CanExport Associations

Canadian national industry associations and trade organizations can get up to $500,000 per year to cover up to 50% of eligible costs and up to 75% of eligible costs for defence and security related projects. This funding supports international business development (IBD) activities aimed at increasing the commercial exports of an entire industry.

CanExport Associations is a reimbursement cost-sharing program. Applicants must request a minimum of $20,000 in funding and up to $500,000. 

The program does not make advance payments. Applicants must have sufficient cash flow to cover their expenses upfront. A stacking limit of 75% applies to total Canadian government funding towards eligible spending.  

We accept applications from:

• Canadian national industry associations and trade organizations with member companies and a national mandate, including:
  • Canadian national industry or trade associations
  • Canadian national bilateral chambers of commerce and business councils 
  • Canadian national horizontal / multi-sectoral trade organizations with a specific focused mandate or theme (for example, organizations representing companies that are majority owned by Indigenous peoples, women, 2SLGBTQI+, or visible minorities)

To be eligible, your organization must:

• be incorporated as a Canadian not-for-profit corporation, confirmed by articles of incorporation
• have sufficient private revenues to cover your portion of costs for proposed activities, confirmed by 2 years of financial statements of your Canadian applicant organization
• not sell products that are sold by your members 
• have adequate managerial and marketing capabilities to execute activities and meet program requirements

We do not accept applications from:

• organizations fully funded by the federal, provincial, territorial, municipal government, or Crown corporations
• regional organizations (provincial, municipal, etc.)
• registered charities 
• organizations that have access to other federal funding programs with similar objectives to CanExport Associations and that support international business development for a specific sector (for example, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada’s AgriMarketing program)
• organizations without a commercial export mandate or that don’t represent member companies focused on exporting commercial products and services, including those focused on:
  • investment attraction
  • innovation or global innovation clusters 
  • startup acceleration
  • R&D
  • pre-commercial activities or companies
  • domestic entrepreneurship or domestic trade 
  • international development
  • certification and standards

This is not an exhaustive list, and other activities may also be ineligible.

CanExport Associations funds activities that help Canadian industries expand and diversify their exports into new international markets. Proposed activities must benefit the entire industry, including both members and non-members of the organization.

Activities in or targeting any country are eligible, provided that Canada has not imposed sanctions on that country. Consult the list of current sanctions imposed by Canada.

Activities must also respect the Guidelines for Canada’s International Support for the Clean Energy Transition.

Approval for travel or in-person activities depends on Government of Canada travel advisories at the time we assess applications.

We support:

• visits to foreign markets 
• organizing international trade missions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in your industry
• organizing an incoming delegation of foreign buyers to Canada
• participating in international trade shows, networking sessions, meetings, or conferences
• export training to industry (for example, training on intellectual property protection in foreign markets)
• creating a strategy for international business development or market diversification
• gathering market intel (custom research, reports, and studies)
• translating, adapting, or creating marketing tools and materials for a target market

We do not support:

• ongoing or core activities and overhead expenses 
• activities related to lobbying or domestic policy development
• product development and production costs (including samples)
• capital costs (for example, computers, office equipment, office space, office supplies), as well as salaries and commissions
• legal fees
• entertainment and hospitality
• honoraria for professional services
• maintenance and hosting fees for websites
• registration fees for events organized by the applicant organization or its partners
• standalone booth spaces for individual companies at commercial events
• event sponsorship and membership fees
• expenses incurred by representatives of Canadian companies when they are not accompanied by representatives of the applicant organization
• activities that don’t have a commercial export focus
• travel in Canada for representatives of the applicant, partners, and/or Canadian companies
• travel expenses of in-market representatives abroad of applicants, partner organizations, and/or Canadian companies

To be eligible, expenses must promote international business development and be directly related to the approved CanExport Associations activities. Eligible examples include:

• travel costs, including return economy or premium economy airfare, per diem, ground transportation, visa fees, and registration fees for international events. Eligible travel includes:
  • applicant organizations, partners, and Canadian companies visiting foreign markets
  • foreign buyers visiting Canada as part of a program organized by the applicant organization
• booth fees
• consultant fees (for example, business consultants or market specialists)
• room rental and equipment fees
• professional services such as writing, editing, graphic design, marketing, and translation fees
• interpretation
• market info (for example, purchasing market intel reports to develop market diversification plans or studies)
• printing, mailing, and shipping fees
• advertising (for example, developing a website targeting foreign customers or materials to promote the Canadian industry to a target market)

This is not a comprehensive list. For questions about the examples above or the eligibility of your proposed activities or expenses, please contact CanExport Associations (CanExportAssociations@international.gc.ca).

You must submit applications using the CanExport Associations online system when the funding round is open.

New applicants: If your organization is applying for the first time, you must contact CanExport Associations (CanExportAssociations@international.gc.ca) to register your intent to apply once the funding round opens. You will receive access to the CanExport Associations online system once we’ve done an initial assessment of your eligibility.

Returning applicants: If your organization has applied before, you can access the application through your existing CanExport Associations online system account once the funding round opens.

All applicants must complete the Pre-Screening Eligibility Requirement Checklist when requesting to start a new online application. 

For any questions or further information, contact us at CanExportAssociations@international.gc.ca