Government Support for AI Adoption in Canada: Programs, Eligibility and Status (November 2026)

Federal support for businesses adopting AI is now framed by Canada's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy: AI for All, published by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED). The strategy names several channels for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): the regional development agencies, the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), the SR&ED tax credit and compute support.

This guide covers each program relevant to a business adopting or building AI: what its official page says it supports, who can apply and its current status. For adoption data and project costs, see HCC's sourced AI adoption statistics for Canada and the guide to AI implementation cost in Canada.

The Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative (RAII) is delivered by Canada's regional development agencies. FedDev Ontario's RAII page for southern Ontario describes three goals: helping businesses and organizations adopt and integrate AI, helping Canadian AI companies bring products to market and scale, and strengthening the organizations and networks that support both.

According to FedDev Ontario, an additional $500 million over five years is available through the expanded RAII, bringing total federal funding for the initiative to $700 million. In its October 13, 2026 news release announcing the expansion, FedDev Ontario said the initiative is part of AI for All, Canada's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, announced in June 2026.

Status as of November 2026: open in southern Ontario. FedDev Ontario's page shows the intake period as open and states that applications are being accepted from October 13, 2026, to January 19, 2027, 4:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. FedDev Ontario also tells applicants to apply by November 24, 2026, if their proposed project and eligible costs start before March 31, 2027.

FedDev Ontario's eligibility page for businesses says the AI Adoption stream supports established businesses adopting and integrating AI technologies into their operations. For that stream, FedDev Ontario requires at least 3 years of business operations and a minimum of 5 full-time equivalent employees and fewer than 500 full-time equivalent employees overall. FedDev Ontario's AI Commercialization and Scale-Up stream requires at least 1 year of business operations, a minimum of 1 full-time equivalent employee in southern Ontario and fewer than 500 overall.

For both streams, FedDev Ontario lists funding of $125K to $5M as a repayable contribution with a cost share of up to 50%. FedDev Ontario says the adoption stream supports projects focused on the purchase and installation of AI or AI-driven solutions (beyond the purchase of commonly available AI tools) in priority sectors, so a project needs to go further than buying a widely available AI product. FedDev Ontario also says applicants must demonstrate a commitment to the responsible development and use of AI, including appropriate approaches to cybersecurity, human oversight and accountability.

Outside southern Ontario, ISED lists the other delivering agencies: the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, FedNor for Northern Ontario, Prairies Economic Development Canada and Pacific Economic Development Canada. ISED notes that dates for the opening of application intake may vary, so check your own agency's page for its intake.

ISED's AI for All strategy says Canada will use the LIFT program, which it describes as a $500 million initiative from BDC. On its LIFT page, BDC says LIFT combines consulting and financing to help you assess readiness, plan your project, and invest in Canadian technology.

BDC says its Digital transformation and AI stream is for Canadian-based businesses with at least $1M in revenue, that all industries are eligible with some exceptions, and that a BDC Advisory Services plan is required. BDC says its Productivity and digitally enabled equipment stream is for Canadian-based businesses with at least $5M in revenue in listed sectors, including manufacturing, construction, wholesale and mining, with optional consulting support, although BDC notes that a productivity plan is required to apply for financing.

BDC states that financing may include installation, integration and implementation costs when they are directly tied to the technology investment, and that eligibility also depends on your financial health, industry and the nature of your project. BDC says its preferential-rate consulting and financing apply when technology solutions are provided or integrated by Canadian suppliers, and that conditions apply. BDC does not publish a fixed loan amount; it says the amount depends on your revenue, project scope, business profile and the financial strength of your company.

Status as of November 2026: available by request. BDC's page invites businesses to start a request online and talk with an advisor, and it lists no deadline.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) says the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax incentives are intended to encourage businesses to conduct research and development in Canada. They can apply to AI and software work, but only to work that meets the CRA's definition. The CRA's eligibility guidelines describe a scientific or technological uncertainty as arising when it is unknown or uncertain whether a given result or objective can be achieved, and state that if you circumvent it with a workaround using available knowledge, the work will not be eligible.

The same CRA guidelines list computer programming as a category of support work, which is not SR&ED on its own but can be part of SR&ED when it is commensurate with the needs and directly in support of basic research, applied research or experimental development. The CRA also says acquiring available knowledge or know-how, for example by purchasing proprietary knowledge, does not meet the requirement of attempting to achieve technological advancement.

According to the CRA, changes introduced in Budget 2025 have received Royal Assent: the maximum annual expenditure limit for the enhanced 35% investment tax credit (ITC) has increased from $3 million to $6 million, and that limit now phases out over a broader taxable capital range, from $15 million to $75 million. The CRA states that Bill C-15 received Royal Assent on March 26, 2026, and that the changes apply for tax years that begin after December 15, 2024.

On its investment tax credit page, the CRA says most Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs) may earn a refundable ITC at the enhanced rate of 35% on qualified SR&ED expenditures, up to the expenditure limit, and that the basic ITC rate is 15%.

Pending: The Government of Canada's Budget 2026 proposes to expand the activities and expenditures eligible under the SR&ED program to include tests, technological validations and studies conducted to meet regulatory requirements for obtaining the initial approval or certification necessary to commercialize a product or process; the Government of Canada says these activities would need to directly relate to a project that is eligible under the program's existing rules. It is a proposal, not enacted law.

Status as of November 2026: available. The CRA says Form T661 has been updated to incorporate the legislative changes enacted through Bill C-15.

