Federal business funding: 149,968 agreements, median $15,000

What the business funding data covers

This dataset covers grant and contribution agreements with for-profit recipients reported under proactive disclosure, with start dates from April 2021 to 2026-10-16. Agreements dated in the future are excluded. Amendments are collapsed to the latest reported value. Individuals are masked. Medians are per agreement.

The scale is large in count but small in typical size. There are 149,968 agreements across 371 programs, going to 81,664 recipients, with a total value of $63.7 billion. The median agreement is $15,000.

That median matters more than any maximum. If you are a supplier deciding where to bid, the median tells you what a normal award looks like, not what the biggest press release says. Most agreements are small: 87.5% are under $100,000, and only 2.2% are over $1 million.

The money is also concentrated by program. The top 10 programs by agreement count account for 87.1% of all agreements. The largest five agreements alone total $30.6 billion, which is a large share of the $63.7 billion total, but those are a handful of deals, not a market you can plan around.

The programs that sign the most agreements with businesses

Youth - Canada Summer Jobs, run by Employment and Social Development Canada, signs the most agreements with businesses: 40,962 agreements, median $3,741, total $272.8 million. The median is low, so this is a high-volume, small-ticket program.

The Canadian Digital Adoption Program Boost your Business Technology Stream, from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, is second at 29,585 agreements, median $15,000, total $431.1 million. The median matches the overall dataset median.

The Incentives for Zero-emission vehicles program, from Transport Canada, has 28,638 agreements, median $20,000, total $2.3 billion. A separate line, Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles Program (iZEV), also from Transport Canada, has 3,321 agreements, median $15,000, total $139.4 million.

The National Research Council of Canada runs several high-volume programs. Industrial Research Assistance Program – Contributions to Firms has 10,538 agreements, median $75,000, total $1.8 billion. CanExport SME has 5,063 agreements, median $25,000, total $119.6 million. Industrial Research Assistance Program – Youth Employment Program has 5,021 agreements, median $30,000, total $161.8 million. CanExport SMEs has 1,940 agreements, median $25,000, total $50.6 million.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada runs two more in the top 10. Youth Employment and Skills Program has 3,814 agreements, median $14,000, total $42.1 million. Wine Sector Support Program has 1,707 agreements, median $23,995, total $287.1 million.

For a supplier, the practical read is that the biggest programs by count are not the biggest by median. Canada Summer Jobs has the most agreements but a median of $3,741. Industrial Research Assistance Program – Contributions to Firms has fewer agreements but a median of $75,000, which is five times the overall median.

Typical amounts, not headline maximums

The overall median agreement is $15,000. That is the number to use when you model cash flow, not the maximum a program advertises. Half of all agreements are below $15,000.

The distribution is heavily weighted to small deals. 87.5% of agreements are under $100,000. Only 2.2% are over $1 million. If your plan assumes a seven-figure award, the data says that is a rare outcome.

The largest single agreements show what the top end looks like. NEXTSTAR ENERGY INC. holds a $14.6 billion agreement under Electric Vehicle Battery Manufacturers, starting 2024-01-01. PowerCo Canada Inc. holds a $13.2 billion agreement under the same program, starting 2023-05-05. CIBC TRUST CORPORATION holds a $1.5 billion agreement under Community Infrastructure, starting 2024-04-01. 1000511515 Ontario Inc. holds a $700.0 million agreement under SIF Stream3- Attraction, starting 2023-04-01. ENBRIDGE GAS INC holds a $670.7 million agreement under Contributions in Support of Home Retrofits, starting 2022-08-26.

Those five total $30.6 billion. They are not a template for a typical supplier. They are the exceptions that sit alongside a median of $15,000.

Where the agreements go by province

Ontario recipients hold 52,421 agreements worth $44.4 billion. That value is inflated by the largest deals, but the count is also the highest in the country.

