Canadian Government Grants for Business

Businesses can get grant funding from the government. business image by peter Hires Images from Fotolia.com

The Canadian government offers various financial help for businesses, such as those started by disabled persons, as well as companies starting in particular provinces like Newfoundland and Labrador. The money can be used to make it easier to begin a company, or to bring new products to the market by already established companies, among other incentives.

Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities

Individuals who are disabled and would like to start their own businesses can get a grant from the government. To be eligible for the funding through an organization or employer, you need to be unemployed or working fewer than 20 hours a week. Also, your disability needs to be permanent and limit your daily activities, you must be a Canadian citizen and you must not be eligible for assistance under Part II of the Employment Insurance Act or similar territorial or provincial plans. Participants also must not have received maternal or paternal benefits within 60 months of the request. Additionally, they should not have gotten Employment Benefit Insurance within 36 months of the request, among other criteria.

The grant money can be used for participant wages or other employer-related costs, as well as certain overhead costs. To apply, contact your local Service Canada Centre. The address to an office in Calgary, Alberta is given below.

Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities

Service Canada Centre

800-622-6232

servicecanada.gc.ca

Business Attraction Fund

The province of Newfoundland and Labrador's Business Attraction Fund is meant to financially aid businesses seeking to be established in the province. The assistance is in the form of loans, but can also be non-repayable contributions. For instance, the province can give $4 milllion to a company as a non-repayable contribution to finance infrastructure, human resources and other costs. The money is meant for inward investments, meaning investments in expansion or start-up opportunities from investors outside of the province.

To be eligible for the money, a business needs to be a duly established company in the province or commit to being established there and be legally entitled to conduct business in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Business Attraction Fund

Department of Business, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador

709-729-3254

Innovation Voucher Pilot Program

The Innovation Voucher Pilot Program helps businesses in Alberta in the form of $10,000 to $50,000 vouchers that they can use to pay not-for-profit and public service providers. The vouchers can be utilized as partial payments at certain service providers, including Alberta Centre for Advanced Micro Nano Technology Products Commercialization, Agri Food Discovery Place and Alberta Terrestrial Imaging Center. The vouchers allow businesses to get their products or services to market faster by using the services of approved technology providers.

To be eligible, a company needs to be knowledge- or technology-driven, registered in Alberta or Canada, creating new products for growing markets and have a staff of 50 people or fewer, among other requirements.

Vouchers are not meant to cover the entire cost of the project. For instance, if a company has a project which costs $8,000, then the voucher can be $6,000, with the company contributing $2,000 to the project. Vouchers of up to $10,000 are given for smaller-scale projects like marketing studies. Vouchers of up to $50,000 are given for larger-scale endeavors like field studies.

Innovation Voucher Pilot Program

Stacey Ohlmann, Director, Industry Development

780-701-3323

References

• Service Canada: Opportunities Fund (OF)--Funding for Employers and Organizations for Local and Regional Projects
• Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Business: Guidelines and Eligibility Criteria Business Attraction Fund (BAF)
• Alberta: Innovation Voucher Pilot Program
• Alberta: Alberta Innovation Voucher Pilot Programs Approved Providers