Money for Business: Ontario grants, funding and tax, every month

Key dates

Grants and loans: deadlines this month

Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Competitiveness — closes November 5

The current intake for advanced manufacturers closes November 5, 2026, with decisions expected February 3, 2027. Miss it and the next window runs January 28 to April 27, 2027. Ontario asks applicants to register on Transfer Payment Ontario and speak to a regional advisor about two weeks before a deadline, so an application not already started is probably a January one. Source: Ontario, Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Competitiveness Stream.

Eastern and Southwestern Ontario Development Funds — intake opens November 3

The next application window for both regional funds runs from November 3, 2026 to January 21, 2027, with notification expected around April 20, 2027. The eastern fund asks for at least three years of operations, at least 10 employees (5 in rural Ontario), at least 5 new jobs (or a 30% increase for companies under 15 employees) and a project investment of at least $500,000 ($200,000 in rural Ontario). Southwestern Ontario Development Fund money cannot be combined with other provincial programs.

The legal fine print: funding comes with job and investment targets, clawbacks and possible security. See what you are signing in an Ontario funding agreement. Sources: Eastern Ontario Development Fund; Southwestern Ontario Development Fund.

Tariff relief: provincial and federal

Ontario. In August and again in September 2026 the province widened the Protect Ontario Financing Program — up to $1 billion in working-capital loans for tariff-related costs such as payroll, leases and utilities — to businesses hit by new U.S. tariffs and the U.S. import ban on Canadian alcohol, dairy and motorcycles. The Ontario Together Trade Fund was opened to the same sectors; it can cover up to 75% of eligible costs, to a maximum of $5 million, for projects that diversify markets, reshore supply chains or pivot production. The October 29 Fall Economic Statement confirmed both expansions.

Federal. FedDev Ontario reopened the enhanced Regional Tariff Response Initiative on September 8, 2026. Businesses with at least $1 million in annual revenue can apply for non-repayable liquidity funding of up to $2 million (up to 50% of eligible costs) and non-repayable pivot funding of up to $1 million; pivot projects over $1 million are repayable, at up to 75% of costs. The cap is $3 million non-repayable and $20 million in total per business. FedDev lists the program as accepting applications without a published closing date.

The legal fine print: all of these are delivered through agreements with reporting, audit and repayment terms, and stacking limits apply when you combine provincial and federal money. If the tariffs are also straining your supply contracts, see tariffs and Canada–U.S. supply contracts. Sources: Protect Ontario Financing Program; Ontario Together Trade Fund; FedDev Ontario, Regional Tariff Response Initiative.

Tax: a proposed capital write-off, and the January 1 dividend change

Ontario Competitiveness Tax Cut (proposed)

Ontario's Fall Economic Statement, released October 29, 2026, proposes a 100% immediate write-off for eligible depreciable property acquired on or after September 15, 2026. It mirrors the federal Productivity Mega Deduction announced the same September day, which would be permanent and covers most machinery and equipment, clean technology, zero-emission vehicles and some productivity-enhancing assets. Most buildings, many passenger vehicles, goodwill and other intangibles are excluded. Neither is law yet: the federal measure exists as draft legislation, and Ontario's version would apply once the federal one is enacted. The statement made no change to corporate or personal income tax rates.

If you are buying equipment anyway, the September 15 date matters more than the year-end; keep the invoices and delivery dates. Sources: Finance Canada, Productivity Mega Deduction; 2026 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review; KPMG summary.

Small business rate and the dividend credit

Ontario's small business corporate tax rate fell from 3.2% to 2.2% on July 1, 2026, bringing the combined rate on the first $500,000 of active business income to 11.2%. To keep integration, the Ontario non-eligible dividend tax credit falls from 2.9863% to 1.9863% on January 1, 2027, raising the top combined rate on those dividends from 47.74% to 48.89%. Dividends are taxed when received, not when declared.

Read whether to pay dividends before 2027, including the director-liability rule that applies to every dividend. Source: PwC, 2026 Ontario budget tax highlights.

Payroll: lower WSIB premiums in 2027

The WSIB announced on October 22, 2026 that the average premium rate falls from $1.23 to $1.18 per $100 of insurable earnings on January 1, 2027. Your own rate depends on your class and claims history; individual 2027 rate statements appear in WSIB online services during November. Check yours before you set 2027 prices or bid on fixed-price work. Source: Canadian HR Reporter, WSIB cuts average premium rate for 2027.

Selling to government: Buy Ontario

Since April 13, 2026, ministries and broader public sector buyers must prefer Ontario businesses below set thresholds — for ministries, under $34,700 for goods and $139,000 for services — and Canadian businesses up to $368,000. Municipalities came under the capital infrastructure rules on May 15, 2026. A business qualifies if it operates permanently in Ontario and has its headquarters or main office here, or at least 250 full-time employees in Ontario. A Canadian subsidiary controlled by a U.S. company is usually treated as a U.S. business. The Fall Economic Statement says the province is considering compliance monitoring and may extend the Building Ontario Businesses Initiative to municipalities.

Read Buy Ontario for small suppliers. Source: Buy Ontario Procurement Directive.

Coming in 2027

Beneficial ownership registry for private corporations

The October 29 Fall Economic Statement repeats the 2027 target and adds detail. Amendments to the Business Corporations Act would expand what a corporation records about each individual with significant control — including citizenship and, where provided, an address for service — and exempt some wholly owned subsidiaries whose parents already report elsewhere. Amendments to the Corporations Information Act would require private corporations to file that information with the registry. The public would get limited access; law enforcement and regulators would get full access. These are stated intentions; I could not find a bill tabled as of November 1, 2026. The register every private OBCA corporation has had to keep since 2023 is the starting point, so check that yours exists and is current. Read what changes and what to fix first.

No charging employees for uniforms (proposed)

Bill 105, the Protecting Ontario's Workers and Economic Resilience Act, 2026, would bar employers from making employees pay for uniforms, or for their repair or laundering, except in limited cases, from January 1, 2027. As of November 1, 2026 the Legislative Assembly still listed the bill as ordered for third reading; it was not yet law. Source: Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Bill 105.

For founders and new businesses

Starter Company Plus offers grants of up to $5,000, with training and mentoring, to Ontario residents launching or expanding a small business, including owners buying an existing business; it runs through local Small Business Centres with their own intake dates. The Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network’s New Venture Creation program offers up to $50,000 to early-stage technology companies and requires the company to be incorporated. If incorporation is the next step, see incorporating a business in Ontario; for every federal and provincial program, use the government funding directory.

Compiled by Koby Smutylo, Smutylo Law+. Programs and rules change; check the linked official source before applying or acting. Last updated November 1, 2026.