Canada and Quebec Announce Tariff-Relief Measures

BDC is adding a second $500-million lending stream. Eligible businesses can obtain a repayable loan of $250,000 to $5 million, with:

• no interest for the first 12 months;
• interest-only payments for up to 36 months; and
• amortization over as much as 96 months. 

Eligible existing BDC exporting clients may also receive a six-month principal-payment deferral.

Applicants generally require at least $1 million in annual revenue and must demonstrate that the new tariffs are directly affecting their cash flow. The business must otherwise be financially viable.

Refer to BDC’s official Pivot to Grow program page for detailed eligibility and application instructions.

EDC has allocated $5 billion in additional capacity to support Canadian exporters affected by tariffs and trade uncertainty. Assistance includes:

• enhanced financing and working-capital support;
• trade credit insurance and foreign-exchange risk solutions; and
• support for expanding into new international markets.

The program is available to eligible Canadian exporters and businesses that supply exporters. EDC assesses each application based on its credit requirements and export mandate.

Refer to EDC Trade Impact Program for detailed eligibility and application instructions.

This new $2-billion stream will be delivered through the existing Strategic Response Fund. It is intended to help tariff-affected businesses undertake ready-to-start capital projects, including expenditures to maintain or upgrade facilities, equipment and productive capacity, and projects that help diversify markets or operations.

The assistance will be provided through negotiated government contribution agreements rather than ordinary bank loans. Depending on the project, Strategic Response Fund assistance may be repayable, non-repayable or a combination of both. The government has not yet published the new stream’s maximum contribution, cost-sharing rate or or detailed repayment rules.

The primary applicants are expected to be medium-sized and larger businesses that can demonstrate tariff exposure, financial viability and a well-developed project that can begin promptly.

Refer to the federal tariff-support backgrounder and the Strategic Response Fund’s official webpage for further details as they are released.

Existing temporary Employment Insurance measures will be extended. These include:

• waiving the one-week waiting period;
• allowing EI benefits to begin without first using severance or vacation pay; and
• providing eligible long-tenured workers with up to 20 additional weeks of benefits.

A new temporary rule will also help certain workers who voluntarily left an earlier job but subsequently lost their most recent job through no fault of their own. Normal EI eligibility requirements will otherwise continue to apply.

Refer to the government’s temporary EI measures page and August 25 tariff-support backgrounder for updated effective dates and eligibility rules.

This program will combine the existing EI Work-Sharing program and Worker Retention Grant. It is intended to help employers avoid layoffs by temporarily reducing working hours while affected employees receive EI Work-Sharing benefits and undertake training.

Employers may also become eligible for up to $1,000 per participating employee for training and administration. Final rules for the combined program have not yet been published.

Refer to the federal announcement of the new combined program and the existing Worker Retention Grant information for further details.

Job Bank will provide expanded job-matching services, including highlighting employment connected with major projects, housing construction and defence procurement. This is a free employment service, not a grant or loan.

Workers and employers should refer to the Government of Canada’s Job Bank for available services and opportunities.

This is a repayable, commercial-style loan facility for large Canadian businesses that are otherwise viable but cannot obtain sufficient financing from regular market sources. It can now cover up to 36 months of demonstrated liquidity needs, and the maximum loan term has increased from 10 to 15 years.

Applicants generally require approximately $150 million or more in annual Canadian revenue, significant Canadian operations or employment, and a tariff-related liquidity shortfall after other sources of capital have been exhausted.

Refer to the Canada Enterprise Emergency Funding Corporation’s LETL program page for complete eligibility criteria and the application form.

BDC provides guarantees for term loans and letters of credit issued by participating financial institutions.

Eligible Canadian softwood lumber mills and remanufacturing mills can obtain financing of $500,000 to $50 million per eligible borrower group.

Applicants must have at least $1 million in annual revenue. Applications must be made through the business’s primary financial institution.

The program is available until December 31, 2026, or until its funding is exhausted.

Refer to BDC – Softwood Lumber Guarantee  for detailed eligibility and application instructions.

