How to Apply for SR&ED Tax Credits in Canada
How to apply for SR&ED tax credits in Canada: Form T661, the 18-month deadline, what counts, and how the refundable credit is calculated.
How to Apply for CanExport SMEs Funding in Canada
How to apply for CanExport SMEs funding in Canada: who qualifies, what it pays, and how to prepare while the 2026-27 intake is closed.
Applies in: CA
The short answer
CanExport SMEs is closed right now — and that is the first fact, not a footnote. The program's own page states the program is currently closed and all applications for the 2026-27 intake have been processed; the 2026-27 intake closed on August 31, 2026. This guide tells you how the program works so you can prepare a project properly for the next intake, and what to check before you spend anything. Do not incur costs expecting to claim them back: costs incurred before you apply are not eligible, and no new applications are being accepted until a future intake is announced.
Step 1: Check the intake status before anything else
CanExport SMEs is a competitive, limited-envelope program run by Canada's Trade Commissioner Service, delivered by Global Affairs Canada in partnership with the National Research Council's Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP). It shares the costs of international business development for eligible Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises expanding into new international markets.
Before you prepare anything, open the CanExport SMEs program page and read the status notice at the top. As of November 6, 2026 it reads: the program is currently closed, all 2026-27 applications have been processed, and information about future intakes will be posted there when available. The applicant's guide itself directs readers to the program page for current intake status, deadlines and processing dates.
While the intake is closed, the useful work is preparation: confirming eligibility, choosing a market, and building a project that fits the rules. Nothing you spend now can be claimed later.
Step 2: Confirm you meet the minimums
To be eligible, your business must:
- Be established in Canada and for-profit.
- Be an incorporated legal entity, limited liability partnership (LLP) or cooperative in Canada.
- Have an active CRA business number — a corporation that is not dissolved, amalgamated or continued into another jurisdiction.
- Have between 3 and 500 full-time employees.
- Have between $300,000 and $100 million in annual revenue declared in Canada during its last complete tax reporting year (or the last 12 months for monthly and quarterly filers).
The minimums rose for 2026-27, from 1 full-time employee and $100,000 in revenue. Not eligible: sole proprietorships, limited partnerships, third-party representatives such as agents and consultants applying for a client, trading houses, export brokers, distributors, wholesalers acting as intermediaries, and franchisees (only the franchisor is eligible). A parent company cannot apply on behalf of a subsidiary, and a consultant cannot submit an application on behalf of a client — the applicant must legally own the goods and services it intends to export.
The program can also refuse companies that cannot demonstrate meaningful economic ties to Canada, even if they meet the numerical tests. Your application should explain clearly how your product or service is of Canadian origin, or how exporting it brings value to Canada — for example through Canadian manufacturing, value-added processing, intellectual property or high-value jobs.
Sector notes for 2026-27: support for agriculture, agri-food (including alcoholic beverages) and fish and seafood now runs under the AgriMarketing Program, not CanExport SMEs. Defence and dual-use projects get greater emphasis, and applications targeting the defence market should include "Defence" in the project title.
Step 3: Pick one new market
- One target market per project. Each country counts as one target market, up to five per project, and you target either the US or other international markets — not both — in the same project.
- The market must be new to your business. The program is for entering markets, not servicing ones you already sell into.
- Diversification is prioritized. The program supports Canada's trade diversification objective, and about $3.1 million of the roughly $31 million available in 2026-27 was allocated to US-targeted projects.
- Sanctions and export restrictions apply. Check that the destination and the goods are not caught by sanctions or export controls before you build the project around them.
Use the Trade Commissioner Service's free market intelligence and the "Find out if you qualify" checklist on the program page before you commit to a market. Trade commissioners in the target market can tell you whether the demand is real before you spend the 50% that is yours.
Step 4: Build the project and the budget
A CanExport SMEs "project" is the set of activities you want funded, up to 12 months long and aligned with the Government of Canada fiscal year (April 1 to March 31). The funding rules:
- Request between $10,000 and $50,000 per project. Because the program funds up to 50% of eligible costs, the total project value must fall between $20,000 and $100,000.
