Startup grants in Quebec — see which you qualify for
Answer a few quick questions and watch the map narrow to the ones your Quebec startup can actually get — free, no account.
Age opens the doors. Most Quebec start-up programs only take a business inside an age window.
How far along is your business?
Also here: how much each place pays and which office to call
Quebec startups get funding from four places: non-repayable grants (mostly municipal and local, like PME MTL's Fonds Jeunes Entreprises, up to $25,000), low-interest local loans (every MRC's Fonds local d'investissement and Evol), investment (Investissement Québec's Fonds Impulsion), and tax credits (Quebec's R&D credit). Start with your local economic-development office — in Montréal that's one of the six PME MTL poles — because that is where the fastest early-stage money lives.
Why Quebec funding works differently
Quebec is the one province where "who delivers the money" matters as much as "what the program is." Instead of a handful of provincial programs, Quebec runs a dense, layered network: the province (through Investissement Québec and the Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie, the MEIE), the federal development agency for the province (Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, known as CED or DEC), and — crucially — a local layer in every corner of the province.
That local layer is the part most founders miss. In Montréal it is the six PME MTL poles (Centre-Ville, Centre-Est, Centre-Ouest, Est-de-l'Île, Grand Sud-Ouest, and Ouest-de-l'Île). Outside Montréal, every MRC (regional county municipality) runs a Fonds local d'investissement, and SADC/CAE offices cover rural regions from the Bas-Saint-Laurent to the Outaouais. Cities including Québec City, Laval, Gatineau, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières, Saguenay and Longueuil add their own economic-development grants on top.
If you only do one thing, find and call your local economic-development office before you apply for anything provincial. In Quebec, the local officer is the single highest-leverage contact for a founder — they know which fund fits, and they often deliver the money directly.
The top Quebec startup programs in 2026
These are the programs a new or early-stage Quebec business is most likely to qualify for, grouped by what they actually give you. Grants (non-repayable) come first, then repayable and investment options, then the tax credit that reaches almost every innovative firm.
| Program | What it gives | Typical amount | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| PME MTL — Fonds Jeunes Entreprises | Non-repayable grant | Up to $25,000 | Montréal startups in their first years |
| Laval — Fonds créateur d'entreprise | Non-repayable grant | Up to $25,000 | New businesses in Laval |
| Evol | Conventional loan | $20,000–$450,000 | Inclusive & diverse-led ventures |
| Fonds local d'investissement (FLI) | Low-interest local loan | Up to $150,000 | Founders outside Montréal |
| Investissement Québec — Fonds Impulsion | Investment (equity / quasi-equity) | $250,000–$2M | Scaling tech & innovation firms |
| Futurpreneur (national) | Loan + mentorship | Up to $75,000 | Founders aged 18–39 |
| Quebec R&D Tax Credit (CRIC) | Refundable tax credit | 20–30% | Any firm doing R&D or innovation |
Funding by stage: idea, launch, growth
The single biggest reason Quebec founders get rejected is applying to the wrong door for their stage. A pre-revenue idea does not qualify for a $2M Investissement Québec file; a growth-stage manufacturer is wasting time on a $25,000 municipal bursary. Match the money to the moment.
Local start-up grants (PME MTL Fonds Jeunes Entreprises, Laval, MRC bursaries), Futurpreneur, and incubator/accelerator programs. Small, fast, and local.
Fonds local d'investissement loans, Evol, PME MTL follow-on funds, and the R&D tax credit once you begin development work.
Investissement Québec's Fonds Impulsion and project financing, ESSOR for equipment and productivity, and CED scale-up funding.
You're competing for small, local grants — and that's good news
Idea-stage money in Quebec is modest ($5,000–$25,000) but decided locally and quickly. Book a meeting with your PME MTL pole or MRC officer, bring a one-page plan, and ask which start-up bursary you fit. Pair it with Futurpreneur if you're under 40.
