How Canadian businesses can find government programs and services

There has never been a better time to start a new business or get an innovative idea off the ground. The tools to get started—e-commerce solutions, website builders, and crowdfunding platforms—are readily available, and a .CA domain name will give your Canadian business the trust and credibility you need to succeed.

What is the Innovation Canada platform?

In Canada, we’re also fortunate to have access to many government programs and services that help businesses grow—from funding to business advice.

The only drawback to having more than 1,000 programs and services from federal and provincial/territorial governments is that business owners are too busy to sift through all of the details to see what’s applicable for their business. So how can Canadian businesses find government programs and services?

That’s where the Innovation Canada platform (innovation.canada.ca) comes in.

How does the Innovation Canada platform work?

Upfront, you can select from drop-down menus a few defining characteristics of your business, including location, industry and number of employees. This is referred to as your story.

The online tool will then display programs and services that are relevant to your business. The resources are broken down into the following categories:

• Advice and expertise
• Partnering and collaboration
• Wage subsidies and interns
• Funding
• Loans and capital investments
• Other

Handy features

There a few other key features which business owners will find helpful:

• Saving your story: Save time when you return to the portal by creating an account and saving your story.
• Email updates: Find out if programs are changing, closing, or an application deadline is coming up.

The Innovation Canada platform: A great resource for new and growing business

The Innovation Canada platform will connect you with the funding, loans, wage subsidies, expert advice that your business needs. If the government offers it, you’ll find it there.