If tariffs have pushed up your costs, cut into your orders, or forced you to rethink who you sell to, you are far from alone. What most business owners don't know is that the federal government has set aside serious money to help, and technology projects are squarely on the list of what it will pay for.

The Regional Tariff Response Initiative (RTRI) is a federal program with $1 billion in targeted support for small and medium-sized businesses affected by trade disruptions. It funds projects that improve productivity, open new markets, and strengthen supply chains. A meaningful portion of the money is non-repayable, and the rest is typically an interest-free loan.

This post covers what RTRI funding is, whether your business qualifies, and the kinds of technology projects it can pay for, with concrete examples we can scope and deliver.

What the Regional Tariff Response Initiative is

RTRI is delivered through Canada's seven regional development agencies. In Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, that's Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan). In BC, it's PacifiCan. The program exists because tariffs from the US and China, and Canada's own counter-tariffs, have hit thousands of businesses that did nothing wrong. Rather than just absorbing that damage, the government is paying businesses to become harder to hurt: more productive, less dependent on any one market, and less exposed to fragile supply chains.

Applications are open until December 31, 2027 or until the money runs out, and priority may go to harder-hit sectors. Earlier is better.

Does your business qualify?

The core requirements are straightforward. Your business must be:

• Incorporated in Canada and for-profit, with staffed operations here.
• 1 to 499 full-time employees, in operation for at least two years and viable before the tariffs hit (before March 21, 2025).
• Impacted by tariffs. Either at least 25% of your sales are in tariff-targeted markets, or you can document the impact: higher input costs, lost revenue, reduced orders, or customers pulling back.
• Able to fund your share. RTRI covers a portion of eligible project costs (up to 50% under the current applicant guide), and you need the rest confirmed from your own sources when you apply.

💡  "Impacted by tariffs" is broader than exporting to the US. If your equipment, hardware, materials, or software costs went up because of tariffs, or a customer cut orders because theirs did, that impact counts. Document it.

Technology projects RTRI funding can cover

RTRI funds three streams: productivity improvement, market expansion and diversification, and supply chain resilience. Technology projects fit all three, and eligible costs include labour, equipment, software implementation, consultancy fees, and training. Here's what that looks like in practice.

⚠  Basic research and development, land purchases, debt refinancing, and anything that moves operations outside Canada are excluded. A project that bundles eligible technology work with excluded costs will run into trouble at assessment.

How the money actually works

RTRI contributions fill grant-first. Under the caps in effect through mid-2026, up to $1 million per business is non-repayable, and an announced change takes the non-repayable cap to $3 million starting September 2026. Anything above the grant cap, up to the project maximum, is repayable but interest-free, with a one-year grace period after your project finishes and no penalty for early repayment.

Two details matter for planning. First, costs can be retroactive up to 12 months before your application (but no earlier than March 21, 2025), so a project you already started may still qualify. Second, every project must be complete by March 31, 2028, which means large migrations and modernizations need to start soon to fit the window.

How to apply

1. Confirm eligibility and gather evidence. Incorporation documents, two years of financial statements, and documentation of tariff impact: supplier price increases, lost contracts, or sales data showing exposure to tariffed markets.
2. Define the project. A clear scope, budget, and timeline tied to one or more RTRI streams. This is where a well-scoped technology roadmap earns its keep.
3. Submit an expression of interest. PrairiesCan uses a short online EOI form covering your project's purpose, eligibility, activities, and budget. PrairiesCan encourages a conversation with a program officer first.
4. Complete the full application if invited. Applications are assessed competitively on economic impact, project viability, and management capability.
5. Sign the contribution agreement and start. Claims are submitted quarterly for reimbursement as the project progresses.

Where Always Beyond fits

A strong RTRI application needs a credible, well-scoped project behind it. That's the part we own. Always Beyond can assess your current environment, define a technology project that genuinely improves productivity or opens new markets, build the scope and budget your application needs, and then deliver the work: cloud migrations, automation, security uplift, AI adoption with governance, and the hardware underneath it all.

We aren't grant writers, and for the application itself we'd point you to a funding specialist or directly to PrairiesCan. But a grant application is only as strong as the project it describes, and the project is our job.

Frequently asked questions

My business is in BC. Does RTRI apply to me?

Yes. RTRI is national, delivered by seven regional agencies. BC businesses apply through PacifiCan; Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba businesses apply through PrairiesCan.

We don't export to the US. Can we still qualify?

Possibly. The impact test is 25% of sales in tariff-targeted markets or documented tariff impact. Higher hardware or materials costs, or customers cutting orders because of their own tariff exposure, can both count if you can show the numbers.

Do we have to pay the money back?

Part of it, sometimes. The first portion of a contribution is a grant you keep, up to the non-repayable cap for eligible businesses. Anything above that is an interest-free loan repaid over several years after the project ends.

We already started a technology project this year. Is it too late?

Not necessarily. Costs can be eligible retroactively for up to 12 months before your funding request, as long as they were incurred on or after March 21, 2025.

How long does a decision take?

The regional agencies target decisions within roughly 90 business days of a complete application. Build that into your project timeline, especially with the March 2028 completion deadline.

Has your business felt the squeeze from tariffs? Always Beyond can scope the technology project that makes you more competitive and gives your RTRI application something real to stand on. Reach out to start the conversation.