, for investments starting after April 1, 2027.
Low for a small venue. Adoption asks for an incorporated business operating in B.C. for at least three years, with 5 to 500 full-time equivalent employees. Commercialization asks for at least one year in B.C. and 1 to 500. The national priority sectors named on the page are health, energy, transportation, agriculture, and manufacturing.
PacifiCan is the federal agency for British Columbia, including Vancouver Island and the Okanagan. This intake is for businesses. Non-profits can write to PacifiCan.RAII-IRIA@pacifican.gc.ca. There is an information session on November 5, 2026, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. PT. Register by 12:00 p.m. PT on November 4. The page is part of a $700 million national initiative.
Register for the November 5 session
Last checked Oct 26, 2026
Destination BC Co-op Marketing, FY2027/28
OpenThe news post does not state a dollar amount.
Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. PT on November 1, 2026.
Not an AI program, and not for a single venue. It funds co-operative marketing for community consortiums of three or more communities, and for provincial tourism sector organizations.
Posted September 22, 2026. Included here because tourism operators search for it beside funding programs. A restaurant, shop, attraction, or event venue does not apply on its own.
Last checked Oct 26, 2026
Innovate BC — Integrated Marketplace early-stage demonstration
OpenUp to 40% of eligible project costs, to a maximum of $500,000. At least 25% of total project costs must come from non-government sources.
Open until 11:59 p.m. PST on October 30, 2026 (12:59 a.m. PT on October 31).
Poor fit for a restaurant, shop, attraction, or event venue. The project must pilot a technology at readiness level 6 or higher. The themes are health systems, aviation and mobility, marine and ports, forestry and emergency management, mining, and defence. Tourism is not a theme.
For a B.C. company proving its own technology with an early adopter, not for a venue buying a tool. After the deadline this card moves to Closed on its own.
Last checked Oct 26, 2026
Alberta
PrairiesCan delivers the regional AI initiative across the Prairie provinces, including Calgary and the rest of Alberta.
Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative — PrairiesCan
OpenThe application page does not state a dollar range.
Expressions of interest are accepted until December 31, 2029, or until the funding is fully committed. Projects must be completed by March 31, 2031. No time of day is given for the December 31 date.
A heavy application for a small venue. PrairiesCan asks for the past year’s financial statements, interim statements for at least the last six months, and confirmed funding from somewhere other than PrairiesCan. Forecasted revenue, receivables, and a promise to raise money later do not count as confirmed funding.
PrairiesCan delivers RAII in the Prairie provinces, including Alberta. It is a two-step intake: a short expression of interest, then a full application only if PrairiesCan invites one. Submitting an expression of interest is not an offer of funding. Phone 1-888-338-9378.
Last checked Oct 26, 2026
Ontario
FedDev Ontario covers southern Ontario, including Toronto. Northern Ontario is FedNor. This page does not restate FedNor’s terms. They are linked from the national RAII page.
Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative — FedDev Ontario
Open$125,000 to $5 million per project. Fully repayable and interest-free. Repayment normally begins one year after the project is finished. FedDev Ontario pays at most 50%; the applicant covers at least 50%.
Apply by November 24, 2026 if the project and its eligible costs start before March 31, 2027. No time of day is given for that date. The final deadline is 4:59 p.m. EST on January 19, 2027 (2:59 p.m. PT).
A mid-size southern Ontario firm, not a typical small venue. Adoption asks for at least three years of operations, shown by financial statements, and at least 5 and fewer than 500 full-time equivalent employees. Commercialization asks for at least one year, at least one full-time equivalent employee in southern Ontario, and fewer than 500 overall. Adoption projects are beyond buying a commonly available AI tool. Priority sectors named for adoption are health, energy, transportation, agriculture, and manufacturing.
For a for-profit business located and operating in southern Ontario, which includes Toronto, or a First Nations, Métis, or Inuit business. Applications opened October 13, 2026. An application is not a commitment of money. Northern Ontario is a different agency. The national RAII page lists it.
Last checked Oct 26, 2026
Québec
Two different offers: the federal regional initiative through CED, and the provincial ESSOR digital streams through Investissement Québec.
Initiative régionale en IA — Développement économique Canada (CED)
OpenSMEs: a repayable contribution of up to 50% of authorized costs. Non-profits: generally a non-repayable contribution of up to 90%.
No deadline is shown. The page invites an application. Costs can be eligible from the date the application is filed.
An established Québec SME ready to adopt AI, or a non-profit that helps SMEs develop, commercialize, or adopt it. The page gives non-profits the higher, generally non-repayable share. It does not set a staff or revenue floor on this page. Priority for adoption projects can follow the national sectors: health, energy, transportation, agriculture, and manufacturing.
