Top 5 Government Grants in Canada for Startups

As a startup, it can be difficult to get your business off the ground. There are a lot of costs associated with starting a business, including renting office or commercial space, hiring employees, and marketing your products or services. Fortunately, the Canadian government offers a number of grants and funding programs to help startups get their businesses up and running.

Below are five of the most popular government grants for startups in Canada.

The Canadian government offers a number of grants and funding programs to help startups get their businesses up and running. These programs are available at the federal, provincial, and municipal level, and can provide much-needed financial assistance to help your business grow and succeed. Whether you’re looking for seed funding to get your business off the ground, or funding to help expand your operations, there’s likely a government grant that can help you out.

1. The Small Business Loans program provides interest-free loans of up to $30,000 to small businesses in Canada. To be eligible, businesses must have 500 employees or less. The loans can be used for a variety of purposes, including start-up costs, working capital, equipment purchases, and more.

2. The Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Tax Credit program offers tax credits of up to 35% of eligible expenditures to businesses that engage in scientific research and development activities in Canada. The program is open to businesses of all sizes, including startups.

3. The Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program (CICP) provides funding of up to $5 million to support the commercialization of innovative new products, processes, or services developed by small and medium-sized enterprises in Canada. To be eligible, businesses must have under 500 employees.

4. The National Research Council Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) offers funding and support services to small and medium-sized businesses across Canada that are engaged in research and development activities. Support services include everything from technical advice and market analysis to mentoring and networking opportunities.

5. The Strategic Aerospace and Defence Initiative (SADI) is a federal government program that provides repayable contributions of up to $800 million per year to companies engaged in aerospace-related research & development activities in Canada. To be eligible, applicants must be part of the aerospace or defence industries (including Space technologies), have 500 employees or less per project site submitted, and more than 50% Canadian ownership per site submitted as part of their application.. However successful applicants often have over this requirement as they partner with other similar companies.

Remember that these 5 options are only a few out of the many available across the country. To see all funding options available via the local, provincial and federal governments of Canada, it is a good idea to use tools such as the Funding Database.

The Funding Database lists out all 1,500 govenrment funding options, including government grants, government loans, tax breaks and credits that small business owners across Canada can apply for.

Before you start applying to any government program, however, be sure that you have a solid business plan on your hands. Work with an expert if you must – or use the Business Plan Builder Tool to develop a business plan that is up to part with what the funding agencies want to see.

As mentioned, there are a number of government grants available to startups in Canada that can help offset some of the costs associated with starting a business. By taking advantage of these programs, you can help give your startup the best possible chance at success.. Do some research to see if your business is eligible for any of these programs—it could make all the difference for your bottom line!