Money for Business: November 2026

Key dates

Grants and loans: deadlines this month

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. 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.

Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Competitiveness — closes November 5

The current intake for advanced manufacturers closes November 5, 2026, with Ontario targeting funding decisions by February 3, 2027.

Tariff relief: wider eligibility

On August 24, 2026 Ontario broadened the Protect Ontario Financing Program — up to $1 billion in term loans for tariff-related working capital such as payroll, leases and utilities — to businesses hit by the new U.S. section 338 tariffs, and widened it again in September after the U.S. import ban on Canadian alcohol, dairy and motorcycles. The Ontario Together Trade Fund was opened to the same newly targeted 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 legal fine print: both are delivered through agreements with reporting, audit and repayment terms, and the financing program limits stacking with other provincial programs. Sources: Protect Ontario Financing Program; Ontario Together Trade Fund.

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.

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

Tax: the small business rate and the January 1 dividend change

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.

Coming in 2027

Beneficial ownership registry for private corporations

Ontario plans to amend the Corporations Information Act to create a registry for privately held business corporations in 2027. The register of individuals with significant control that every private OBCA corporation has had to keep since 2023 would be filed online. 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 October 23, 2026 the bill had been ordered for third reading and 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 October 23, 2026.