A plain-language overview of the real 2026 federal and provincial programs that can support business AI adoption in Canada — and where to confirm current status.
dgm is an independent osFoundry integration partner — not affiliated with osFoundry’s maker (OS LLC), and dgm has no completed client integrations yet.
If you are funding an AI project in Canada in 2026, a handful of real programs do most of the work — and a few well-known ones have ended. This overview separates what is active from what is not.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| NRC IRAP | Open |
| SR&ED tax credit | Open (enhanced 2026) |
| Scale AI cluster | Open |
| BDC LIFT | Open (2026) |
| Mitacs Accelerate | Open |
| CDAP | Closed (2024) |
What is actually available in 2026
The dependable federal supports are NRC IRAP (advice plus cost-shared funding for innovative SMEs), the SR&ED tax credit (refundable for Canadian-controlled private corporations), the Scale AI cluster (co-investment in AI adoption and commercialization), BDC LIFT (preferential-rate financing and advisory, launched 2026), and Mitacs Accelerate (research internships). Provinces add their own programs. The official starting point is Innovation Canada’s free Business Benefits Finder, which returns a tailored list of the 1,500+ federal, provincial and territorial supports you may qualify for and can filter to programs currently accepting applications.
What has ended
The Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) — including the Boost Your Business Technology grant and the Grow Your Business Online micro-grant — closed in 2024 and has no direct replacement under the same name. BDC now points businesses toward its LIFT financing for AI adoption. Do not plan around CDAP.
How to combine them
A typical pattern is to use IRAP or Mitacs for the build, claim SR&ED on eligible R&D afterward, and consider BDC LIFT financing or a provincial program on top — within each program’s stacking rules. Program parameters, amounts and intake windows change frequently — confirm the current details on the official program page before relying on them.
Where dgm fits
dgm is an independent integration partner that helps Canadian businesses adopt osFoundry — scoping a first use case, handling the build, and connecting AI to the systems you already run. dgm can help you scope the AI project that a program would fund — but you apply to the program directly. dgm is independent of osFoundry’s maker (OS LLC) and has no completed client integrations yet, so everything described here is a service offered, not a past result. If you want to scope a practical first project, dgm can help you map it out.