Marketing grants in British Columbia — see which you qualify for
Answer a few quick questions and watch the map narrow to the ones your British Columbia business can actually get — free, no account.
Is there a grant for digital marketing in BC?
Not for an ordinary business advertising at home. We read the cost rules of every programme a British Columbia business can apply to. As of October 4, 2026, no government grant open to every owner pays a BC shop, service firm or trade to run online ads, build a website or grow its social media; the few that come close are reserved for Indigenous-owned businesses or co-operatives. Marketing money exists, but in four narrower places:
- Selling outside BC. Export marketing grants pay for trade shows abroad, and some for ads aimed at foreign buyers. Compare them.
- Food and drink. Buy BC pays BC producers to advertise to BC shoppers; two federal and provincial programmes pay for marketing in new markets.
- Creative work. Film, music, books and games have their own marketing programmes.
- People, not ads. Interns, training and consultants for your marketing can be partly funded. See how.
Everything else is a loan or a corporate prize contest.
Which of these fits depends on what you sell and where. The questions in the map above narrow the list to the programmes your business can actually get, including the export, hiring and training money around your marketing.
Check what fits my businessWhich BC funding programmes pay for marketing?
We read the published eligible and ineligible costs of every programme in our catalogue that a BC business can apply to: BC-only and national, excluding closed and discontinued ones. That is 363 programmes. 64 pay toward a business’s own marketing. 48 name marketing as a cost they will not pay. Of the other 251, 204 do not mention marketing among their costs, 20 mention it only for something else, and 27 publish no cost lists we could read.
| Kind of programme | Count | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Loans that can be spent on marketing | 23 | BDC, Futurpreneur, Community Futures and lenders for women and Indigenous owners. You repay them. |
| Marketing one creative work | 15 | A film, a record, a book, a festival or an exhibition. Not the company behind it in general. |
| Corporate prize contests | 12 | Bank, card and delivery-company contests whose winners may spend the prize on marketing. Few winners, and most are between rounds. |
| Export marketing | 6 | Only for markets outside BC or Canada: CanExport SMEs, both Creative Export Canada streams, AgriMarketing, the BC Agriculture and Food Export Program, and one forestry programme. |
| Reserved for a named group | 4 | Indigenous-owned businesses and co-operatives. |
| Industry associations only | 3 | Paid to a sector association, not to a single company. |
| Marketing to customers inside BC | 1 | Buy BC, for food, beverage and seafood only. |
The 48 that refuse marketing include IRAP, SR&ED, Mitacs Accelerate, the Innovate BC Early-Stage Demonstration Call, the BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund and the Northern Development Initiative Trust’s innovation fund. Even Creative BC’s Project Development Fund, often listed as a marketing grant, excludes marketing and sales; it pays for developing a film or TV project.
Method: we classified each programme by its own expense lists in our catalogue, then read every programme that matched by hand and removed 20 that pay for something else (community events, research outreach, equity investment). Statuses are from our catalogue; for every programme in the comparison below we also checked the funder’s page on October 4, 2026.
Do any grants pay for Google Ads, social media, SEO or a website?
A few do, but none of them is a general small-business grant. The programme most people expect to cover it says no in writing: CanExport SMEs’ 2026-27 applicant guide lists online advertising (including social media), traditional advertising, website maintenance and domains, search engine optimization, online store development and e-commerce platform fees as ineligible.
Where digital marketing is an eligible cost:
- Creative Export Canada, Export Development Stream lists advertising and digital marketing costs for international markets, and website and e-commerce development to get ready for them. Creative companies only; closed until its next intake.
- BC Agriculture and Food Export Program pays for paid advertising and a third-party social media contractor for campaigns aimed at export markets.
- AgriMarketing for SMEs pays for in-market promotion and social media campaigns in a new market, including another province. Accepting applications until September 30, 2030, for food, drink and seafood businesses.
- Buy BC pays for Buy BC-branded digital ads to BC shoppers.
- FACTOR pays for the marketing and promotion of a recording.
Two programmes that did pay for ordinary digital marketing are gone. The Innovate BC Go-To-Market Microgrant paid $10,000 to $50,000, up to 75% of costs, for paid advertising, digital campaigns and even marketing salaries; its only call ran November 17 to 30, 2025 and no second call has been announced. The federal Canada Digital Adoption Program stopped taking applications in 2024 and was not replaced.
For the same question outside BC, see our national guide to marketing grants in Canada.