Quebec follows with 33,159 agreements worth $8.3 billion. British Columbia has 23,101 agreements worth $4.3 billion. Alberta has 16,898 agreements worth $3.1 billion.

The smaller provinces by count include Nova Scotia at 5,362 agreements worth $544.2 million, New Brunswick at 5,238 worth $542.7 million, Manitoba at 4,591 worth $770.0 million, Saskatchewan at 3,563 worth $663.1 million, Newfoundland and Labrador at 3,235 worth $378.4 million, and Prince Edward Island at 1,762 worth $328.9 million.

For a supplier, the province column shows where agreements are concentrated, but it does not tell you where your company must be located. It tells you where recipients are. If you are in a smaller province, the counts are lower, but the programs listed above are national in scope.

How agreement volume moved by fiscal year

Business agreements by fiscal year, based on start date, show a spike in 2023-24: $34.0 billion across 38,581 agreements. That year carries the largest value by far, driven by the largest deals.

The other years are steadier in count. 2021-22 had $6.9 billion across 29,252 agreements. 2022-23 had $7.5 billion across 27,982. 2024-25 had $8.1 billion across 32,782. 2025-26 had $6.2 billion across 17,744. 2026-27 had $840.2 million across 3,627.

The 2025-26 and 2026-27 counts are lower, but the data window ends 2026-10-16, so 2026-27 is a partial year. Do not read the drop as a permanent decline.

The practical point is that agreement counts stay in the tens of thousands per year. There is a steady flow of small agreements, and one year with a very large value total.

Grants and Innovative Solutions Canada procurement calls

The data provided covers grant and contribution agreements with for-profit recipients. It does not include a field linking those agreements to Innovative Solutions Canada procurement calls. The link between grants and Innovative Solutions Canada procurement calls is not in this data.

What the data does show is which programs sign the most agreements with businesses, and at what median. If you are looking at Innovative Solutions Canada, you cannot use this dataset to confirm a connection to a specific grant or contribution agreement.

You can still use the program table to see whether a program you are considering appears in the top 10 by agreement count, and what its median is. If a program is not in the table, this data does not say how many agreements it signed or what it typically gives.

Practical steps for a supplier

Start with the median, not the maximum. The overall median is $15,000. If you need more than that per agreement, target programs with higher medians: Industrial Research Assistance Program – Contributions to Firms at $75,000, Industrial Research Assistance Program – Youth Employment Program at $30,000, CanExport SME and CanExport SMEs at $25,000, and Wine Sector Support Program at $23,995.

If you want volume, look at the programs with the most agreements. Youth - Canada Summer Jobs has 40,962 agreements, Canadian Digital Adoption Program Boost your Business Technology Stream has 29,585, and Incentives for Zero-emission vehicles program has 28,638. These are high-count programs, but their medians are $3,741, $15,000 and $20,000 respectively.

Check the program's department before you apply. The top 10 programs sit with Employment and Social Development Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Transport Canada, the National Research Council of Canada, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Each department runs its own intake.

Plan for the small-deal reality. 87.5% of agreements are under $100,000 and only 2.2% are over $1 million. If your project needs more than $1 million, the data says that is uncommon, and the largest agreements in the table are held by a small number of recipients in specific programs.

Use the province table to see where agreements are concentrated. Ontario has 52,421 agreements, Quebec 33,159, British Columbia 23,101, and Alberta 16,898. If you are in a province with fewer agreements, the programs are still national, but the recipient counts are lower.

Watch the fiscal year pattern. 2023-24 had 38,581 agreements and $34.0 billion, the highest value year. 2024-25 had 32,782 agreements and $8.1 billion. 2025-26 had 17,744 agreements and $6.2 billion. If you are timing an application, note that counts vary by year and the most recent year in the data is partial.

Do not assume a grant links to an Innovative Solutions Canada procurement call. That link is not in this data. Treat the grant and contribution programs in the table as one path, and check Innovative Solutions Canada separately.