- You fund 50% and CanExport SMEs funds 50%. In-kind contributions are not allowed — all contributions must be financial.
- One active CanExport SMEs project at a time, and at most $99,999 in total CanExport funding per company per fiscal year, across all CanExport programs.
- Total government assistance cannot exceed 75% of total project costs, counting federal, provincial, territorial and municipal funding. You must disclose every source of Canadian government funding for each expense; failure to disclose can mean rejection, termination of an active project, or recovery of funds.
- Retroactive costs are not eligible. The program does not cover costs incurred, invoiced or paid before the date the project is submitted — and never earlier than April 1 of the applicable fiscal year.
Eligible expenses, grouped by the guide's categories, include travel to meet key contacts, participation in trade events, adapting marketing tools for the target market, interpretation services, contractual agreements and supplier diversity certification, business, tax and legal advice, market research, feasibility studies, finding key contacts and business-to-business facilitation, and intellectual property protection. Each expense must be linked to the target market and the project — the guide's "linking rule" — and the per diem for eligible travel was raised to $600 per traveller for 2026-27.
Grants versus contributions. CanExport SMEs provides two types of funding, and the program decides which you get. Contribution funding is reimbursed after expenses are incurred — you must be able to fully fund the project upfront, complete and pay for activities, then claim with detailed reporting. Grant funding is provided in full per fiscal year after the funding agreement is signed, with no claims, but you must report on results achieved.
Step 5: Apply on the portal and wait for the decision
When an intake is open, you apply through the CanExport online portal: create an account, complete your organization profile, and designate one individual with legal signing authority to enter into a binding agreement with the Government of Canada. That person's contact details must be registered in the company profile and cannot be that of a consultant.
What happens after you apply:
- Applications that do not meet the eligibility requirements are automatically rejected and are not assessed.
- Eligible applications are assessed on a rolling competitive basis — funding is limited, and meeting the requirements does not guarantee funding. In 2025-26 the program received close to 4,000 applications, approving around 40% of eligible applicants and supporting over 1,500 Canadian businesses.
- The program aims to decide within 60 business days of submission, or 90 business days for US-targeted applications (defence-sector projects: 60 days).
- You must disclose any pre-existing relationships or affiliations relevant to the project — consultants, service providers, foreign partners, related businesses. Failure to disclose may result in rejection or termination.
What to do while the intake is closed
- Confirm eligibility with the checklist on the program page, and fix anything that fails — incorporation, the CRA business number, the revenue band.
- Pick the market and test it with the Trade Commissioner Service before you spend anything.
- Price the project against the $20,000 to $100,000 total-value band, and confirm you can fund your 50% upfront — contribution funding is reimbursed after you pay.
- Gather the documents the portal will ask for: incorporation records, financial statements showing the revenue band, and the project budget with each expense linked to the market.
- Watch the program page for the next intake announcement. Do not rely on third-party trackers for the date: the program page is the source the applicant's guide points to.
Figures we did not include, and why
No next-intake date is given in this guide because none has been posted: the program page states only that information about future intakes will be posted there when available. No award-rate or processing-time figure beyond the program's own 60- and 90-business-day aims is stated. The 2026-27 intake closing date of August 31, 2026 is stated in this guide as the date the intake closed, consistent with the program page's current closed status.
Figures are current as of November 2026, from the 2026-27 applicant's guide. Confirm intake status on the program page before preparing an application — the guide itself directs readers there for current status.
Related guides
- How to import and export goods in Canada — the customs companion: what happens at the border once you have a market.
- Canada-US export financing, EDC vs Ex-Im — the financing companion: export credit and insurance for US-bound sales.
- How to start using a My Trade Commissioner Service account in Canada — the free advisory service behind CanExport: market intelligence and buyer introductions.
- How to start reporting exports through the Canadian Export Reporting System in Canada — the reporting companion: declaring export shipments once they move.
- SR&ED and IRAP vs US R&D support — the R&D funding companion: the Canadian credit and contribution routes, and how they compare with US support.
