Eligible small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can get up to $50,000 to cover 50% of the costs of exporting products or services to countries where you have little or no sales. CanExport funding can help your company expand beyond Canada, unlocking global markets and opportunities to grow your business worldwide.
Program dates and important changes
Important notice – Application period is now closed
The CanExport SMEs program is no longer accepting applications at this time. The application intake period closed on May 31, 2025, at 5 p.m. ET.
Please check this page regularly to find out when the program will reopen.
Applicant’s Guide
The CanExport SMEs Applicants Guide helps businesses prepare their applications. It’s important to follow the guide closely, as it outlines key eligibility criteria and documentation requirements.
Important notice – Processing updates
We are currently finalizing our review of applications submitted between March 28 and April 10, 2025.
As noted in Section 2 of our guidelines, our ability to meet this service standard depends on several factors, including application volume. However, measures are in place to reduce the impact on clients and help shorten response times. We appreciate your patience as we work diligently to process applications.
Who can apply
To be eligible, your business must:
- be established in Canada
- be for-profit
- be an incorporated legal entity, limited liability partnership (LLP) or cooperative
- have an active Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) business number
- have between 1 and 500 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees
- have $100,000 to $100 million in declared revenue in Canada during its past fiscal year (or 12 months for quarterly filers)
New Applicant’s Guide: Review our Applicant’s Guide as program requirements have changed.
What activities we fund
We provide support to:
- travel to foreign markets
- in-person participation in trade missions, trade shows, meetings, or conferences
- gather market intelligence (custom research, reports, and studies)
- apply for intellectual property protection in international markets
- adapt contractual agreements and apply for supplier diversity certifications in international markets
- seek expert legal and business advice
- translate, adapt, or create marketing materials tailored to your market(s)
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