FCC is providing $1 billion in new lending to support Canadian agricultural and agri-food businesses facing trade disruptions and other unexpected market pressures. Assistance includes:

• an additional credit line of up to $500,000;
• access to new term loans; and
• principal-payment deferrals of up to 12 months on existing loans for current FCC customers.

Support is available to existing customers and new clients that meet FCC’s lending criteria. The program has been extended to March 5, 2027.

Refer to Farm Credit Canada Trade Disruption Support for detailed eligibility and application instructions.

PAUPME stands for Programme d’aide d’urgence aux petites et moyennes entreprises—the Emergency Assistance Program for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses.

The program provides a repayable loan of up to $150,000, covering up to 75% of an eligible business’s cash-flow needs for a 12-month period. The loan bears no interest for the first year and includes a 12-month principal-payment moratorium.

Businesses generally must:

• have their head office in Quebec and have operated for at least two years;
• have annual revenue between $1 million and $2 million;
• be an affected U.S. exporter, supplier or subcontractor;
• have earned at least 25% of their 2024 revenue from U.S.-related exports;
• show an actual or expected revenue decline of at least 20%; and
• have been profitable in at least one of the last two years.

Applications are made through the business’s MRC. MRC stands for municipalité régionale de comté, or regional county municipality—a regional municipal body that provides or coordinates local economic-development services. In areas without an MRC, the application may be handled by the municipality or another designated local development organization.

Refer to the Quebec government’s official PAUPME–Tariffs webpage, which also identifies the appropriate MRC or local organization.

ESSOR Component 2 provides loans and loan guarantees for eligible Quebec investment projects involving:

• increased production capacity;
• business modernization; or
• an innovative technological transition.

Projects must generally include at least $100,000 in eligible expenditures. Loan guarantees may cover up to 70% of the lender’s net loss, and a non-repayable contribution may be available in certain circumstances. Combined government assistance cannot exceed 50% of the total project cost.

Refer to ESSOR – Component 2 for detailed eligibility and application instructions.

Panorama combines financing and specialized export assistance for established Quebec businesses seeking to diversify outside Quebec. For working-capital needs associated with diversification into Canadian and international markets outside the United States, financing includes:

• a term loan of $250,000 to $1 million;
• a principal-payment moratorium of up to 24 months; and
• generally no security or corporate or personal guarantee, subject to financial and credit criteria.

Customized financing exceeding $1 million is also available for larger international expansion projects. Applicants must be established in Quebec, have experience in markets outside Quebec and not be start-ups.

Refer to Panorama webpage for detailed conditions.

Grand V combines flexible financing with technological assistance for innovation and sustainable-productivity projects. Through the Duo Grand V offering, eligible businesses may receive:

• a term loan starting at $250,000;
• a principal-payment moratorium of up to 48 months, without affecting the interest rate; and
• up to 100 hours of technological assistance.

The technological-assistance component applies to eligible mandates valued at a minimum of $20,000, with the number of complimentary hours determined proportionally. All financing and project conditions remain subject to approval.

Refer to the Grand V page for detailed eligibility and application information.

DÉPART provides non-repayable contributions for eligible projects intended to stimulate entrepreneurship, growth and economic diversification in designated Quebec regions. Assistance includes:

• contributions of $15,000 to $125,000 per project;
• funding of up to 60% of eligible expenditures; and
• combined government assistance of up to 80% of eligible expenditures.

Eligible applicants generally include for-profit SMEs with no more than 250 employees and qualifying social-economy enterprises. Projects must be carried out in a targeted MRCs and fall within an eligible sector. Targeted territories include low-vitality MRCs, the Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine region and certain additional designated MRCs and Indigenous communities.

Refer to the official DÉPART program page for the complete list of territories, sectors and application requirements.

PME MTL provides personalized assistance and financing resources to Montréal businesses affected by tariffs. Existing businesses in the PME MTL loan portfolio may qualify for:

• a six-month moratorium on principal and interest payments; and
• a one-time extension of the repayment period up to a total of 84 months.

The PME MTL Fund also offers loans of up to $400,000, with more flexible eligibility criteria for businesses experiencing significant tariff impacts.

Refer to PME MTL’s official tariff-support page for eligibility and application information.