Government Funding for Ontario Businesses

Most business programmes reimburse rather than advance, restrict what may be claimed more tightly than applicants expect, and attach terms about who owns what the money helped build.

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EligibilityReimbursementAgreements & IPClaim Records

Business funding is usually paid against costs already incurred and documented, not in advance. That makes it a cash-flow question as well as an application, and it makes the records the thing that determines what you actually receive.

Who does this work. Lexaltico LLP’s government funding and grants service is led by Mitch Parmasar, who is not a lawyer and does not provide legal advice. Where a matter calls for legal advice — a funding agreement, a governance question, a repayment demand — it is handled by a lawyer at Lexaltico LLP. The firm is responsible for all of the work described on this page.

Quick Answer

What government funding is available to Ontario businesses?

Broadly three kinds. Contribution programmes that reimburse a share of eligible costs, such as export market development and innovation support. Advisor-led innovation funding, of which NRC IRAP is the main example, where there is no deadline and the route in is an assigned advisor. And tax incentives, which are claimed through the tax system rather than applied for. They have different eligibility rules, different timing and very different paperwork, and a business is often a candidate for one and not the others.

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THREE DIFFERENT THINGS

Contributions, Advisor-Led Funding and Tax Credits

The word grant covers three mechanisms that behave differently. A contribution programme has an intake, a deadline and a competitive assessment, and pays a share of eligible costs after they are incurred. Advisor-led funding, principally NRC IRAP, has no deadline at all: a business contacts the National Research Council, is assigned an Industrial Technology Advisor, and what happens depends on that assessment.

Tax incentives are different again. They are claimed through a tax filing rather than applied for, they are not competitive, and they generally involve an accountant rather than an application. A business focused on finding a grant sometimes overlooks the incentive it was already entitled to.

ELIGIBILITY

Assessed on the Business, Before the Plan

Programmes assess what the business is before they assess what it proposes: Canadian incorporation, a place of business here, size, and financial history. NRC IRAP, for example, is for Canadian incorporated profit-oriented businesses with 500 or fewer full-time equivalent employees.

These are threshold tests, not factors to be weighed, and a business that fails one is not a candidate however good the project. Where a requirement could be met with some restructuring, that is ordinary work — but it is not work that fits inside an intake window.

THE CASH FLOW

You Spend First and Recover Afterwards

Most business contribution programmes reimburse. The business funds the activity, submits a claim with evidence, and recovers a share. Nothing arrives at the start.

That has to be planned for. A project whose viability depends on the funding arriving before the spending is not viable on these programmes, and establishing how and when money actually arrives is a question for before the application rather than after the approval.

ELIGIBLE COSTS

Narrower Than Reasonable

Eligible-cost categories are consistently narrower than applicants assume. Internal staff time, equipment that outlasts the project, general marketing, overhead allocations and anything incurred before approval are all commonly excluded or restricted.

Where a category is ambiguous, settle it in writing with the programme before spending. A short exchange confirming that a class of cost is eligible, kept on the file, is worth a great deal when the claim is assessed and cannot be recreated afterwards.

THE AGREEMENT

Intellectual Property Is the Clause That Matters

A successful application produces a contribution agreement defining eligible costs, reporting, records and retention, audit rights, and when amounts become repayable. For a business the most significant term is usually whatever it says about intellectual property and the results of the funded work.

Terms vary widely: silence, a licence back to the funder, a requirement to make results available, occasionally an assignment. Funding that produces software, a process or a design on terms giving the funder rights in it can cost far more than the contribution is worth. This is the clause to take advice on, before signing.

RECORDS

The Claim Is Paid Against Documents

On a reimbursement programme the claim is, administratively, the project. Amounts are paid against evidence, and costs that cannot be substantiated are treated as ineligible however genuinely they were incurred.

For development work the hardest records are usually time records, because the people doing the work are doing three other things. Deciding at the start how time will be recorded, and keeping a clean line between funded and unfunded work, is much easier than reconstructing it at the end.

HOW WE WORK

What Lexaltico Does for a Business

We start with eligibility, because it is cheap to establish and decides everything: whether the business qualifies for the programmes it is interested in, and what would have to change if not. Then programme fit, then the application.

That side is led by Mitch Parmasar, who is not a lawyer. The contribution agreement, and particularly the intellectual property terms, are reviewed by a lawyer at Lexaltico LLP, as is any dispute over a claim. Fees are quoted and agreed in writing before work begins.

Programme details verified 23 September 2026 against the funder’s own published pages. Funding programmes change their terms, their amounts and their intake dates without notice, and third-party summaries are frequently out of date. Confirm current terms with the funder before relying on anything here.

Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What government funding is available to Ontario businesses?

Contribution programmes that reimburse eligible costs, advisor-led innovation funding such as NRC IRAP, and tax incentives claimed through the tax system. They work very differently.

Do we get the money up front?

Usually not. Most business programmes reimburse costs already incurred and documented, so the business funds the activity first.

Who is eligible?

It varies, but assessment is on the business rather than the plan: Canadian incorporation, a place of business here, size and financial history. IRAP, for instance, requires 500 or fewer full-time equivalent employees.

Is there a deadline?

For contribution programmes, yes, and they are strict — several federal intakes close at noon Eastern rather than midnight. IRAP has no deadline at all.

What counts as an eligible cost?

Only what the programme lists, which is narrower than most applicants expect. Confirm anything ambiguous in writing before spending.

Who owns what we develop with the funding?

It depends on the agreement, and for a technology business this can outweigh the contribution. Read the intellectual property clause before signing.

Can a sole proprietorship apply?

Many programmes require incorporation. Whether that is worth doing for a particular programme is a question to answer before an intake opens, not during one.

What records will we need?

Invoices, proof of payment, time records, and a clear separation between funded and unfunded work. Costs you cannot substantiate are treated as ineligible.

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A few questions about your government funding & grants matter optional

None of these are required and your enquiry sends without them. They let the lawyer read your situation before the call rather than during it.

What kind of organisation is it? optional

Where are you with it? optional

Is there an application or response deadline? optionalMost funding programmes close on a fixed date and do not reopen, so tell us any date you have.

Which programme, if you know it? optionalFor example SR&ED, IRAP, CSJ, or an Ontario or municipal grant.

Please do not send confidential documents or details through this form. We will ask for what we need once we have spoken and confirmed we can act for you.

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