Quebec funds inclusive entrepreneurship specifically
Evol exists to finance women-, Indigenous-, immigrant-, and diversity-led businesses across Quebec, with loans from $20,000 to $450,000 and wraparound support. It is one of the most generous inclusive-entrepreneurship lenders in the country.
Grant vs loan vs tax credit — pick the right door
Founders search for "grants," but in Quebec the money you can actually get is split across three very different instruments. Knowing which one you're reaching for changes both where you apply and what you have to give up.
Non-repayable
Free money you don't pay back. Smaller and mostly local in Quebec, and competitive.
Loans & investment
Larger amounts you pay back or give equity for. Where most Quebec early-stage money actually is.
Money back at year-end
Refundable credits on eligible spending — no application deadline, claimed with your return.
For most Quebec founders the honest answer is: take the small local grant to prove momentum, use a Fonds local loan or Evol for working capital, and treat the R&D tax credit as your reliable annual top-up. Waiting for a large pure grant that doesn't exist for your stage is the most common way to stall.
Start-up grant money in Quebec: what a first-year business can actually get
A first-year Quebec business can get non-repayable money, but less of it than the search results suggest, and usually only alongside something repayable. The largest reliable start-up cheques are municipal: Ville de Québec's Bourse de démarrage et repreneuriat pays $15,000 per shareholder, up to $30,000 a project, and PME MTL's Fonds Jeunes Entreprises is genuinely non-repayable but cannot be taken on its own. The bigger numbers you see quoted, Futurpreneur, BDC, your MRC's Fonds local, are loans.
Which door, by where you actually are
ESSOR Component 1A is a non-repayable grant covering 50% of a feasibility study, up to $50,000, with no minimum revenue and rolling intake to March 31, 2027. It is the one provincial grant a business with no sales can realistically win.
Ville de Québec's Bourse de démarrage et repreneuriat pays $15,000 per shareholder, up to $30,000 and 50% of eligible costs, for creating or buying a business inside the agglomeration. On the island of Montréal, PME MTL's Fonds Jeunes Entreprises is the equivalent, with the condition below.
The Subvention salariale pays up to 50% of gross wages for up to 30 weeks when you hire someone who faces barriers to lasting employment. It is open to private businesses, self-employed workers, co-ops and non-profits, with no fixed deadline.
The condition nobody quotes: a Montréal start-up grant comes attached to a loan
PME MTL's Fonds Jeunes Entreprises is the program most "start up grant" searches in Quebec are really looking for, and its terms are stricter than the headline. Our record lists four conditions that decide most files: the business must be legally constituted and headquartered on the island of Montréal, it must have been operating for fewer than five years, the entrepreneur must commit to working in it full-time, and retail and restaurant businesses are excluded outright. The condition that changes the plan is the fifth: you must simultaneously qualify for and receive a PME MTL loan, because the grant cannot be obtained standalone. The money is genuinely non-repayable, but you cannot take it without also taking on debt, which is a very different decision from the one a "free grant" headline implies.
What the repayable side offers a business in its first year
Two of the three best-known repayable routes have an age gate on the business, not the founder. BDC Start-up Financing lends up to $150,000, but its application asks how long you have been generating revenue and only continues for a business between 12 and 24 months in; a newer business is pointed to BDC's partners and the form stops. Futurpreneur lends $5,000 to $75,000 to first-time entrepreneurs aged 18 to 39 whose business is about to make its first sales or has had less than a year of significant sales, and it wants a product or service ready for market rather than still in research and development, with mentorship attached as a condition rather than a perk. The route with no such gate is your MRC's Fonds local d'investissement, which explicitly funds business start-ups and asks for a minimum 15% equity contribution instead of a track record. Outside Montréal that is usually the first call, and Evol plays the same role for women, Indigenous, immigrant and diversity-led founders.
