Program information

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Program objective

The RTRI helps businesses and sectors negatively impacted by the new tariffs from the U.S., China and/or Canadian counter-tariffs. The goal is to boost productivity, catalyze growth, and diversify markets by:

Financial assistance

Applicants are normally limited to one RTRI project approval.

PrairiesCan provides contributions under RTRI, not grants.

PrairiesCan considers all other funding sources for the project and may give preference to projects that demonstrate greater leverage of funding from non-PrairiesCan sources.

Government funding (federal, provincial, and municipal) can cover up to:

Eligible incorporated businesses

RTRI contribution funding for businesses:

  • typically ranges from $500,000 to $5 million per project;
  • can be up to $1 million of non-repayable contribution funding for eligible businesses, otherwise funding to for-profit businesses is normally repayable;
    • repayable contribution funding is normally repaid with no interest over 5 years in monthly installments beginning 1 year after the project end date;
  • normally covers up to 50% of eligible project costs;
    • at least 50% of project costs should be covered by non-PrairiesCan funding.
Eligible not-for-profit organizations

RTRI contribution funding for not-for-profit organizations:

  • is normally non-repayable;
  • normally covers up to 90% of eligible project costs;
    • at least 10% of project costs should be covered by non-PrairiesCan funding;
  • for commercial (revenue-generating) projects, will normally be repayable contribution funding for up to 75% of eligible project costs.
Eligible Indigenous applicants

RTRI contribution funding for Indigenous applicants:

  • normally covers up to 80% of eligible project costs for commercial projects;
    • at least 20% of project costs should be covered by non-PrairiesCan funding;
  • normally covers up to 100% of eligible project costs for non-commercial projects.

What can be funded (eligible activities and costs)

Eligible activities

The RTRI is open to all sectors, however PrairiesCan may give preference to activities that:

The RTRI is part of a broad set of federal tariff support measures, including:

Funding under this program is intended to complement financial support from other federal or provincial tariff initiatives. Where available, applicants are encouraged to explore industry specific support.

RTRI funding does not support projects that move company operations outside of Canada.

Project activities can last up to 3 years and must be completed by March 31, 2028.

Eligible activities focus on boosting productivity, driving growth, and diversifying markets for businesses and sectors affected by recent tariffs or countermeasures. These activities can include the following:

Productivity improvement

Market expansion and diversification

Strengthening supply chains and trade resilience

Eligible costs

Eligible costs under the program are incremental, reasonable and essential to carrying out the eligible project activities. Eligible costs can include the following:

Costs may be eligible retroactively for up to 12 months prior to the receipt of a signed funding request, but no earlier than March 21, 2025.

What cannot be funded (ineligible activities and costs)

Costs and activities that are deemed not reasonable, non-incremental, and/or not directly related to the project are ineligible for funding. These can include, but are not limited to:

Other funding considerations

Talk to your accountant and/or the Canada Revenue Agency to understand how RTRI funding could affect your taxes or other current or future funding agreements.

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2025-09-16