AI Funding for Canadian Small Businesses: What Is Open (October 2026)

Last checked: October 9, 2026. Programs change. We update this guide monthly and date every claim.

If you run a small or mid sized business in Canada and you have searched for AI grants or government funding for AI adoption, you have almost certainly been pointed to a program that no longer exists. This guide is the corrected map: what is closed, what is open today, what is between intakes, and what to do if, like most small businesses, you qualify for less than the headlines suggest.

The short version for October 2026. Four doors are open right now: NRC IRAP (call first), BDC LIFT (financing, $1 million revenue minimum), Mitacs AI Advantage (co funded placements, newly backed by $162 million on September 25), and the Regional AI Initiative in the Prairies and Quebec. Three doors are closed: CDAP, the AI Compute Access Fund, and the Ontario and BC streams of the Regional AI Initiative. Details and sources below.

The program everyone still recommends, CDAP, is closed

The Canada Digital Adoption Program's $15,000 Boost Your Business Technology grant closed to new applications in early 2024 after being fully subscribed, and it has not reopened. BDC's own CDAP page now says the program "is no longer accepting new applications" and points readers to LIFT instead. Articles, advisors, and AI assistants still recommend it. If a guide leads with CDAP, it is out of date, and so is everything else it tells you.

What happened next: in June 2026 the federal government published its national AI strategy, and the money for businesses now flows through different doors. Here are the ones that are open.

Open right now (checked October 9, 2026)

NRC IRAP, the one to call first. The Industrial Research Assistance Program is open on a continuous basis and starts with a phone call (1-877-994-4727), not a form. You are assigned an Industrial Technology Advisor who works through eligibility and scope with you. Eligibility in IRAP's own words: an incorporated, profit oriented small or medium sized business in Canada with 500 or fewer full time equivalent employees. IRAP also runs an AI Assist stream for SMEs building generative AI and deep learning products; the page has not been updated since October 2024 and publishes no amounts, so ask the advisor what is current. If your AI project involves real technical development or integration, this is the first conversation to have.

BDC LIFT, open since April 24, 2026, with two catches. LIFT finances AI adoption with loans from $25,000 to $5 million, paired with a BDC AI advisor, from a $500 million envelope. The two things most write ups skip: it is financing, not a grant, so the money is repaid; and the digital and AI track requires at least $1 million in annual revenue, which excludes many small businesses. BDC's page also offers preferential rates and terms when technology solutions are sourced from Canadian suppliers or integrators. Press reports at launch cited a 2.25 percent rate; that figure is not on BDC's site, so confirm it with your BDC contact.

Mitacs AI Advantage, the newest door. Mitacs runs two non competitive streams, ADOPT (AI readiness to implementation, aimed at SMEs) and AI+X (applied AI research), that stay open for up to five years with a six to eight week review. The model is a co funded work placement: a student or postdoc works inside your business on your AI project, with Mitacs covering part of the cost. On September 25, 2026 the federal government committed up to $162 million over five years for 10,000 of these placements. Minister Solomon called it "an adoption program," not just an employment program. For a small business that cannot afford an AI hire, this is the most accessible open program in the country.

Scale AI Acceleration Program. Up to $50,000 in reimbursed eligible costs per AI startup or SME, paid through Scale AI certified accelerators rather than by direct application. Scale AI's page says plainly that it "does not directly fund individual AI startups or SMEs." Relevant if you are building an AI product and are in an accelerator; less so if you are adopting AI into an ordinary business.

SR&ED tax credits, the evergreen one. If your AI work involves experimentation and technical uncertainty rather than buying a subscription, Canada's Scientific Research and Experimental Development credits remain among the most generous in the world. Talk to your accountant before, not after, the project.

The Regional AI Initiative: open in two regions, closed in two

The June 2026 strategy added $500 million to the Regional AI Initiative, delivered through the regional development agencies. The doors are not open evenly.

• PrairiesCan (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba): open. Applications accepted continuously until December 31, 2028 or until funds are committed. Contributions of $250,000 to $5 million per project over up to three years; businesses get interest free repayable contributions of up to 50 percent of eligible costs. You need to be incorporated, operating for at least two years, with staffed facilities in the Prairies. Two stage process starting with an expression of interest.
• CED (Quebec): open. An ongoing program accepting applications until March 31, 2031. SMEs get interest free repayable contributions of up to 50 percent of authorized costs. Two pillars, and one of them is explicitly adoption and integration for "SMEs that are ready to adopt AI technologies."
• FedDev Ontario: closed. Both pillars took applications from October 22 to December 20, 2024, and no new intake has been announced. The adoption pillar page is titled "Closed."
• PacifiCan (BC): closed. The page says "Not currently accepting applications."
• ACOA (Atlantic): no intake status published. ACOA announced $8.5 million for 40 AI projects on March 3, 2026 and says it is delivering $15.7 million under the initiative, but its program page says further details will be posted. Ask your ACOA officer.
• CanNor (territories): accepting, no dates. $4.1 million allocated; invites applications.