ISED's Canadian Sovereign AI Compute Strategy page lists three parts: up to $700 million to mobilize private sector investment through the AI Compute Challenge, up to $1 billion to build public supercomputing infrastructure, and up to $300 million for the AI Compute Access Fund.

Budget 2025, published by the Government of Canada, proposed $925.6 million over five years, starting in 2025-26, to support a large-scale sovereign public AI infrastructure. ISED's AI for All strategy says Canada will provide SMEs an additional $700 million in affordable sovereign compute through an expansion of the Compute Access Fund.

NRC IRAP's AI Assist is a separate, product-focused program: ISED's October 2024 launch announcement said the AI Assist Program is investing $100 million to help innovative Canadian SMEs that are building or actively incorporating generative AI and deep learning solutions into their core products and services. NRC IRAP's own AI Assist page says AI Assist supports Canadian SMEs in undertaking scientific research, product development, testing and validation of AI technologies, allowing them to incorporate generative AI and deep learning technologies into their core products and services.

Status as of November 2026: no intake status published. NRC IRAP's AI Assist page, last modified on October 22, 2024, does not say whether AI Assist is accepting new projects. It tells existing NRC IRAP clients to contact their industrial technology advisor for more information about AI Assist, and tells innovative Canadian companies not yet working with NRC IRAP to contact NRC IRAP to find out if they are eligible.

AI Compute Access Fund: closed. ISED's AI Compute Access Fund page shows the current status as closed and states that the fund is not currently accepting applications. According to ISED, the call for proposals closed on July 31, 2025. ISED says the fund supports projects with compute costs from $100,000 up to $5 million, including by covering two-thirds of eligible costs for Canadian, cloud-based AI compute services.

For any new call, ISED lists criteria that include being a Canadian-registered for-profit company developing AI products or services, having fewer than 500 full-time equivalent employees, and being revenue-generating or able to show investor interest through a minimum of Series A financing.

Canada Digital Adoption Program: ended. ISED's Info Source 2026 Update states that the Canada Digital Adoption Program concluded on March 31, 2025.

On the Ontario government pages reviewed for this guide, no open provincial program funding AI adoption directly by individual businesses could be confirmed.

AI Industrial Strategy: in development. In its 2026 Fall Statement, Ontario's Ministry of Finance says the government is developing an AI Industrial Strategy, focused on supporting investment, accelerating AI commercialization, advancing digital sovereignty and strategic supply chains, and supporting AI adoption across businesses and key sectors of the economy.

Critical Technologies Initiatives: for not-for-profits; intake closed. The Government of Ontario's CTI program guidelines say applicants must be a not-for-profit organization with a business number designated by the Canada Revenue Agency, and that proposals in both streams must include initiatives or project funding for artificial intelligence. Ontario's guidelines say Transfer Payment Ontario would open applications on April 7, 2026 and close them on April 28, 2026, and they do not list a new intake. Businesses can benefit indirectly: Ontario's guidelines say that in Stream 1, a minimum of 65% of total eligible project costs must be for SME projects where funding flows directly to the SME.

Ontario's Ministry of Finance reports that in September 2026 the government announced an investment of $30 million in the Vector Institute, the first recipient of the revamped CTI program, to help Canadian companies and organizations integrate and deploy AI across their operations.

Work from the official criteria, not summaries. A practical sequence:

1. Name the project type. Adopting AI in your operations points to the RAII Adoption stream or BDC LIFT. Building an AI product points to the RAII Commercialization and Scale-Up stream, NRC IRAP's AI Assist and SR&ED.

2. Check the hard criteria first. Location, years in operation, full-time equivalent headcount and revenue thresholds are stated on each official page.

3. Check the calendar. If your southern Ontario project starts before March 31, 2027, FedDev Ontario's earlier cutoff of November 24, 2026 applies.

4. Define the project before you apply. Programs ask what you will build or buy, what it will cost, and how you will manage it.

5. Talk to program staff. FedDev Ontario, BDC advisors and NRC IRAP are the authorities on their own programs, and your tax adviser is the right person for SR&ED.

HCC does not obtain funding, HCC's services are not part of any program described here, and nothing in this guide means a program will pay for them; only a program can say whether it will fund your project. What HCC's AI transformation consulting service can do is help you scope an AI project before you apply: the use case, the data it needs, the risks and the governance measures, so you arrive at a program conversation with a clear project description. The AI readiness assessment is another place to start.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada — Canada's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy: AI for All Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada — Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative FedDev Ontario — Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative in Southern Ontario FedDev Ontario — Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative: businesses, who can apply FedDev Ontario — Government of Canada expands support for artificial intelligence adoption and commercialization in southern Ontario Business Development Bank of Canada — LIFT Canada Revenue Agency — Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax incentives Canada Revenue Agency — SR&ED news and updates Canada Revenue Agency — Get an investment tax credit (ITC) Canada Revenue Agency — Guidelines on the eligibility of work for SR&ED tax incentives Government of Canada — Budget 2026: Tax measures, supplementary information Government of Canada — Budget 2025, Chapter 1: Building a stronger Canadian economy Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada — Canadian Sovereign AI Compute Strategy Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada — AI Compute Access Fund Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada — Federal government launches programs to help small and medium-sized enterprises adopt and adapt artificial intelligence solutions National Research Council of Canada — NRC IRAP support for SMEs innovating with artificial intelligence Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada — Info Source 2026 Update Government of Ontario — Critical Technologies Initiatives program guidelines Ontario Ministry of Finance — 2026 Fall Statement, Chapter 1, Section B