EDC Trade Impact Program
Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
Program Description
EDC's Trade Impact Program is a two-year campaign (March 2025 to approximately March 2027) giving EDC $5 billion in additional capacity across four existing commercial products: Portfolio Credit Insurance, Export Guarantee Program, Trade Expansion Lending Program, and Foreign Exchange Facility Guarantee. All products are commercial financial services where exporters pay premiums or fees — none of the funding is non-repayable.
Eligibility Requirements
- Must be a Canadian exporter or a company that directly supplies Canadian exporters
- Must be at growth or expansion stage with active or planned export activity
- Eligible for one or more of: Portfolio Credit Insurance, Export Guarantee Program, Trade Expansion Lending, or FX Facility Guarantee
- All products are commercial financial services (fees/premiums apply) — not non-repayable grants
- Program runs from March 2025 to approximately March 2027
Quick Assessment
Funding Details
- Amount
- Varies by solution type
- Type
- Program
- Level
- Federal
- Deadline
- Ongoing
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
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How to Win
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
Insider TipThird-party aggregators (Ryan Funding, HelloDarwin) label this a 'Canadian export grant' — it is NOT a grant. EDC charges for every product: premiums, fees, or interest. However, EDC's unique value is that its commercial products DON'T count toward the 75% government assistance cap, making it the ultimate stacking partner. The optimal tariff-response strategy: (1) Apply to CanExport SMEs for non-repayable market diversification funding (up to $99,900), (2) use EDC Trade Expansion Lending Program to free working capital your bank has locked in collateral, (3) add Portfolio Credit Insurance to protect AR from new unfamiliar buyers. This three-layer approach costs less than most businesses expect and addresses working capital, market entry, and buyer risk simultaneously. For new EDC clients, TELP is the fastest entry point — call EDC's Export Help Hub to start.
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Rejection Pitfalls 8
- No export activity and no credible export plan — program is exclusively for exporters and export suppliers
- Poor company creditworthiness — EDC performs risk assessment; distressed companies with high debt or payment defaults will be declined
- Foreign buyer or target market in sanctioned/restricted jurisdictions (Russia, North Korea, Iran, Syria, others)
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Success Profile
Canadian manufacturer, agricultural exporter, or technology company with existing international sales (particularly to U.S.) disrupted by tariffs. Sweet spot is $2M-$50M in annual export revenue — large enough to benefit from Portfolio Credit Insurance and guarantees, not large enough to use EDC's direct lending products (which require $10M+ revenue). Companies pivoting from U.S. markets to Europe or Asia are ideal candidates: new buyers in unfamiliar markets create exactly the payment uncertainty EDC credit insurance is designed to address. Also highly relevant for manufacturers with working capital constrained by letter-of-guarantee collateral requirements on international performance contracts.
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Evaluation Criteria
Commercial risk assessment, not competitive merit-based. EDC evaluates: company creditworthiness, foreign buyer payment risk, country risk of export destination, export track record or credible export plan, existing banking relationship (required for EGP/TELP), and ESG compliance. No scoring committee, no application cap, no limited funding pool.
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Application Playbook
Step-by-step process, required documents, and expenses
Application Steps
Required Documents 8
Eligible Expenses 5
- Portfolio Credit Insurance: covers accounts receivable from international sales of goods and services
- Export Guarantee Program (EGP): guarantees to your bank for export-related credit facilities (up to US$25M)
- Trade Expansion Lending Program (TELP): working capital guarantee for export growth
- Foreign Exchange Facility Guarantee (FXFG): guarantees to your bank for FX hedging facilities
- Export contracts, international supply chain transactions, performance bonds for foreign projects
Ineligible Expenses 5
- Purely domestic sales with no export component
- Transactions involving sanctioned countries (Russia, North Korea, Iran, Syria, etc.)
- Personal expenses or non-business activities
- Transactions failing EDC's environmental and social review (ESG policy)
- Speculative foreign exchange trading unrelated to commercial export activity
Intake Periods
Continuous — rolling applications accepted throughout the 2-year TIP window (March 2025 to approximately March 2027). No intake windows or competitive rounds. Standard EDC products (outside TIP) are permanently available.
Deadline Notes
Trade Impact Program launched March 7, 2025 as part of Government of Canada's $6.5B tariff response package. EDC committed $5B in additional capacity 'over two years' from launch, implying capacity is available through approximately March 2027. No specific application deadline published — applications accepted on a rolling/continuous basis. EDC standard products (ID 29) remain available permanently beyond TIP's two-year window.
Open Application Portal →Ineligible Organizations
- Companies with no export activity and no credible plan to export
- Companies not based in or operating from Canada
- Companies in sanctioned jurisdictions or engaged in sanctioned trade
- Companies with unacceptable ESG risk under EDC's responsible business guidelines
- Companies without a relationship with a Canadian financial institution (for EGP and TELP products)
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Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
Compatible Programs
Clawback Risk
Low Risklow — commercial service agreement. If you stop exporting or cancel your policy, coverage ends but there is no clawback of past benefits. Insurance claims paid for legitimate buyer defaults are final. Premiums paid are not refundable for periods of coverage already provided.
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How EDC Trade Impact Program Compares
Side-by-side with similar programs
| Program | Amount | Difficulty | Payment | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EDC Trade Impact Program | Varies by solution type | Easy | Loan | Ongoing |
| CanExport SMEs | Up to $50,000 | Moderate | Mixed (Advance + Reimb.) | Annual intake window.... |
| NRC IRAP Clean Technology Program | $100,000–$500,000 | Hard | Mixed (Advance + Reimb.) | Ongoing |
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