Grants & Loans for Businesses
To help businesses stay on top of what supports they are currently eligible for, the government has launched the interactive business benefits finder to help you discover federal and provincial programs and services designed to help Canadian businesses weather the storm. You can also sign up for the notification feature to receive emails when there are changes to your favourite programs, when application deadlines are approaching, or when a new program that meets your needs is introduced.
Some grants and loans that may be especially applicable to our members can be found below.
WAGE SUBSIDY PROGRAMS
Digital Skills for Youth Grant
Funding of up to 30k in wage subsidies to hire underemployed youth (ages 15-30) for internships that strengthen their digital skills. The program will match 50% of wages and employment-related costs.
British Columbia Youth Wage Subsidy
Receive a negotiated wage subsidy through the British-Columbia Workforce Development Agreement when you hire an eligible youth, aged 17-29 for a position for more than three months.
Funding of up to $10,000/employee per year to cover 80% of the cost towards skills training programs for your employees. Employers can receive a maximum of $300,000 in total per fiscal year ( April 1st - March 31st ).
Support to Hire Workers Aged 55+
Grants of up to $2,800 in wage subsidies to hire an employee aged 55+.
GRANTS
Canada Digital Adoption Program
Eligible businesses will receive a micro-grant of up to $2,400 to help with costs related to adopting e-commerce, with support provided from a network of E-commerce Advisors.
The Workplace Accessibility Grant provides direct supports to small business employers in British Columbia by providing direct financial assistance towards creating an accessible work environment for persons with a disability(ies).
Reimbursement grants of up to $2,500 are available for eligible businesses that demonstrate how their project improves accessibility for persons with disabilities in the workplace
Financial Support for Indigenous Entrepreneurs
The Aboriginal Entrepreneurship Program provides access to capital and business opportunities to Indigenous entrepreneurs and business owners in Canada. Get a non-repayable contribution of up to $99,999 for business planning, acquisitions, expansion, domestic or export marketing, new product or process development, introducing new technologies and more.
Funding for Indigenous Tourism Businesses in British Columbia
If you’re working on a project to enhance tourism experiences in your region or helping the community attract more visitors, you could get a maximum $100,000 non-repayable contribution for up to 50% of your project’s costs or a maximum $500,000 repayable contribution for up to 75% of the costs. If you’re also a non-profit, the contribution is most likely non-repayable.
The Tourism Relief Fund, administered by Canada’s regional development agencies and Innovation Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), helps tourism businesses and organizations adapt their operations to meet public health requirements while investing in products and services to facilitate their future growth.
Contributions to businesses will be either:
non-repayable contributions up to $100,000 for up to 50% of eligible costs or
fully repayable contributions up to $500,000 for up to 75% of eligible costs
LOANS
The Canada Small Business Financing Program makes it easier for small businesses to get loans from financial institutions by sharing the risk with lenders. The maximum loan amount for a borrower is $1.15 million.
• Up to a maximum of $1,000,000 for term loans for any one borrower, of which no more than $500,000 can be used for purchasing leasehold improvements or improving leased property and purchasing or improving new or used equipment and of that amount, a maximum of $150,000 could be used for intangible assets and working capital costs.
• Up to a maximum of $150,000 for lines of credit.
Financial institutions deliver the program and are solely responsible for approving the loan. For more information download their PDF pamphlet or click here to find a lender near you.