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Canadian Business Funding Opportunities

Research and development are vital components in helping all industry sectors to remain competitive in their respective market. Benefits of R&D ventures includes increasing productivity, decreasing marginal costs, or creating a new product or service that can be commercialized. However, R&D ventures are often costly and require businesses to look for additional funding to cover the cost of these projects. In today’s blog post, we have compiled a list of R&D funding opportunities that are available in Canada for businesses. We have segmented the funding into three categories: hiring grants, innovation grants, and business grants.

Find your own business carrying out the above services? Or not sure whether you are carrying out a SR&ED qualified project? Reach out to our team (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) today! We can help you identify SR&ED related projects and our team of experienced technical writers can help you secure the funding you need to take your business to the next level. We will accompany every step of the way during the application procedure to ensure the most optimal outcome.

Hiring Grants

Grant  Application  Eligibility & Funding Details
National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) - Youth Employment Program
  • Deadline: Rolling Basis
  • Contact 1-877-994-4727 to start your application today
  • Additional details can be found here
  • Incorporated, for-profit SMEs hiring a student or recent graduate
  • $3-K over the course of 6-12 months
MITACs Accelerate
  • Deadline: Rolling Basis
  • Contact your region-specific MITACs office here to get started!
  • Additional details can be found here
  • For-profit corporations in Canada hiring a graduate student from a partner organization
  • Business must contribute $7.5K for a 4-6 month term to receive a $15K research top-up
MITACs – AI Incorporation
  • Deadline: Rolling Basis
  • Additional details can be found here

 

  • SMEs looking to incorporate AI into their company can be matched with a graduate student or post-doctoral fellow through MITACs
  • Business must contribute $3K to receive a $6K stipend for the course of 8-weeks
Student Work Placement Program - Information Technology Association of Canada
  • Deadline: Rolling Basis
  • Additional details and application can be found here

 

  • Canadian businesses or non-profits in the tech sector looking to hire a STEM or business-oriented post-secondary student
  • Maximum $7,500 hiring stipend rewarded to organization for a 16-week hiring term (full-time or part-time)
Student Work Placement Program - Biotech Canada
  • Deadline: Rolling Basis
  • Additional details and application can be found here
  • Canadian businesses or non-profits in the biotech/healthcare sector looking to hire a STEM post-secondary student
  • Maximum $7.5K hiring stipend rewarded to organization for a 16-week hiring term (full-time or part-time)

 Innovation Grants 

Grant  Application  Eligibility & Funding Details
Voucher for Innovation (VIP)
  • Deadline: Rolling Basis 
  • Application details and application can be found here
  • Applicants of VIP will also be connected for VIP-NSERC and VIP-MITACs
  • R&D project is a partnership between industry and publicly funded universities, colleges or research institutes
  • Industry partner must be a for-profit, incorporated business active for 2 years with its operations in Ontario
  • Between $20K to $150K in funding will be provided to the partner research institution
  • Project duration is between 6-24 months
NSERC Engage
  • Deadline: Rolling Basis
  • Application guidelines and forms can be found here
  • R&D project is a partnership between industry and Canadian college
  • Industry partner must be operating from a Canadian base
  • Project should last up to 6 months and the partner institution will receive up to $25K in funding

 