- How to get a business line of credit in Canada — the working-capital companion: bridging cash flow while an export project runs.
Applying for CanExport SMEs funding, in five steps
- Check the intake is openThe 2026-27 intake closed August 31, 2026. Do not plan spending around a closed intake — prepare the project and watch for the next one.
- Confirm you meet the minimumsIncorporated, LLP or cooperative; active CRA business number; 3 to 500 full-time employees; $300,000 to $100 million in Canadian revenue.
- Pick one new marketOne target market per project, new to your business, and US or non-US — not both in the same project.
- Build the project and the budgetEligible activities only, total project value $20,000 to $100,000, and no costs incurred before you apply — retroactive costs are ineligible.
- Apply on the portal and wait for the decisionApply through the CanExport online portal. The program aims to decide within 60 business days, or 90 for US-targeted projects.
CanExport SMEs funding, 2026-27
| Funding per project | $10,000 to $50,000 |
|---|---|
| Cost share | 50% applicant, 50% CanExport SMEs |
| Total project value | $20,000 to $100,000 |
| Maximum CanExport funding per company per fiscal year | $99,999 across all CanExport programs |
| Maximum total government assistance for the project | 75% of total project costs |
| Total funding available, 2026-27 | About $31 million |
Figures are from the Trade Commissioner Service's 2026-27 applicant's guide. Funding is limited and awarded competitively; meeting the eligibility requirements does not guarantee funding.
Questions people ask
Is CanExport SMEs open right now?
No. The CanExport SMEs program is currently closed. All applications for the 2026-27 intake have been processed, and the program page states that information about future intakes will be posted there when available. The 2026-27 intake closed on August 31, 2026. Do not incur project costs expecting to claim them: costs incurred before you apply are not eligible.
Who can apply for CanExport SMEs funding?
Your business must be established in Canada, for-profit, and an incorporated legal entity, limited liability partnership (LLP) or cooperative, with an active CRA business number. It must have between 3 and 500 full-time employees and between $300,000 and $100 million in annual revenue declared in Canada during its last complete tax reporting year. Sole proprietorships, limited partnerships, franchisees, distributors and wholesalers acting as intermediaries are not eligible.
How much funding can CanExport SMEs provide?
Between $10,000 and $50,000 per project, covering up to 50% of eligible costs — so the total project value must fall between $20,000 and $100,000. A company may have only one active CanExport SMEs project at a time, and can receive at most $99,999 in total CanExport funding per Government of Canada fiscal year, across all CanExport programs. Total government assistance for the project cannot exceed 75% of total project costs.
What counts as a new market for CanExport SMEs?
The program supports companies entering new international markets. You target one market per project — a country counts as one target market — and you must target either the US or other international markets, not both, in the same project. The program prioritizes export diversification away from the US: about $3.1 million of the roughly $31 million available in 2026-27 was allocated to US-targeted projects.
What expenses does CanExport SMEs cover?
Eligible costs are tied to international business development in the target market: travel to meet key contacts, participation in trade events, adapting marketing tools for the target market, interpretation services, contractual agreements and supplier diversity certification, business, tax and legal advice, market research and finding key contacts, and intellectual property protection. Costs incurred, invoiced or paid before the project is submitted are not eligible.
How long does a CanExport SMEs decision take?
The program aims to issue decisions within 60 business days of the application being submitted, or 90 business days for applications targeting the US (except defence-sector projects, which are processed within 60 business days). Applications are assessed on a rolling competitive basis, and applications that do not meet the eligibility requirements are automatically rejected and are not assessed.
Sources
- CanExport SMEs (Trade Commissioner Service) — current intake status: program closed, all 2026-27 applications processed, future intakes to be posted here.
- CanExport SMEs 2026-2027: complete applicant's guide (Trade Commissioner Service) — eligibility, funding amounts and cost sharing, eligible expenses, how to apply.
- What's new for 2026-27: CanExport SMEs program (Trade Commissioner Service) — raised minimums, $31 million funding, $600 per diem, agri-food moved to AgriMarketing, defence emphasis.