BDC will lend you up to $5M for AI. Two things to check first.
- funding
- applied ai
- small business
BDC has put $500 million behind a programme called LIFT — Lead with Innovation and Focus on Technology — aimed at getting Canadian businesses off the AI sidelines. Loans run from $25,000 to $5 million, you can postpone principal payments for up to two years, and it covers more than you'd expect: data infrastructure, ERP and CRM systems, cybersecurity, robotics and automation, and the installation and integration costs that usually fall between the cracks of a funding programme. It launched in April 2026 and there's no published deadline.
| Who can apply | Canadian-based businesses |
| Revenue floor — AI & digital | at least $1M |
| Revenue floor — equipment & productivity | at least $5M |
| Also assessed on | financial health, industry, and the nature of the project |
| Loan size | $25,000 – $5M |
| Canadian suppliers | preferential rates and terms — an incentive, not a requirement |
| Before financing | a BDC digital/AI plan is mandatory |
Two things trip people up. The first is that $1M revenue floor — "small business" in this programme means a real operating company, not a two-person shop, and a lot of people who'd benefit most are below the line. The second is the one nobody reads until late: you can't just turn up with a quote from a vendor. The digital and AI stream requires a BDC plan, built with their advisory services, before financing is approved. That's not a formality to rush — it's the part that decides whether the money gets spent on something that works, and it's genuinely the most useful thing in the package.
One widespread misreading worth correcting: you do not have to use Canadian suppliers to qualify. BDC's own footnote ties Canadian sourcing to preferential rates and terms, not eligibility. So if the best tool for your problem is Canadian, you'll be rewarded for it — but don't contort a project around sourcing rules that don't exist. Pick the thing that solves the problem, then see whether a Canadian option does it just as well.
If you're going to look at this, start with the readiness conversation rather than the loan. Go to bdc.ca/en/solutions/lift (opens in a new tab), or call 1-877-232-2269 — they commit to calling back within 48 hours. Have one sentence ready about the problem you're trying to solve, not the technology you want to buy. Every bad AI project I've seen started the other way round, and no amount of favourable financing fixes a project that was aimed at the wrong thing.