Canadian small-business funding, in numbers
As of October 18, 2026, 234 verified funding programs are open to Canadian small businesses: 115 grants and rebates, 103 loans and financing programs, 7 tax credits and 9 other supports, from 29 Canada-wide programs (including those open only to specific owner groups) down to 57 open city-level programs in 53 municipalities. The median grant caps at $20,000, 30% cap at $10,000 or less, and 76% of open grants are cost-shares you fund part of. Every figure on this page is computed from our verified program data, each one taken from the government page that runs it.
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Headline numbers
The Canadian funding landscape right now
Latest verification October 18, 2026.
- 290
- verified programs tracked
- 234
- open to applications now
- 115
- grants & rebates open
- 103
- loans & financing open
- $20,000
- median stated grant cap
- 76%
- of open grants are cost-shares
- 57 in 53
- city programs · municipalities
- 56
- closed programs monitored
By province
Programs available per province and territory
Counts include Canada-wide programs plus each province's own programs.
| Province / territory | Open now | Tracked |
|---|---|---|
| Alberta | 39 | 46 |
| British Columbia | 50 | 58 |
| Manitoba | 45 | 49 |
| New Brunswick | 46 | 49 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 46 | 49 |
| Northwest Territories | 36 | 39 |
| Nova Scotia | 44 | 48 |
| Nunavut | 37 | 39 |
| Ontario | 91 | 118 |
| Prince Edward Island | 53 | 58 |
| Quebec | 58 | 64 |
| Saskatchewan | 39 | 44 |
| Yukon | 34 | 37 |
What the funding pays for
Where the money goes, by category
Across the 234 open programs, how many fund each kind of project. A program can fund more than one, so these overlap.
The city-level layer
57 municipal programs across 53 Canadian cities
City storefront, facade and signage grants are the hardest layer to track: small, scattered across individual municipalities, and often changed without notice. Each is verified with the municipality's own source and re-checked on a schedule.
| Province / territory | Open municipal programs |
|---|---|
| Ontario | 35 |
| British Columbia | 7 |
| Alberta | 5 |
| Quebec | 5 |
| Manitoba | 1 |
| New Brunswick | 1 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 1 |
| Prince Edward Island | 1 |
| Saskatchewan | 1 |
What a grant is actually worth
Advertised caps versus the middle of the range
The advertised cap is the ceiling, not the typical grant. Across the open grants that state a dollar cap, most sit well below the headline number. The figures below show how the caps are spread.
- $20,000
- median stated grant cap
- $5,000,000
- largest stated cap
- 30%
- of grant caps are $10,000 or less
- 76%
- of open grants are cost-shares
The median Canadian small-business grant on this list caps at $20,000, and 30% cap at $10,000 or less. Most of these grants are cost-shares, so the money reimburses part of a project you fund first. The big ceilings exist, but they are the exception, not the norm.
Use these numbers
How to cite this data
Everything on this page, and the CSV/JSON downloads, are published under CC BY 4.0: use them anywhere, including commercially, with credit.
Source: BBN Labs, Canadian Small-Business Funding Statistics, October 18, 2026. bbnlabs.ca/funding/statistics
The numbers update every time we re-check programs, so quote the "as of" date with any figure. The per-program pages behind these numbers, including our plain-English guidance, are not part of the open dataset.
Frequently asked questions
How many small-business funding programs are there in Canada?
As of October 18, 2026, BBN Labs tracks 290 verified funding programs for Canadian small businesses, of which 234 are open to applications: 115 grants and rebates, 103 loans and financing programs, 7 tax credits and 9 other supports, from federal programs down to 57 open city-level programs in 53 municipalities.
How big is a typical Canadian small-business grant?
Across the open grant programs that state a dollar cap, the median is $20,000. 76% of open grants are cost-shares: they reimburse a percentage of eligible costs up to a cap, and the business pays the rest.
How current are these numbers?
Every one of the 290 programs we track comes from the government page that runs it, and we go back regularly to see what has changed. The newest check is October 18, 2026. Programs close, reopen and change through the year, so we also keep 56 closed programs on the site and watch them for reopening.
Can I use these numbers?
Yes. The statistics on this page and the downloadable dataset are free to reuse for any purpose, including commercial, under CC BY 4.0: credit "BBN Labs (bbnlabs.ca)" and link to this page. The per-program guidance on our site is not part of the open dataset.