Canada Digital Adoption Program funding is now closed to new applications, and the AI funding that remains for Canadian businesses sits in newer federal programs. This explainer covers where the CDAP grant stands, what Canada’s AI strategy, AI for All, sets out for business adoption, how the Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative works with its current intakes and deadlines, what BDC’s LIFT offer covers, and how to scope an AI adoption project, such as rolling out an AI assistant to staff, so an application is clear and easy to assess.
CDAP helped small and mid-sized businesses pay for digital adoption advice and financing. Federal support now includes programs aimed at AI adoption specifically, through a national strategy and regional funding delivered by the regional development agencies. The sections below follow that order: the program that closed, the national AI strategy, the funding available now, and how to prepare an AI project for it.
The CDAP Grant: What It Covered and Where It Stands
CDAP ran two streams. The Boost Your Business Technology stream offered a grant covering “90% of the eligible cost of the advisory service, up to a maximum amount of $15,000 per SME,” plus a 0% loan from BDC “of up to $100,000.” The second stream was Grow Your Business Online.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) states that Boost Your Business Technology “is fully subscribed and is not accepting new applications at this time.” BDC’s CDAP page dates the change to February 19, 2024, when CDAP stopped accepting new applications for the Boost stream. Advisory firms Ryan and MNP reported that the program ended early. For a business planning an AI project today, the practical point is that the CDAP grant is closed to new applicants, and the current options sit in the AI-specific programs below.
AI for All: Canada’s AI Strategy and Its Business Adoption Goal
The federal government launched “Canada’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy: AI for All” on June 4, 2026, according to the Prime Minister’s release that day. Its business goal is stated plainly: “Increase Canada’s business adoption of AI from 12 percent today to 60 percent by 2034, through boosting SMEs and business adoption supports.” The strategy also includes a Compute Access Fund for SMEs.
That goal shapes what the funding programs look for. A business that can show how an AI tool will be adopted across its staff, with named tasks, training and a way to measure use, fits the stated aim of moving adoption from 12% toward 60%. For many SMEs, adoption starts with an AI assistant such as Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot or Gemini, set up under a company account, connected to company files and backed by a written use policy. Larger projects add custom AI models or agents built on the company’s own data.
The Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative: AI Funding by Region
The Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative (RAII) is AI funding in Canada that each regional development agency delivers to businesses in its region. ISED describes “an additional $500 million over five years” for the initiative, “bringing total federal funding for the initiative to $700 million.” In the agencies’ words, the funding helps “businesses and organizations adopt and integrate AI to improve productivity, competitiveness and resilience.”
Seven regional development agencies deliver RAII, and eligibility varies by agency. ACOA, for example, has a minimum request of $1 million, which suits larger adoption projects. The table shows each agency, the region it serves according to ISED, and the intake status each agency listed as of October 29, 2026.
| Agency | Region served | RAII intake for businesses | What to prepare for the AI project |
|---|---|---|---|
| PacifiCan | British Columbia | Open to businesses until November 23, 2026 | AI use case, costs by line, adoption measures |
| PrairiesCan | Prairie provinces | Continuous intake to December 31, 2030, or until funds are committed | AI use case, costs by line, adoption measures |
| FedDev Ontario | Southern Ontario | October 13, 2026 to January 19, 2027 | AI use case, costs by line, adoption measures |
| FedNor | Northern Ontario | Check FedNor for its current intake | AI use case, costs by line, adoption measures |
| CED | Quebec | Accepting applications | AI use case, costs by line, adoption measures |
| ACOA | Atlantic Canada | Closes November 20, 2026; minimum request $1 million | A larger AI project scoped to the minimum request |
| CanNor | Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut | Check CanNor for its current intake | AI use case, costs by line, adoption measures |
Agency intakes change, so confirm dates, eligible costs and required documents on your agency’s own RAII page before you start writing.
BDC LIFT: Consulting and Financing to Adopt AI
BDC describes its LIFT offer as “preferential-rate consulting and financing to adopt artificial intelligence, digital tools, and smart equipment.” LIFT gives businesses a BDC route to consulting and financing tied to AI adoption, alongside RAII, which the regional agencies deliver. Ask BDC directly for current rates, eligibility and which AI costs, such as software, consulting or training, the offer covers.
