EDC — Export Guarantee Program (EGP)

Insider Tip

EGP is accessed entirely through your bank — EDC does not accept direct applications. The most effective approach is to ask your business banking relationship manager to introduce the EDC EGP to your credit review. Banks are motivated to use it because it reduces their risk. The EGP is most powerful when your export order book exceeds your current bank credit capacity — it lets you fulfill more contracts without adding collateral. Like APSG, EGP does not count toward the 75% government assistance stacking cap, so it layers freely on top of IRAP, CanExport, and other grants. Trade Impact Program ($5B, launched March 2025) provides additional EGP capacity for exporters affected by U.S. tariff disruptions.

Rejection Pitfalls 6

• Business has no export activity and no firm export orders
• Foreign buyer or destination country is in a sanctioned jurisdiction
• Company has poor credit history, excessive debt, or insufficient revenue to service additional debt

Success Profile

Established Canadian exporter (typically $1M+ in annual export revenue) with a firm order from a foreign buyer but insufficient bank credit to finance inventory, production, or receivables for the contract. Most valuable for manufacturers, food producers, and technology companies with recurring international orders that require working capital before payment is received from international buyers.

Evaluation Criteria

EDC evaluates EGP applications through your financial institution on four dimensions: (1) Company creditworthiness — financial health, revenue, and debt service capacity; (2) Export viability — evidence of current or confirmed export orders; (3) Country risk — EDC's proprietary risk rating for the buyer's country; (4) ESG compliance — environmental, social, and governance screening. The bank then completes its own credit underwriting on top of EDC's guarantee approval.

Application Steps

Required Documents 7

Eligible Expenses 5

• Pre-shipment inventory purchases required to fulfill export contracts
• Production costs (labour, materials, overhead) tied to specific export orders
• Receivables financing — funding the gap between shipment and payment collection from foreign buyers
• Supplier payments necessary to produce goods for export
• Working capital for costs directly linked to growing international sales

Ineligible Expenses 5

• Purely domestic business activities with no export component
• Transactions in sanctioned countries or with sanctioned entities
• Activities failing EDC's ESG screening
• Refinancing of existing domestic debt unrelated to export activity
• Capital expenditures (equipment, real estate) — EGP is a working capital facility only

Intake Periods

Continuous — no intake windows or application deadlines. Applied for at any time through your financial institution.

Deadline Notes

EGP is a continuous program with no intake windows or application deadlines. Applied for at any time through your financial institution. The program operates year-round.

Open Application Portal →

Ineligible Organizations

• Companies with no current export activity and no firm export orders
• Companies operating in sanctioned jurisdictions or with sanctioned beneficial owners
• Companies that fail EDC's ESG screening
• Companies with unacceptable credit risk (insufficient revenue, excessive debt)
• Companies without a banking relationship at a participating Canadian financial institution

Compatible Programs

Clawback Risk

Low Risk

No clawback risk on the guarantee itself — EGP is a bank loan backed by an EDC guarantee, not a grant. If the bank calls the EDC guarantee due to default, EDC may seek recovery from the exporter as part of the commercial lending arrangement. Standard commercial lending risk applies.