Southern Ontario businesses hurt by tariffs can start applying today for money from an expanded federal program, FedDev Ontario said on Tuesday.
Under the enlarged Regional Tariff Response Initiative, an eligible business can now get up to $3 million in non-repayable funding, of which up to $2 million can go to demonstrated liquidity needs — that is, keeping the lights on rather than financing a project. The rest supports business pivots, productivity work, resilience measures and capital investment. Repayable funding remains available for larger projects, and not-for-profits that help businesses adapt or find new markets can also apply.
The expansion is worth an additional $1.5 billion nationally, part of the $7.5-billion package announced on August 25. Across all of Canada’s regional development agencies the initiative now totals $3.45 billion.
Evan Solomon, the minister responsible for FedDev Ontario, said in the release that the money is meant to help businesses “respond to tariff pressures, strengthen supply chains, build resilience, and pursue new market opportunities.”
One thing to read carefully: the release says southern Ontario, not Toronto or the GTA. Eligibility is set by FedDev Ontario’s own program terms, which are on the initiative’s page, and the agency has not published a deadline.
The announcement follows Canada’s counter-tariffs on a list of American goods, which took effect this week.
Source: FedDev Ontario, “Eligible businesses and organizations in southern Ontario can now apply for support through the enhanced Regional Tariff Response Initiative”, September 8, 2026.