Closed or between intakes

AI Compute Access Fund. Not accepting applications. The last call closed July 31, 2025. The $66 million awarded to 44 SMEs in May 2026 came from that call, and the minister described the fund as oversubscribed. The June strategy promises an additional $700 million in sovereign compute for SMEs, but no program page or intake exists yet.

Innovate BC Ignite. Closed, with no next intake announced. It was a commercialization program for natural resources and applied sciences with an academic partner requirement, not a general AI adoption program.

For all of these, the practical move is the same: have a documented AI roadmap ready so you can apply the week an intake opens, instead of starting from zero.

What to do if you qualify for none of it

Here is the part most funding guides omit: if your business is under $1 million in revenue, outside the Prairies and Quebec, and your AI project is adoption rather than R&D, today's open programs offer you two real options, IRAP if the work is technical and Mitacs if you can host a placement. That is most Canadian small businesses. Two implications:

First, the project math has to work without a grant. Any AI investment worth making should recover its cost from your own operations, in fewer hours on quoting, intake, scheduling, and paperwork, the work AI automation exists to absorb, on a timeline you can verify. If it only makes sense with subsidy, it does not make sense.

Second, when a program does open, and several will over the coming year, the businesses that win are the ones holding a documented, quantified AI roadmap. That document is what an AI opportunity audit produces: where AI pays in your operation, what it costs, what it returns, in numbers you can hand to an advisor or an application form. Here is a worked example of what an audit produces. Manufacturers should also read our guide to IRAP funding for manufacturers.

(Disclosure: we are Nahl Technologies, a US based AI consulting firm that works with Canadian businesses remotely. The audit above is our product and its price is published. The funding facts above are true either way, and we have dated and sourced every one so you can check.)

Frequently asked questions

Is CDAP still available in 2026?

No. The Boost Your Business Technology grant closed to new applications in early 2024 after being fully subscribed and has not reopened. BDC's CDAP page now redirects readers to LIFT.

What replaced CDAP for small businesses?

No single program. The closest current paths are NRC IRAP (advisor led, open now), BDC LIFT (financing for businesses over $1 million revenue, open since April 2026), Mitacs AI Advantage (co funded placements, open), and the Regional AI Initiative where your regional agency has an open intake (Prairies and Quebec as of October 2026).

Is BDC LIFT a grant?

No. LIFT is a loan paired with advisory support, and the money is repaid. It carries a $1 million revenue threshold on the AI track and offers better terms when the technology comes from Canadian suppliers.

What is Mitacs AI Advantage and does a small business qualify?

Two streams, ADOPT and AI+X, that place a co funded student or postdoc inside your business to work on an AI project. ADOPT is aimed at SMEs. The federal government committed $162 million over five years on September 25, 2026 for 10,000 placements. You must be able to co fund your share and host the placement.

Can funding cover work with a non Canadian consultant or vendor?

It depends on the program. LIFT offers preferential terms for Canadian suppliers. IRAP funds your project costs under an advisor approved scope. Regional AI Initiative contributions fund eligible project costs you incur. If cross border work matters to your plan, raise it with the program advisor before committing.

What is the single best first step?

Call IRAP (1-877-994-4727) if your project has technical depth, look at Mitacs ADOPT if you could host a placement, and get your AI roadmap documented either way. Every program that opens will ask for it.

Sources

• BDC, Canada Digital Adoption Program page (no longer accepting applications), checked October 9, 2026.
• NRC, Financial support for technology innovation through NRC IRAP, and NRC IRAP support for SMEs innovating with artificial intelligence.
• BDC, LIFT program page, and BDC news release, April 24, 2026.
• Mitacs, AI Advantage program page, and Mitacs news, Government of Canada invests in 10,000 AI related work placements, September 25, 2026.
• Scale AI, Acceleration program page.
• ISED, Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative hub; PrairiesCan, CED, FedDev Ontario, PacifiCan, ACOA, and CanNor program pages, checked October 9, 2026.
• ACOA news release, March 3, 2026, $8.5 million for 40 AI projects.
• ISED, AI Compute Access Fund page (not currently accepting applications).
• ISED, Canada's national artificial intelligence strategy, AI for All, June 2026.
• Innovate BC, Ignite program page.