By OptiVal Editorial Desk

Tariff Support for Ontario Exporters: Programs Worth Knowing About Right Now

If US tariffs are squeezing your margins, you are not alone. Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum, copper and autos have been biting since March 2025, and on August 22, 2026, the US added Section 338 tariffs of 50 percent on roughly US$20 billion of Canadian goods, pulling machinery, electrical equipment, plastics, paper, furniture, food and a long list of consumer products into the crossfire. The federal government has since put a $7.5 billion support package behind tariff-hit businesses, and Ontario has added its own programs on top.

The result: tariff support for Ontario exporters has never been broader. Real money is available right now, from non-repayable grants worth millions to working-capital loans and export insurance. But every program has its own eligibility gates, dollar caps and stacking rules, and the strongest money goes to businesses that apply with their numbers in order. Here is what is actually open, what each one covers, and how to use them without tripping over the fine print.

Federal tariff support for Ontario exporters

FedDev Ontario’s Regional Tariff Response Initiative (RTRI). This is the headline program for southern Ontario businesses, with enhanced terms in effect since September 8, 2026. Liquidity assistance: non-repayable contributions of up to $2 million to help maintain operations and employment, sized from your demonstrated liquidity needs (payroll costs are the usual reference point). Pivot projects: non-repayable up to $1 million, repayable over $1 million, covering things like automation, market diversification, supply-chain resilience and export development. In combination you can reach $3 million non-repayable, or up to $20 million with larger repayable projects.

Eligibility: an incorporated for-profit business located and operating in southern Ontario, at least 5 full-time employees in the region (fewer than 500 overall), at least $1 million in annual revenue in one of the last two fiscal years, viable before the tariffs hit, and able to show material tariff impact. Costs can be retroactive up to 12 months (but not before March 21, 2025), and projects must wrap up by March 31, 2028. One guardrail that matters: total government assistance across all levels cannot exceed 90 percent of eligible costs, so plan your stacking before you apply. FedDev’s official RTRI FAQ has the full terms.

BDC Pivot to Grow. Loans designed for tariff-exposed businesses, open until March 31, 2028. Up to $5 million per stream, $10 million total across the program, and the liquidity stream carries 0 percent interest for the first 12 months. Eligibility: Canadian-based, at least $1 million in annual revenue, three years in business, a history of positive cash flow, and at least 15 percent of sales from US exports (the liquidity stream also covers businesses where tariffs eat at least 5 percent of revenue). BDC’s Pivot to Grow page has the details.

EDC Trade Impact Program. Export Development Canada’s program for exporters navigating tariff disruption: up to $5 billion in additional financing and insurance capacity over two years. It was expanded September 1, 2026 with a $700 million envelope of direct financing aimed at small and medium-sized businesses, and EDC has said it will take on more risk to widen access. Tools include guarantees through your own bank, trade credit insurance against nonpayment by foreign buyers, foreign-exchange risk management, and direct financing for productivity investments and market diversification. EDC reports roughly $3 billion deployed so far through more than 6,000 transactions supporting over 800 companies. EDC’s tariff support page explains how to start the conversation.

Provincial programs: Ontario’s own tariff response

Protect Ontario Financing Program. Ontario’s $1 billion fund for tariff-hit businesses: term loans starting at $250,000, repayable over up to six years, with up to 12 months of principal-free (interest-only) repayment. The money covers working capital: payroll, leases, utilities. Originally aimed at the steel, aluminum and auto sectors hit by Section 232 tariffs, eligibility was expanded in August 2026 to sectors hit by the new Section 338 tariffs, including mechanical and electrical equipment, plastics, alcohol beverages, paper and packaging, furniture, jewelry, precious metals, beauty and personal care, dairy and specialty cheese, textiles, consumer goods, leather and footwear, mattresses, motorboats and golf carts.

Eligibility: a for-profit business registered in Ontario, at least $2 million in annual revenue, at least 10 full-time employees in Ontario, three-plus years of operations with financial statements, and material working capital challenges caused by tariffs. One condition to note: you must have explored or exhausted federal support options first, or faced real barriers in accessing them. Applications go through a third-party assessment. Ontario’s Protect Ontario Financing Program page has the questionnaire.

Ontario Together Trade Fund. A $150 million fund offering grants or loans, typically covering 10 to 20 percent of eligible project costs up to $5 million (75 percent only for projects showing exceptional benefit to Ontario). Continuous intake since April 2025, with eligibility expanded in September 2026 to the sectors hit by the new Section 338 tariffs. Eligibility: operating in Ontario for at least three years, at least five full-time employees, and either tariff-affected operations or a project that retools your business to serve customers looking for alternatives to US suppliers. This is the fund to look at if your response to tariffs is to diversify markets inside Canada. The Ontario Together Trade Fund page is here.

Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Competitiveness (AMIC). If tariffs are pushing you to invest in your plant rather than just survive them, AMIC offers up to 15 percent of eligible project costs for Ontario advanced manufacturers. Round 8 is open until November 5, 2026, with Round 9 running January 28 to April 27, 2027. The AMIC program page has the application guide.

One program to keep on your radar rather than your application list: CanExport SMEs, the federal grant for exporters entering new international markets, closed its 2026 intake on August 31, 2026. If market diversification is your pivot, watch for it to reopen.

How to use these programs without tripping over the rules

Quantify the hit before you apply. Program officers and lenders speak in numbers: tariff costs as a share of revenue, margin compression, contracts lost or paused, cash runway. If your books cannot produce those numbers quickly, fix that first. Our loan-readiness checklist walks through what banks and BDC ask to see.

Mind the stacking caps. RTRI caps total government assistance at 90 percent of eligible costs; AMIC caps combined federal and provincial funding at 50 percent. Claiming the same costs under two programs is the fastest way to kill an application. Map the whole funding stack on one page before filing anything.

Sequence matters. The Protect Ontario program requires you to have tried federal options first (or hit real barriers). Start conversations with BDC, EDC or FedDev early, document the outcomes, then go provincial.

Match the tool to the problem. Cash crunch right now: RTRI liquidity support, Protect Ontario working-capital loans, BDC’s liquidity stream. Diversifying markets: the Ontario Together Trade Fund, and CanExport when it reopens. Investing in equipment: AMIC, or the Clean Technology ITC if your equipment qualifies.

Keep documentation as you go. Eligibility turns on financial statements, payroll records, export invoices and proof of tariff costs. Contemporaneous records beat reconstructed ones every time.

Not sure which programs you qualify for? We help small businesses find funding and prepare applications. Book a free consultation. Want to check your fit first? Try our funding eligibility calculator. Our consulting rate is $125 per hour, CAD plus HST.