BC marketing grants compared, with a verdict on each
The programmes a BC business is most likely to use for marketing, with what each will and will not pay for. Statuses were checked on each funder’s own page on October 4, 2026.
| Programme | Who can apply | Marketing it pays for | Amount | Status, October 4, 2026 | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CanExport SMEs | Incorporated businesses, LLPs or co-ops with 3 to 500 full-time staff and $300,000 to $100 million in revenue | Trade events abroad, market research, interpretation, promotional material for trade shows. Not online or traditional advertising, websites, SEO or e-commerce fees | $10,000 to $50,000 a project, 50% of costs | Closed. The 2026-27 intake ended August 31, 2026; no next date posted | Best for selling abroad in person. It will not pay for online ads. |
| Creative Export Canada, Export Development Stream | Incorporated, Canadian-owned creative companies with up to $10 million in revenue and at least 1 salaried employee | Advertising, printing and digital marketing for international markets (market development capped at $40,000 a year), plus website and e-commerce development | Up to $90,000 a year, government share up to 75% | Closed. Next intake, for projects from April 1, 2027, to be announced in fall 2026 | The only programme here that also pays for a website, if your market is outside Canada and you make creative work. |
| AgriMarketing: Market Diversification for SMEs | For-profit agriculture, food, agri-product and seafood businesses | Marketing into new markets abroad or in other provinces: in-market promotion, social media campaigns, trade shows, branding strategy for a new market | Normally under $100,000 a project, 70% of costs; projects from $20,000 | Accepting applications February 13, 2026 to September 30, 2030, unless funds run out first | The export-marketing grant you can apply to now, if you sell food, drink or seafood. |
| BC Agriculture and Food Export Program | BC producers, processors and co-ops with over $100,000 in revenue in each of the last two years | Export-focused ads (print, radio, TV, digital), social media campaigns and marketing collateral for markets outside BC | $5,000 up to $50,000 a year or 30% of revenue, whichever is lower; you pay 50% in cash | Closed. The 2026 intake ran January 19 to February 13, 2026; next not yet posted | Strong for BC food exporters, and it pays for social media. The last intake opened in January. |
| Buy BC Partnership Program | BC food, beverage and seafood producers and processors holding a Buy BC logo licence, with $30,000+ in revenue | Buy BC-branded digital, radio, print, transit and TV ads and promotion inside BC | $5,000 to $15,000 a year (under $250,000 revenue) or up to $30,000; you pay 50%, or 65% as a returning recipient | Closed. The 2026 intake ran January 26 to February 20, 2026; next not yet posted | The only grant here for advertising to BC customers, and only for food and drink. |
| FACTOR artist programs | Canadian recording artists (Artist Development is a $5,000 subsidy; Single/EP pays 50% up to $25,000) | Marketing and promotion of a recording, along with recording, touring and video | $5,000 to $25,000 for these two programs | Deadlines passed for 2026-27 (May 7 and May 14, 2026); Live Performance is rolling for rated artists | The usual first stop for music marketing; set up a FACTOR profile before the next round. |
| Creative BC Passport to Markets | BC film, TV and digital media producers and sales agents | Travel, accommodation and registration to attend markets Creative BC designates | $1,000 to $2,500 per market, up to 50% of costs | Opens market by market: European Film Market, November 19 to December 2, 2026; GDC, December 7 to 21, 2026 | Small, but it has windows coming up this fall. |
| Telefilm Canada Marketing Program | Canadian distributors or producers of a certified Canadian feature film | Marketing and promotion campaigns for the film’s release in Canada | Up to 75% of eligible marketing costs as a repayable, interest-free advance | Intake April 23, 2026 to February 16, 2027, while funds last | Open, but it is repaid from the film’s revenue, so it is not a grant. |
| Regional Tariff Response Initiative (PacifiCan) | BC small and medium businesses hit by tariffs, with at least $1 million in annual revenue | Pivot projects that diversify markets and reduce exposure to trade disruption | Up to $1 million non-repayable for a pivot project at 50% of costs; $3 million combined cap | Accepting applications (PacifiCan, page updated October 2, 2026) | Worth it for a tariff-hit firm moving to new markets; not an advertising fund. |
Music in BC also has Creative BC’s Amplify BC programmes: Career Development (recording, marketing and music videos for BC artists) closed September 9, 2026 with results due in January 2027, and the Music Company program is closed.
Which one fits your business?
You make food, drink or seafood
Apply to AgriMarketing for SMEs now for a new market. Prepare for Buy BC and the BC Agriculture and Food Export Program, which both opened in January last time.
You sell a product or service abroad
CanExport SMEs for trade shows and market research, once a new intake is posted. Pay for the ads yourself or with a loan. See BC export grants.
You make films, music, books or games
Creative Export Canada for international marketing, FACTOR for a release, Passport to Markets for travel. Telefilm’s marketing money is repayable.
You run a local shop, service or trade
No grant open to every owner pays for your ads. Fund the people instead (below), borrow through BDC or Community Futures, or look at BC digital grants for software.
Tariffs have hit your sales
PacifiCan’s Regional Tariff Response Initiative funds pivot projects to new markets for firms with $1 million or more in revenue.
You are starting out
Futurpreneur lends young founders up to $75,000 with a mentor, and the loan can cover launch marketing. See BC startup grants.
Can I get funding to hire or train someone for marketing?
This is where many BC businesses can get real help, because programmes that will not pay for ads will often pay toward the person who runs them.
- Mitacs Business Strategy Internship: a post-secondary student intern works on a four-month project that can address marketing. The award is $10,000 or $15,000 per intern, of which your business contributes $5,000.
- B.C. Employer Training Grant: pays 80% of the cost of skills training, up to $10,000 per employee and $300,000 a year, including for a new hire. It does not fund diploma or degree programs. WorkBC decides within 60 days.
