Tariff Relief Programs: What Your Grant Consultant Wants You to Know
It’s been more than 18 months since the Granted Team has been having calls with our clients to guide them through available programs that could help their pivot in strategy away from U.S. exports. With the trade relationship between Canada and the United States reaching another challenging milestone of additional tariffs imposed on a range of Canadian products by the U.S. on August 22, 2026, we anticipate more businesses will reach out to us for funding support.
The Carney government’s response has been consistent: pivot away from U.S. dependency and build new trade relationships. That message is backed by real funding, but not equally for everyone. Programs focus on businesses with direct tariff impact: rising input costs, reduced revenues, or supply chain disruption. Companies with only indirect exposure are receiving less priority in adjudication. If your business is impacted, now is the time to act.
For Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises caught in the crossfire, the financial pressure continues to mount, and the government has responded with a growing suite of relief programs.
Here’s what’s available and who can access it.
1. Regional Tariff Response Initiative (RTRI)
The largest tariff relief program announced to date. The RTRI is designed to help small and medium-sized enterprises adapt to changing market conditions and build competitiveness in new markets. It is issuing $3.45 billion over four years, with a recent top-up of an additional $1.5 billion. The program offers both a non-repayable grant stream and a repayable financing stream, with matching contribution requirements depending on which stream you apply under.
Note: The RTRI is administered through Canada’s regional development agencies (RDAs), which means deadlines and application processes vary by region. Most RDAs will verify that you have the financial capacity to meet the matching requirement at the point of application, which has created a barrier for cash-strapped businesses.
The CanExport program helps Canadian businesses access funding to develop export opportunities in foreign markets, and this year, it has explicitly deprioritized the U.S. as a target market. Applications including the U.S. are now limited to specific sectors such as defence. For most businesses, this means funding is now available to support market analysis, IP protection, trade show participation, and lead generation in new international markets beyond the U.S. If your business is looking to diversify its revenue streams offshore, this program is worth exploring, but be sure to act quickly as the deadline is August 31, 2026.
The Business Development Bank of Canada has lowered its eligibility threshold to businesses with at least $1 million in annual revenue in the last fiscal year. Eligible businesses can access loans ranging from $250,000 to $5 million with interest-only payments permitted over the first three years. This is additional liquidity support (not a grant), but it’s structured to reduce the immediate cash flow burden on businesses already feeling the squeeze.
4. Canada Strong Diversification Fund
A $2 billion fund focused on capital maintenance projects, designed to help businesses invest in infrastructure and equipment that supports their ability to diversify and compete. More details pending on the launch of this new fund.
5. Trade Accelerator Program & Export Preparation Support
For businesses earlier in their export journey, there are pre-export preparation programs, including the Trade Accelerator Program and funding through various provincial entities that help you assess which international markets are the best fit for your business. Additional trade missions have also been created to connect businesses with trade commissioners and Global Affairs Canada, providing direct access to Canadian trade relationships as you scale internationally.
For businesses and workers directly affected by tariffs, the government has extended temporary Employment Insurance provisions, including allowing workers who voluntarily left tariff-impacted jobs to still access EI benefits.
What to Expect When You Apply
These programs share a few characteristics worth knowing upfront:
- Prove that you have been impacted; be prepared with necessary documentation to show that costs have increased or revenues have decreased;
- Have quotes available to indicate how you intend to pivot, and be prepared to explain how/why you expect a pivot would be successful;
- Direct impact matters. Programs are prioritizing businesses where tariffs have tangibly raised costs, reduced revenues, or disrupted supply chains. Indirect impact alone may not be enough;
- Matching requirements are real and often require businesses to demonstrate financial capacity to co-invest; it’s frustrating, but they often want to see proof of available funding upon application;
- Timelines vary by region. The RTRI in particular runs through regional agencies, so deadlines differ across BC, Alberta, Ontario, and other provinces.
The Funding Application Reality
These programs will only get more and more competitive. You could do it on your own, but as grants and loans change, depending on the size of your business, it might be valuable to track relevant programs with reliable grant platforms and/or a fractional grant team; both of which are available service options at Granted.
Want to learn more?
Navigating this landscape is complex, and the programs are evolving quickly. We’re hosting a live webinar on September 17 to walk through a program assessment process in detail which programs to prioritize, what to prepare, and the best approach based on your business situation.
If you want to understand which of these programs your business may qualify for before then, try our grant calculator or book a consultation with our team.
These are difficult times for Canadian SMEs. The funding exists; let’s make sure it reaches the businesses that need it.
Join our free webinar to learn more about the government support available to tariff-impacted businesses and how you can access it.
