PME MTL — Commerce X Design
Compared with the 241 other application forms we have read
- States real length limits, about 2 words in total. Only 64 tell you how long to write.
- You have to fund part of this yourself, stated as 20%.
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Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
Program Description
Non-repayable $10,000 grant for small proximity retailers in Montreal's Centre-Est (Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension, Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie, Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve) and Centre-Ville (Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Plateau-Mont-Royal, Outremont, Ville-Marie, and Westmount) territories to integrate professional design services — graphic, display, commercial, or architectural — into their business. Minimum project cost of $50,000; grant covers up to 20% of total costs.
Eligibility Requirements
- Small proximity retailer (street-level storefront) located in PME MTL Centre-Est or Centre-Ville territory only — Centre-Ville covers Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Plateau-Mont-Royal, Outremont, Ville-Marie and the city of Westmount; Centre-Est covers Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension, Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie and Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve
- Business must have street-facing frontage — non-storefront businesses are ineligible
- Applicant must provide at least 20% of total project costs from own resources
- Minimum total project cost of $50,000 (grant covers up to 20%, maximum $10,000)
- Must obtain minimum two quotes per design service category
- At least 75% of the $10,000 grant must be allocated to professional design fees (not renovation costs)
- Business plan or project summary including a design component and 3-year budget required
- Startups and established businesses are both eligible
- Owner(s) must be Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or hold a Québec Selection Certificate (CSQ) — via the Fonds entrepreneuriat commercial criteria this call incorporates by reference
- Business must be legally constituted (incorporated or as a sole proprietorship) and registered with the Registraire des entreprises du Québec (REQ)
- Business must have its establishment in Montréal and its head office in Québec
- Occupancy certificate and all other permits required for the project must be obtained
- No outstanding tax debt owed to the state
- Applicant must not have already received a PME MTL grant or other financial contribution for the same business project
Quick Assessment
Funding Details
- Amount
- $10,000 non-repayable (up to 20% of project cost; minimum $50,000 project)
- Type
- Grant
- Level
- Municipal
- Co-Funding
- Up to 20% of eligible costs
- Deadline
- Ongoing until funds exhausted
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
Moderate — standard application process
Moderate competition — prepare a strong application
Easy — minimal documentation
How to Win
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
Insider TipAt least 75% of the $10,000 must go to professional design fees — not renovation labour or materials.
Rejection Pitfalls 7
- Business not located in PME MTL Centre-Est or Centre-Ville territory
Success Profile
Evaluation Criteria
How PME MTL — Commerce X Design judges your application
What the reviewer scores, what gets applications rejected, and what to write.
Distilled from 6+ source documents, condensed into one brief. Sources as of 2026-09-11.
6 of the sources
- Commerce X design — PME MTL pmemtl.com
- Commerce X Design — PME MTL pmemtl.com
- Commerce X Design — PME MTL Centre-Est, Strategic Initiatives pmemtl.com
- Commerce X Design: Formulaire intérêt commerce-design.paperform.co
- Fonds Entrepreneuriat commercial — PME MTL pmemtl.com
- Initiative Commerce x Design — 100 000$ pour intégrer le design… pmemtl.com
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What PME MTL — Commerce X Design favours
Optimize interiors, improve customer journey, strengthen local business identity◦
“L’aide financière octroyée doit permettre d’optimiser les aménagements intérieurs, d’améliorer le parcours client et de renforcer l’identité des commerces qui façonnent nos artères commerciales et nos quartiers.”
The form
Your business
- 1Veuillez svp sélectionner votre pôle de servicesselectionno limit
- 2Informations du promoteurshort answerno limit
- 3Renseignements sur l'entrepriseshort answer · 10 characters
- 4Mission de l'entreprisewritten answerno limit
Your project
- 5Quelle est la nature de votre projet?written answerno limit
- 6Avez-vous besoin d'aide pour planifier votre projet encore en idéation?selectionno limit
- 7Planifiez-vous de faire appel aux services de professionnel(le)s du design?selectionno limit
- 8À quel(le)s professionnel(le)s du design souhaitez-vous faire appel?selectionno limit
- 9Souhaitez-vous participer à un événement de maillage avec des professionnel(le)s du design et/ou des séances de co-développement thématiques?selectionno limit
- 10Souhaitez-vous rencontrer un(e) de nos expert(e)s pour discuter de votre projet et obtenir de l’accompagnement ou du financement?selectionno limit
- 11Souhaitez-vous avoir accès à notre coffre à outils pour les commerçant(e)s?selectionno limit
- 12Consentement à la collecte de renseignements personnelscheckboxno limit
Commerce X Design conditions
- 13Business address in the Centre-Est or Centre-Ville territory, with a street-level storefrontshort answerno limit
- 1420% own contributiontableno limit
- 15Business plan or summary including a design component and a 3-year forecastwritten answerno limit
- 16Demonstration of the business's needs and means to carry the project throughwritten answerno limit
- 17Startup or growth project in one of the two territorieswritten answerno limit
- 18At least two quotes per design servicelistno limit
- 19At least 75% of the grant to professional fees, and 60% completion before paymenttableno limit
- 20Value added to the existing business and to the commercial offerwritten answerno limit
Fonds entrepreneuriat commercial conditions
- 21applicant and premises conditionslistno limit
- 22financial statements and projectionsspreadsheetno limit
- 23sustainable development approach, where applicablewritten answerno limit
- 24no other PME MTL contribution for the same business projectshort answerno limit
bar = length the funder allows, from its stated limits
Judged against
- 1
Will this project change the customer's experience?