- NDIT Competitiveness Consulting Rebate (northern BC): returns up to 50% of an outside consultant’s fees, to $30,000 a year, with continuous intake. “Development of marketing strategy” is one of its listed example projects.
Student wage subsidies and summer job programmes can also cover a junior marketing role; the map above matches them to your business.
Who in BC received export-marketing money?
Federal departments publish their grant and contribution agreements. We pulled the British Columbia agreements for the two federal export-marketing programmes, kept only the latest amendment of each agreement, and counted.
Plan for about half the maximum. The typical BC CanExport award is $25,000, and three in four were $30,000 or less, so a $50,000 award is the exception. The money is concentrated: 742 of the 1,898 agreements (39%) went to Vancouver businesses, followed by Victoria, Burnaby and Richmond. Creative Export Canada is far smaller and, in Canadian Heritage’s words, highly competitive: 29 BC agreements in the Export Development Stream (2023 to 2025, $1.7 million in total, 18 of them in Vancouver) and 4 in the Export-Ready Stream ($1.4 million). One funded BC title describes exactly what the stream pays for: a publisher’s “International Marketing Plan (Advertising, Media, Publicity)”.
Source: Government of Canada, Proactive Disclosure of Grants and Contributions (Open Government Licence – Canada), fetched October 4, 2026. CanExport agreements start between May 2016 and June 2026. Amounts are agreement values, not money paid out, and the data covers federal programmes only, so Buy BC and the BC Agriculture and Food Export Program are not in it. Disclosure is required for agreements over $25,000; smaller ones appear only where a department publishes them, so small awards may be undercounted.
GrantCompass is an independent funding database, not a government office. Some features are paid, including the one below.
Most of the programmes compared above were closed when we checked them on October 4, 2026, which makes the next intake easy to miss. GrantCompass Premium finds the money you did not know you qualified for, and when you are ready to apply we draft your application for you, at a fraction of what a grant consultant charges.
See what Premium includesWhat changed for BC marketing grants in 2026
- AgriMarketing opened a market-diversification stream for small businesses on February 13, 2026, part of $75 million over five years, and it counts sales into other provinces as a new market.
- CanExport SMEs ran its 2026-27 intake and closed it on August 31, 2026. Its guide now says a project that targets the United States may not include any other market, and the reverse.
- Creative Export Canada closed both 2026-27 intakes and will announce the next one, for projects from April 1, 2027, in fall 2026. Its annual budget is $14 million across the two streams.
- The Regional Tariff Response Initiative now pays up to $3 million in combined non-repayable support per business through PacifiCan in BC (page updated September 15, 2026).
- Amplify BC’s Career Development round closed September 9, 2026, with results in January 2027. The province’s current Amplify BC funding runs until 2027.
- The Innovate BC Go-To-Market Microgrant ran a single 13-day call in November 2025 and has not reopened.
Questions about marketing grants in BC
Are there grants for music marketing and promotion in BC?
Yes, with dated intakes. FACTOR's Artist Development program gives a $5,000 subsidy toward a year of activity that can include marketing, and its Juried Sound Recording: Album program contributes to the marketing and promotion of a new album; the 2026-27 deadlines for both have passed. Creative BC's Amplify BC Career Development program funds sound recording, marketing and music videos for BC artists; it closed September 9, 2026 with results in January 2027.
What is Creative BC Passport to Markets?
A travel program for BC-based film, TV and digital media producers and sales agents attending markets Creative BC designates. It covers part of travel, accommodation and registration, with a maximum of $1,000 to $2,500 per market and no more than 50% of costs. Each market has its own short application window, for example the European Film Market in Berlin (applications November 19 to December 2, 2026).
Is the Innovate BC Go-To-Market Microgrant still open?
No. Its only call ran November 17 to 30, 2025 and offered $10,000 to $50,000, up to 75% of costs, for early sales and marketing, including paid advertising, digital campaigns and marketing salaries. Innovate BC lists it as closed and has not announced a second call.
Are there advertising grants for small businesses in BC?
Only in specific cases. Buy BC pays BC food, beverage and seafood producers and processors to run Buy BC-branded digital, radio, print, transit and TV ads, from $5,000 up to $15,000 or $30,000 a year depending on revenue; its 2026 intake closed February 20, 2026. Outside food, culture and export, advertising is usually paid with a loan or a corporate small-business contest.
Is the Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) still available?
No. CDAP stopped taking applications in 2024 and has not been replaced. Its old site now redirects to the ISED home page.
Can I stack more than one marketing grant?
Usually, if each programme pays for different costs and your project stays under each one's limit on total government money. Creative Export Canada, for example, caps all government funding combined at 75% of a project's eligible costs, and CanExport SMEs pays 50%. List every other source of funding in each application.
Find the marketing money your business can get
Answer a few questions and see the BC and federal programmes that fit, with what each pays for and when it opens.
Find my BC programmesFunding Programs in This Category
British Columbia marketing & growth programs in our database, each with eligibility, funding amounts and how-to-apply detail.