More than 20% of grant applications are rejected before anyone reads the substance — because the applicant simply wasn't eligible. Don't be that 20%.
Almost every Canadian business grant requires three baseline things:
- A registered Canadian business (federal or provincial incorporation, or sole proprietorship for some programs)
- Operations physically in Canada
- A CRA Business Number
Beyond the baseline, there are three types of eligibility to check every time:
- Organizational — your business size, age, revenue, incorporation status, sector
- Project — does what you're doing match what the program funds?
- Geographic — many programs only fund a specific province or catchment area
Read the eligibility section three times. Check every requirement against your actual business. If anything is ambiguous, call the program officer and ask — they'd rather answer now than reject you later.
The takeaway: eligibility is a gate, not a suggestion. Confirm you clear it before you invest hours writing.