Word on the street is the Canadian government is focusing their grant opportunities on environmental impact, artificial intelligence, and housing-themed business efforts in 2024. Luckily, a good chunk of the budget is allocated for business-themed research, innovation, and development.
At the end of this resource, we will input a link to a list of grants. But before we get ahead, let’s help the newbies. Many entrepreneurs are confused about how grants work, how to find them, and the application process.
So, let’s thrash it! (PS, you can skip to other sections if you already know this).
How Do Canadian Grants Work?
Government grants fall into three categories. There are local grants, and provincial and federal government grants. There are over 500 grant opportunities, and I know the foundation helps you narrow your search.
A government grant, whether local or provincial, can be any of these three types:
| Government Grants | Usually free (non-repayable). |
| Government Loans | Repayable, but interests are better than bank loans. |
| Tax Breaks/Credits | Only payable during tax payment. You get reimbursed for specific expenses the program offers. |
Non-Repayable Canadian Government Grants
Depending on the program you seek funding from, some grants are totally free. Others could be one-time & renewable grants or partial contributions. One-time grants mean the government provides funding only once; renewable grants mean the government provides repeated funding over a period of time.
How about partial contributions? The government only foots a part of the bill while the business foots the cost for the other aspects of the funding. As the name implies, it is a partial contribution to the business.
Government Loans
Government grants in the form of loans could either be no-interest, low-interest, guaranteed, or conditionally repayable loans. What’s the difference between these four types of grants?
| No-Interest Loans | These loans are interest-free but repayable. It is very competitive. |
| Low-Interest Loans | These loans feature better terms and interest rates than you can get from commercial banks. |
| Guaranteed Loans | The government is a guarantor, offering to pay a certain percentage of the loan in the most unlikely event. |
| Conditionally Repayable Loans | These grants allow you to negotiate the terms for loan repayment. |
Tax Breaks/Credits
As we mentioned earlier, these loans allow you to get a reimbursement for previous expenses during tax payments. A typical small business can get up to $5000 in reimbursement for expenses like staff training, hiring costs, etc.
Finding Canadian Government Grants for 2024
The government has an official site that categorizes all their available grant programs into specific categories. These categories include:
Agriculture, arts, culture and sport, business, environment, for Indigenous peoples, gender equality, health, international development, jobs or apprenticeship training, leave from work, caregiving, pensions, research, and student aid.
After selecting your desired category, click continue, and the available government grants will pop up. You can find the cost, eligibility criteria, and process for each program listed.
Finding other grant non-government opportunities
There are several businesses dedicated to helping businesses find grants in Canada. There are people like David Kincade, Stephanie Wang of Granted Consulting, Mentor Works, Grant Watch, IMBA Canada, etc.
Goodluck with your Grant Hunt!
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Written by BIPOC Foundation
This blog is an Initiative of BIPOC Foundation and is aimed at helping BIPOC (black, indigenous and people of colour) founders get all the support they need to scale their business in Canada. BIPOC Foundation has resourceful programs like the BFH Accelerator Program, LIFT, The Table, Mentorship, and the Learning Series Program. You can find more details about the programs here.
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