Show them Name the design disciplines you will hire, what their work changes for the customer, and how the result adds to the street's existing offer.◦
- 2
Can the merchant finance and complete the project?
What to show, and the funder’s 1 criterion behind it in Premium
- 3
Does the business and the owner qualify?
What to show, and the funder’s 1 criterion behind it in Premium
- 4
Is the envelope still open?
What to show, and the funder’s 2 criteria behind it in Premium
Where applicants fail
“Minimalement, deux soumissions ont été reçues pour chacun des services du design pour le projet”
“Cette enveloppe est restreinte, l'admissibilité est sous réserve de la disponibilité des fonds.”
Premium · the rest of this brief
See all 11 rules that can reject you and every criterion you are judged on. Then we draft your application for you.
7 more rules that can reject you · 4 more criteria · 11 more prompts
Do you pass?
Each one can rule you out. Tick the ones you meet.
Your business
Startup project in the territory
Entreprise en démarrage: avoir un projet d’implantation commerciale sur l'un des 2 territoires
Growth business needing design professionals
Entreprise en croissance: opérer une entreprise commerciale sur l'un des 2 territoires et avoir un projet de croissance requérant les services de professionnel(le)s du design
No other PME MTL funding
Ne pas avoir bénéficié d’une subvention ou d’une autre contribution financière de PME MTL dans le cadre du même projet d’affaires
The project
20% own contribution
Avoir 20 % de mise de fonds du projet
Documents to attach
Ticks are kept on this device.
The money
Non-repayable grantUp to 10 000$, max 20%
Les projets retenus bénéficieront d’une contribution financière non remboursable de 10 000$, représentant au maximum 20% du coût total du projet.
Own contributionAt least 20% of project cost
Assurer une mise de fonds d’au moins 20% du coût total du projet
Minimum to professional feesAt least 75% to professional fees
La somme consentie (10 000 $) a été allouée minimalement à 75 % en frais professionnels
Payment at 60% completeProject 60% done before disbursement
Le projet a été réalisé à 60 % avant le décaissement (ouverture ou réouverture)
Your share20% own contribution to the project
Avoir 20 % de mise de fonds du projet
StackingNo other PME MTL grant for same project
Ne pas avoir bénéficié d’une subvention ou d’une autre contribution financière de PME MTL dans le cadre du même projet d’affaires
What it pays for · 2
- La subvention visera à défrayer une partie des coûts relatifs à l’embauche des professionnel(le)s suivants: Designer graphique; Designer de présentation (étalagiste); Designer commercial; Architecte
- Selon certaines conditions, la subvention pourrait couvrir certains frais d’aménagements inhérents à l’embauche de professionnel(le)s en design.
From application to money
- Meet a PME MTL advisorMeet advisor; file built with experts
- Send the interest formSubmit online interest form on Paperform
- Committee decisionComité d'investissement assesses request
- Paid at 60% completeGrant paid once project 60% done
In the funder’s words · 4
- Meet a PME MTL advisor
- Answer 'Oui' to the form's question about meeting an advisor; the file is built with the pôle's experts.
- Send the interest form
- Fill in the online expression of interest on Paperform and select your pôle as the first answer.
- Committee decision
- The pôle's comité d'investissement commun assesses the request against the fund's policy.
- Paid at 60% complete
- Carry out the project with the chosen design professionals; the grant follows once it has been carried out to 60%.
Quoted lines are word for word from the source documents; lines marked ◦ are our reading of them.
Everything you need to win PME MTL — Commerce X Design
Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.
- 7 rejection pitfalls reviewers flag — so you catch them first
- 6-document checklist with what each reviewer is actually checking
- Your Application Game Plan — the print-ready PDF the preview below describes
- 6-step application timeline with prep hours per step
- Insider tip from program officers on what separates winners
- 3-program stacking strategy to combine with compatible funding
- Success profile + evaluation criteria — exactly what reviewers score on
Application Playbook
Step-by-step process, required documents, and expenses
Application Steps
Required Documents 6
Eligible Expenses 6
Ineligible Expenses 5
Intake Periods
Deadline Notes
Ineligible Organizations
Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
Compatible Programs
Clawback Risk
Low RiskHow PME MTL — Commerce X Design Compares
Side-by-side with similar programs
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Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions founders most often ask about PME MTL — Commerce X Design