Government Grants for Canadian Tech Companies
Find government funding programs for Canadian technology companies. IRAP, SR&ED, CanExport, and more programs to fuel your innovation and growth.
Major technology programs
The three to six programs we recommend most for technology businesses. Keep reading for the complete technology funding landscape, including every other program covered in the guide below.
Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED)
Any Canadian business performing qualifying R&D activities
Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP)
Canadian SMEs (≤500 employees) pursuing technology-driven innovation
Business Scale-up and Productivity
Incorporated for-profit companies with high-growth profiles. Funds commercialization, market expansion, technology adoption and productivity.
Scale AI
Canadian companies applying AI and machine learning to real business problems. Members co-invest in cluster-led projects.
ICTC Work-Integrated Learning Digital (WIL Digital)
Registered Canadian businesses, not-for-profits and charities that hire a post-secondary student onto payroll (not as a contractor) into a technology or digital immersive role that aligns with the student's program of study. The student must be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or protected person, enrolled full-time or part-time at a Canadian accredited post-secondary institution completing a degree, diploma or accredited certificate program for the duration of the work term. Governments, crown corporations, hospitals, public long-term care facilities, public and private schools, post-secondary institutions, members of the House of Commons and the Senate, organizations engaged in partisan political activities, and financial sector employers with 500 or more employees are excluded. International students do not qualify.
CanExport
Canadian SMEs with $200K to $100M revenue seeking new export markets
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Tech sector: funding at a glance
- Top federal programs: NRC IRAP, SR&ED, CanExport, PrairiesCan Business Scale-up and Productivity, the Strategic Response Fund
- Typical stacked funding: $250K to $1.5M annually for active SaaS / hardware SMEs
- Average federal recovery: 60 to 85% of cash R&D costs when IRAP + SR&ED are stacked correctly
- Hottest stack: IRAP (80% of technical labour) + SR&ED (35% recovery on remainder)
The Canadian tech sector funding landscape
Canadian technology companies (SaaS, hardware, AI, fintech, healthtech, edtech) have access to some of the world's most generous R&D incentives. The combination of NRC IRAP's labour funding and SR&ED's refundable tax credit, both stackable, makes Canada one of the lowest-cost places globally to do funded R&D as a CCPC.
For a typical Canadian tech SME doing $1M of annual cash R&D, well-designed stacking returns 60 to 85% of that cost via government contributions and credits. This is the structural reason many Canadian tech founders bootstrap longer or take less dilutive financing than US counterparts: the public funding stack does substantial work that US founders pay for in equity.
The top 5 programs for Canadian tech companies
1. NRC IRAP
The cornerstone program for tech SMEs. Funds up to 80% of technical staff salaries for innovation projects with technological uncertainty. Software development, AI/ML systems, hardware engineering, novel platform development are all routine IRAP applications. Pairs with an assigned Industrial Technology Advisor (ITA) who provides ongoing strategic advice. Full IRAP guide.
2. SR&ED tax credits
Refundable tax credit on R&D expenditures. 35% for CCPCs on the first $6M of eligible expenditures (per Budget 2025), 15% beyond. The annual stack partner with IRAP: IRAP funds the project upfront, SR&ED recovers 35% of remaining eligible costs at year-end. For most tech CCPCs, this is the single highest-leverage funding activity each fiscal year. SR&ED program page.
3. CanExport SMEs
Up to $50K for international market expansion. For SaaS and tech-product companies entering new geographies (EU, UK, Asia-Pacific, LATAM), CanExport funds market research, trade shows, localization, certification. Stacks with IRAP if product adaptation is required. CanExport page.
4. PrairiesCan Business Scale-up and Productivity
Regional development agency funding for growth-stage companies scaling capacity, adopting technology, or improving productivity, usually structured as interest-free repayable contributions. Useful where a project needs capital rather than the technical labour funding IRAP and SR&ED provide. Prairie companies work with PrairiesCan; other regions have comparable regional development agency programs.
5. Strategic Response Fund (SRF)
In September 2025 the federal government replaced the Strategic Innovation Fund with the Strategic Response Fund, which absorbed its mandate and added support for firms affected by trade disruptions. The minimum contribution is $10M, for projects with at least $20M in total eligible costs, so it is a scale-up and commercialization tool for larger tech companies rather than a startup program.
The canonical tech-company stack
For a typical Canadian incorporated tech CCPC doing R&D:
- NRC IRAP: covers 80% of technical labour during the project
- SR&ED: recovers 35% of remaining eligible R&D at year-end via refundable tax credit
- CanExport: funds market entry once the product is ready for international launch
- Provincial wage subsidy: SWPP, CSJG, Alberta SRTP for new technical hires
- Provincial R&D credit: Alberta IEG (8 to 20%), Ontario OBRITC, BC SR&ED, Quebec R&D (up to 30%)
For Alberta-based tech CCPCs, the SR&ED + Alberta IEG combination delivers blended R&D recovery around 60% on a salary-heavy claim — run your own numbers through the SR&ED calculator. The Top Dish case study documents a 12-program stack producing $532K over 24 months; Bitcoin Well secured $380K through IRAP alone.
Tech use cases that fund well
- Software product development with novel algorithms or technical complexity
- AI and machine learning projects: training, deployment, novel model architectures
- Cloud infrastructure at scale: distributed systems, real-time data pipelines, custom orchestration
- Cybersecurity: novel detection, automated response, threat modeling at scale
- IoT and connected devices: firmware, edge computing, wireless protocols
- Fintech and regtech: payment infrastructure, compliance automation, fraud detection
- Healthtech and biotech: clinical software, diagnostic tools, lab automation
- International SaaS expansion: localization, regional infrastructure, compliance (GDPR, etc.)
What does NOT qualify for typical tech-sector funding
- Pure marketing and sales work (no IRAP or SR&ED eligibility)
- Off-the-shelf software implementation (CRM, accounting, ERP without customization)
- Standard mobile app development without novel technical challenges
- Server hosting and infrastructure operations costs
- Patent litigation (some patent filing costs are eligible)
Where to start
For tech founders new to Canadian grants, the first step is an eligibility assessment to identify which programs your specific company qualifies for. Our Full-Service Grant Management engagement starts with exactly that — a free assessment that returns a ranked portfolio — and for active R&D companies pursuing IRAP + SR&ED + provincial credits, the same engagement designs the multi-year, multi-program plan.
Want us to map this stack for your technology business?
Free eligibility assessment. We identify every federal and provincial program you qualify for, ranked by fit and funding value, with the stacking interactions modelled properly.
Federal and provincial funding
The programs above are federal, available to technology businesses anywhere in Canada. Most provinces and territories also run their own technology funding, and the two stack. Which provincial programs apply depends on where you operate.
Tell us your province and your project and we will map the full federal and provincial stack you qualify for. Book a free call and we will do it on the spot.
Find Technology Grants for Your Business
We match your technology business with every federal and provincial program you qualify for, then write, submit, and manage the applications. Free assessment, no obligation.