CED delivers the regional AI initiative in Québec. The official page is in French. Municipalities, public health and social-service bodies, schools, and school boards are not eligible clients.
Last checked Oct 26, 2026
Investissement Québec — ESSOR, digital streams 1B and 1C
OpenNon-repayable, up to 50% of eligible costs. Stream 1B (digital diagnostic, plan, and system selection, including AI): up to $20,000 for the life of the program. Stream 1C (carrying out that plan): up to $50,000 for the life of the program.
The page says the program ends March 31, 2027. It does not give a time of day. It also says Investissement Québec can suspend applications without notice.
A Québec business with 250 or fewer employees and revenue of at least $2.5 million. For these two digital streams the page says every sector is eligible. Other ESSOR streams on the same page exclude accommodation and food service, and arts, entertainment, and recreation, with narrow exceptions. Read 1B and 1C specifically.
Stream 1C requires a digital plan from stream 1B completed in the last 24 months. The page was marked updated April 1, 2025, and still states the March 31, 2027 end date. Phone 1-844-474-6367. A prequalification form is not an approval.
Last checked Oct 26, 2026
Atlantic
ACOA covers the Atlantic provinces, including Halifax. The current call starts at a $1 million request.
Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative — ACOA
OpenA repayable contribution. The amount requested must be at least $1 million.
Expressions of interest close at 11:59 p.m. ADT on November 20, 2026 (7:59 p.m. PT).
Very low for a small venue. The call is for Atlantic Canadian small and medium-sized businesses, and it will not fund a training-only project, a routine software purchase, a standard ERP install, or a general IT upgrade.
ACOA is taking expressions of interest across Atlantic Canada, including Halifax. Funding is repayable, so the page asks you to show how the project can generate a return. Sectors named as particularly relevant include manufacturing, agriculture, transportation, health, energy, oceans, and clean technology.
Last checked Oct 26, 2026
National
Open to a business in any province when the program’s own rules are met. A regional card above can still be the better fit.
BDC LIFT — Digital transformation and AI
OpenA loan from $25,000 to $2 million. Amortization up to 6 years, including a postponement of capital payments. Capital payments can be postponed for up to 12 months.
No deadline is posted. It is a loan you apply for with BDC, not a call with a close date.
The loan to read for a profitable Canadian business with at least $1 million in revenue. The page says eligibility includes demonstrated profitability, a solid credit history, and a completed BDC Advisory Services digital plan. Hotels are named as an exception, along with a supplier of premises and trucking companies with fewer than 10 vehicles. The technology has to come from qualified Canadian suppliers.
This is a loan, not a grant. The AI for All strategy describes LIFT as a $500 million BDC initiative. BDC’s own page sets the loan range and the rules above. Financing still depends on BDC’s credit decision. A digital plan with BDC Advisory Services is required before the financing application, and that plan is not itself an approval.
Last checked Oct 26, 2026
NRC IRAP — AI Assist
OpenNo amount is published. Support is through an industrial technology advisor.
No deadline is posted. Phone 1-877-994-4727.
Low for a venue that wants to use AI. The page is for Canadian SMEs that are developing generative AI or deep learning into their own products and services.
Existing IRAP clients talk to their advisor. A company that is not yet a client is told to call and ask whether it is eligible. A restaurant, shop, or attraction buying a tool is not the firm this page describes.
Last checked Oct 26, 2026
SR&ED tax incentive
OpenThe CRA updates page says the annual expenditure limit for the enhanced 35% investment tax credit rose from $3 million to $6 million. It also says eligible Canadian public corporations now have access to the enhanced credit.
Claimed with the tax return. The page says corporations have 18 months after the tax year-end to file. A pre-claim approval process launched on April 1, 2026, for businesses that want a determination before they start the work.
Rarely a venue’s path. This is a credit for scientific research and experimental development. Buying an off-the-shelf tool does not, on its own, make a project that kind of work.
The updates page is the source for the limit, the April 1, 2026 pre-claim process, and the 18-month filing window. It does not, on that page, call the enhanced credit refundable. Whether a project qualifies is the CRA’s determination.
Last checked Oct 26, 2026
Key dates
Times are Pacific, the clock this site uses, with the source’s own zone when it differs. A date leaves this list once it has passed. Programs with no deadline are not listed.
- October 30, 2026, 11:59 p.m. PST (12:59 a.m. PT on October 31) — Innovate BC early-stage demonstration call closes.
- November 1, 2026, 11:59 p.m. PT — Destination BC co-op marketing applications are due. Not an AI program.