NSERC Engage Plus
  • Deadline: Rolling Basis
  • Application guidelines and forms can be found here
  • Supplemental grant for an active NSERC Engage grant approaching the end of its term
  • $12.5K in funding will be paid to the college 
NSERC Alliance
  • Deadline: Rolling Basis
  • Application guidelines and forms can be found here
  • Collaborative R&D grant, in the natural sciences and engineering space, for university researchers with a private, public, or not-for-profit partner(s)
  • Option 1: Coverage by NSERC ranges between 50%-66.7% for a total of $20K to $1 million per year for up to 5 years
  • Option 2: Coverage by NSERC can be up to 100% for a total of $30K to $100K per year for up to 5 years
Scale AI
  • Deadline: Rolling Basis
  • Application guidelines can be found here
  • Project is focussed on the commercialization and adoption of AI for supply chains
  • Lead applicant must be a supply chain operator, solutions provider, or AI/digital tech provider
  • Lead applicant must partner with an SME – additional partners are welcomed
  • Must be a member of Scale AI
  • Up to 85% of costs can be re-imbursed with no upper or lower limit
Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen) – Pilot Project
  • Deadline: March 10th, 2021 at 5PM for assessment
  • Application guidelines and details can be found here
  • Industry-led, collaborative project demonstrating development or application of advanced manufacturing technology or process
  • Lead applicant must be registered to NGen as an organizational member, membership is free
  • Project must be a collaboration between at least two SMEs 
  • Project must be valued between $100K to $500K in which NGen will provide up to 50% re-imbursement
Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen) – Project Application
  • Deadline: March 24th, 2021 at 5PM for assessment
  • Application guidelines and details can be found here
  • Industry-led, collaborative project demonstrating development or application of advanced manufacturing technology or process
  • Lead applicant must be registered to NGen as an organizational member, membership is free
  • Project must be a collaboration of at least 3 partners with a minimum of 2 SMEs involved 
  • Project must be valued between $500K to $2 million in which NGen will provide up to 44.4% re-imbursement
Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen) – Feasibility Study 
  • Deadline: March 10th, 2021 at 5PM for assessment 
  • Application guidelines and details can be found here
  • Industry-led, collaborative project demonstrating development or application of advanced manufacturing technology or process
  • Lead applicant must be registered to NGen as an organizational member, membership is free
  • Project must be a collaboration of at least 1 SME and a partner organization
  • Project must be valued between $50K to $200K in which NGen will provide up to 50% re-imbursement
Proteins Industries Canada – Technology Fund
  • Deadline: Rolling Basis
  • Review application guidelines and details here
  • Call 1 (306) 949-0049 to get started on your application
  • Projects must be collaborative and contribute to advancing the processing of plant protein
  • Applicants must consist of at least 2 PIC members and one of which is an  SME
  • Minimum of two collaborative partners are required to be eligible but more are encouraged
  • PIC will provide up to 50% re-imbursement with no upper limit claim 
Smart Computing for Innovation (SOSCIP)
  • Deadline: March 31st, 2021 
  • Review application guidelines and details here
  • Call 1 (306) 949-0049 to get started on your application 
  • Project must advance CleanTech innovation with AI and digital technologies
  • Successful applicants will receive access to SOSCIP resources and funding through MITACs with a minimum cash contribution of $7,500 from industry partners

 

Business Grants

Grant  Application  Eligibility & Funding Details
Maple Leaf Angels
  • Deadline: Rolling Basis
  • Application and details can be found here
  • Fund is currently looking for high-potential seed-stage technology company to invest in
  • Two or more co-founders required for application
  • Project valued at $3 million CAD
  • Up to $150K will be invested per company with up to $200K reserved for follow-on 
MaRS IAF
  • Deadline: Rolling Basis
  • Application can be found here
  • Fund is targeted for early-stage companies that are close to the commercialization stage
  • Sectors applicable for the fund operate in the IT, health, and CleanTech sectors
  • Investment occurs at the seed-stage with up to $500K in funding provided to the company
Market Readiness (MR125)
  • Deadline: Rolling Basis
  • To start application, applicants must submit an expression of interest here
  • Fund is targeted for early-stage companies raising seed or pre-seed stage investments
  • Applicable for all sectors including IT, robotics, AI, health technologies, CleanTech, and advanced manufacturing
  • Companies must have raised less than $1 million in third party capital and have been incorporated in Canada for less than 5 years
  • Companies must currently or previously be affiliated with a university, college, or research hospital campus linked accelerator or incubator, in Ontario
  • Fund is valued at $125K 
Market Readiness (MR250)
  • Deadline: Rolling Basis
  • To start application, applicants must submit an expression of interest here
  • Fund is targeted for early-stage companies needing extra capital from what has been raised for their seed or pre-seed stage investments
  • Applicable for all sectors including IT, robotics, AI, health technologies, CleanTech, and advanced manufacturing
  • Companies must have raised less than $1 million in third party capital and have been incorporated in Canada for less than 5 years
  • Companies must currently or previously be affiliated with a university, college, or research hospital campus linked accelerator or incubator, in Ontario
  • Fund is valued at $250K
Next36
  • Applications will open up August 2021
  • To receive updates on when applications open, sign up here
  • Entrepreneurial undergraduates and recent graduates will be selected for this fund
  • Up to $50K in seed fund will be given to the company
Next AI
  • Applications will open up October 2021
  • Application details can be found here
  • Fund is directed towards artificial intelligence-based ventures and technology commercialization
  • Must have at least 2 members on team: CEO and CTO
  • Up to $125K in venture funding provided in
Amplify Capital
  • Deadline: Rolling Basis
  • Application can be found here 
  • Fund is focussed on health, CleanTech, and next generation education innovation
  • Fund is given to companies that display potential for financial and social returns
  • Investments range from $500K-$750K in seed stage and Series A

 At Felix SR&ED, we are dedicated to helping you elevate your business. Feel free to reach out to us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you require assistance in any of the above applications.