Grants for Small Business Guidebook
How much grant funding can I get in Canada? 

Summary: 

• Funding amount varies depending on the grant type, and is either a set amount or a percentage of the project costs. 
• Grants may have funding limits that stipulate the maximum amount of funding you can get in one fiscal year. 
• You can leverage, or stack, multiple grants to maximize your government support and grow your business. 

The amount of funding you can get depends on the type of grant you’re applying for, and the specific program mandates. Each program will make this information very clear, and can usually be found on the first page of the website. 

Although funding amounts can vary between programs, the ratios are consistent between program types. Let’s take a look at the most common ones: hiring, training, and market expansion. 

• Hiring: For hiring grants, the funding is based on wages. Typically, they will cover 20-80% of the employee’s wages for a specified time frame. This range accounts for the type of role you’re hiring for. Entry-level positions will be on the lower end, while more technical roles will be on the higher side. 
• Training: Each training grant program will offer a range of coverage depending on the type of training you’re doing. This varies between 60-100% of training costs. That’s right – some programs will cover 100% of the costs to train your staff!
• Market Expansion: This is where the greatest variation lies because some market expansion programs offer up to $50,000 in finding, while others can be in the hundreds of thousands. Typically, these programs will cover 50-75% of project expenses up to a specified amount. 

Individual programs may have funding caps. This means that in one fiscal year, there may be a maximum amount of grant funding available to your business from one program. But not to worry! This is where grant planning and strategy come into play. By planning ahead, you could leverage a mix of grant types to maximize the government funding you could get for your small business. 

You can also leverage multiple grants for one initiative or project. This is called stacking and is subject to specific conditions. Some programs allow for it while others don’t, so be on the lookout for stacking eligibility in the applicant guide. 
To find out how much grant funding you could qualify for, head over to our grant calculator!