How to Scope an AI Adoption Project for a Funding Application
Agencies and lenders assess a project they can understand. A clear AI adoption project names the work AI will do, the costs, the people involved and how adoption will be measured. Six parts cover most applications.
1. Name the business problem and the AI work
Start with the process, then the AI. “Our six-person office spends most of each Monday building client reports by hand” is a problem an agency can picture. Then say what the AI does: drafts the reports from your accounting data, summarizes client emails, or answers staff questions from your procedures. Name the tool or approach, whether that is an AI assistant such as Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot or Gemini, or a custom model trained on your own data. Keep the description in plain language, so a reviewer outside your industry can follow it on a first read.
2. List the costs by line
Break the budget into AI software licences billed by the vendor, setup and configuration (sign-in, admin settings and connectors to your systems), a written AI use policy, role-based staff training, and measurement. Separate one-time costs from ongoing ones. Your agency’s guidelines decide which lines are eligible, so map each line to its eligible cost categories. If the project uses outside help, attach quotes that list the same lines.
3. Set measures the agency can check
Tie the project to the AI for All adoption goal with measures you can report: the share of staff actively using the AI tool, the number of processes moved onto it, and time saved per task as estimated by staff. Record a starting point before rollout so the change is visible. The same numbers help your own team, since they show which roles need more training and which AI tasks to extend next.
4. Show how data is handled
Describe which data the AI uses, where it is stored, who can access it, and what your staff policy says about client and personal information. Note whether the AI vendor’s business plan uses your data for model training, how long it keeps chats, and whether your admins can change that. A short data section answers the questions a reviewer is likely to ask about privacy.
5. Name the internal owner
Name the person who runs the AI tool after rollout, manages seats and keeps the policy current. Agencies fund adoption, and an owner shows the tool will stay in use once the project ends.
6. Plan AI training by role
Adoption depends on people using the tool. List who is trained, on which tasks, and how new staff are brought in later. Role-based sessions on each team’s own documents give a reviewer a concrete picture of how the AI reaches daily work.
An Example AI Adoption Project: Rolling Out an AI Assistant to Staff
A 25-person accounting and bookkeeping firm wants to cut the time staff spend on client emails, month-end summaries and internal procedures. Its project description could read as follows.
- AI work: an AI assistant drafts client email replies, summarizes month-end reports and answers staff questions from the firm’s procedures manual, with a staff member reviewing every output before it leaves the firm.
- Tool and setup: one AI assistant on a business plan, with company sign-in, admin roles, and connectors limited to the shared drive and the practice management system.
- Policy: a written AI use policy covering approved tools, which client data can go into the assistant, and who reviews output.
- Training: role-based sessions for partners, accountants and administrative staff, each built on their own tasks.
- Measures: the share of staff using the assistant each month, the number of procedures moved into shared projects, and time saved per task as estimated by staff, against a baseline taken before rollout.
- Owner: the office manager, who manages seats, reviews usage and keeps the policy current.
Each line maps to a cost and a measure, which is the structure the six parts above produce. A project built on custom AI, such as a model that classifies incoming documents or forecasts demand from your sales history, follows the same structure with added lines for data preparation and model testing.
How NeuralChainAI Scopes AI Adoption Projects for Applications
NeuralChainAI scopes the AI adoption project and prepares the project documents an application needs: the AI use case, the cost breakdown by line, the AI use policy, the training plan and the adoption measures. When the project goes ahead, we run the AI rollout itself: plan choice, SSO and admin settings, scoped connectors, the AI use policy, role-based training, adoption measurement and handover to your internal owner. The agency or lender makes the funding decision, and software seats are billed to you directly by the vendor.
Planning an AI adoption project and looking at RAII or BDC LIFT? Our AI enablement services for Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot and Gemini scope the project, the costs and the rollout so your application documents are ready to write. To talk it through first, book an AI strategy session.