- November 4, 2026, 12:00 p.m. PT — register for the PacifiCan RAII information session.
- November 5, 2026, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. PT — PacifiCan RAII information session.
- November 5, 2026 — the Department of Finance says Budget 2026 will be tabled. No time of day is given.
- November 20, 2026, 11:59 p.m. ADT (7:59 p.m. PT) — ACOA RAII expressions of interest close.
- November 23, 2026, 12:00 p.m. PT — PacifiCan RAII business intake closes.
- November 24, 2026 — FedDev Ontario: apply by this date if costs start before March 31, 2027. No time of day is given. The final deadline is later.
- January 19, 2027, 4:59 p.m. EST (2:59 p.m. PT) — FedDev Ontario RAII final deadline.
- March 31, 2027 — ESSOR digital streams end, as the Investissement Québec page states it. No time of day is given.
- December 31, 2029 — PrairiesCan stops taking RAII expressions of interest, or sooner if the funding is fully committed.
Words these programs use
- Repayable contribution
- Government money you pay back on the schedule in the agreement. It is not a grant you keep. FedDev Ontario’s RAII page says its contribution is interest-free, and that repayment normally begins one year after the project ends. Other agencies set their own terms. Read the agreement.
- Non-repayable contribution
- Money the program says you do not pay back. CED’s page says support for non-profits is generally non-repayable, up to 90% of authorized costs. ESSOR’s digital streams are non-repayable contributions.
- Matching funds
- The share of the project you, or another funder, pay. FedDev Ontario caps its own share at 50% and asks the applicant for at least 50%. PrairiesCan asks for confirmed funding from sources other than PrairiesCan. On that page, forecasted revenue, receivables, and a promise to raise money later are not confirmed funding.
- Reviewed statements and a compilation
- A compilation is an accountant assembling the numbers you provided. A review is a higher check: the accountant enquires and states a conclusion short of an audit. The PacifiCan overview checked for this guide does not itself require reviewed statements. The applicant guide is the place to confirm the level before you pay an accountant to prepare them.
- FTE
- Full-time equivalent. A program’s way of counting staff. Two half-time people can count as one, but each program sets its own rule. PacifiCan’s adoption stream asks for 5 to 500. FedDev Ontario’s adoption stream asks for at least 5 and fewer than 500. The pages state the range. They do not spell out the counting formula.
Closed or ended
These are the programs people still search for, plus any program above whose deadline has passed. The status is the date, or the program page’s own statement that it is closed.
Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP)
ClosedClosed to new applicants.
People still search for it. It is not a way in.
BDC’s page says CDAP is no longer accepting new applications for the Boost Your Business Technology stream. A business needed a signed grant agreement before February 19, 2024. The same page points current interest to BDC LIFT.
Last checked Oct 26, 2026
PacifiCan Tourism Growth Program
ClosedClosed to new applications.
Often what a B.C. tourism operator still has bookmarked.
The page says applications are no longer being accepted, and that submitted ones are under assessment. It also says all project activities and costs had to be completed by March 31, 2026. It does not give a separate intake-closing clock.
Last checked Oct 26, 2026
AI Compute Access Fund
ClosedClosed.
It was for companies that build AI and need compute, not for a venue adopting a tool.
The page says current status: Closed. The call for applications closed on July 31, 2025. No time zone is stated for that date.
Last checked Oct 26, 2026
Ontario Digital Main Street — Digital Transformation Grant
ClosedThe grant portal is closed.
Main-street businesses in Ontario still land on this page.
The page says the portal closed on December 31 and does not give the year. It says the digital assessment and the online training modules remain available. It does not describe those modules as an AI grant.
Last checked Oct 26, 2026
Alberta Innovates Voucher Program
ClosedClosed.
It was for an Alberta tech company commercializing a new product, not for a venue adopting AI.
Alberta Innovates marks the program inactive and the intake closed. Registration closed at 4:00 p.m. MDT on May 29, 2026 (3:00 p.m. PT). The page says it is replaced by the Venture Development Grant, for Alberta tech companies. That is a different program. This page does not describe its terms.
Last checked Oct 26, 2026
What to watch
Budget 2026
The Department of Finance says Budget 2026 will be tabled on November 5, 2026. The advisory does not list AI or small-business measures. Read the budget when it is published. This page will not guess what is in it.
AI Literacy and Adoption Assessment tool
The AI for All strategy says Canada will support development of an AI Literacy and Adoption Assessment tool, and other online resources, so a business can judge its readiness and find practical uses. The strategy page does not give a launch date or a link to use the tool. It is not something you can open today.