If you have no revenue yet, stop looking for a start-up grant and apply for a feasibility-study grant instead: ESSOR Component 1A is the provincial money you can actually qualify for today. If you are trading, take the local bursary and the local loan together, in one conversation with the same officer, rather than chasing the grant alone and being told it does not exist without the loan.
Quebec's shape, small local grants sitting on top of a repayable base, is not unique to the province. Our guide to Quebec business grants covers the wider provincial program set beyond start-ups, and the same structure shows up in New Brunswick business grants, where the largest early-stage door is also an interest-free repayable contribution, and in Manitoba business grants.
Sources: PME MTL; Ville de Québec, Service du développement économique et des grands projets; Investissement Québec (ESSOR); Services Québec (Subvention salariale); Futurpreneur Canada; Business Development Bank of Canada; Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie (FLI). Program records verified in the GrantCompass catalogue, June to August 2026.Can an existing business still get start-up funding? Every Quebec window, by business age
Yes, an existing business can still get start-up funding in Quebec, as long as it sits inside the program's age window. As of November 10, 2026, Futurpreneur takes businesses with less than a year of significant sales, BDC Start-up Financing 12 to 24 months of revenue, Desjardins Créavenir 3 years or less, and PME MTL's Fonds Jeunes Entreprises under 5 years.
Selling under 12 months, elsewhere in Quebec: 5 doors open to you now, 2 of them grants. BDC Start-up Financing opens at 12 months.
- ESSOR Component 1AGrant for a feasibility study, to $50,000. No minimum revenue.
- Ville de Québec Bourse de démarrageGrant, $15,000 a shareholder, to $30,000. Mostly tech, manufacturing, food, life sciences or cleantech, backed by an incubator; until 12 months after first sales.
- PME MTL Fonds Jeunes EntreprisesGrant plus a required loan, to $25,000. Full-time; no retail or restaurants.
- Laval Fonds créateur d'entrepriseGrant to $25,000, for a business under 2 years old.
- Desjardins CréavenirGrant plus credit: $3,000 to $5,000, credit to $16,000. Founders 18 to 39.
- Subvention salarialeWage grant, up to 50% of wages for a hire who faces barriers to work.
- Fonds local d'investissementLoan from your MRC; you put in 15%. On the island, PME MTL lends instead.
- FuturpreneurLoan to $75,000 with a mentor. Founders 18 to 39.
- BDC Start-up FinancingLoan to $150,000. Past 24 months, BDC's other loans.
- EvolLoan for owners from under-represented groups: women, immigrants, Indigenous or racialized founders.
- Quebec R&D tax credit (CRIC)Tax credit, 20% to 30%, for incorporated businesses.
- Grant
- Loan
- Tax credit
- Your stage
Ages count from your first sales; PME MTL and Laval count from the business's creation. Past 39? See grants for older founders.
Find every Quebec program your business qualifies for, not only these eleven.
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Montréal vs the regions
Where your business sits in Quebec changes which door opens first. The programs are comparable in spirit but delivered by completely different bodies.
In Montréal
Your first stop is one of the six PME MTL poles, matched to your borough. They deliver the Fonds Jeunes Entreprises grant, social-economy funding, commercial and retail funds, and act as the front door to provincial programs. Montréal also concentrates the accelerators — FounderFuel, District 3, Centech, and the AI ecosystem around Mila and IVADO.
In Québec City, Laval, Gatineau and beyond
Laval routes founders through Laval Économique (Fonds créateur d'entreprise, Virage Techno); Gatineau through ID Gatineau's enterprise funds; and Québec City through its municipal economic-development service. In rural regions — Bas-Saint-Laurent, Gaspésie, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean — the SADC/CAE network and each MRC's Fonds local d'investissement do the heavy lifting.
Local Quebec funds (FLI, PME MTL, SADC) are relationship-driven and cash-flow-focused rather than pitch-driven. The officer reviewing your file is usually the same person you'll meet with, and they weigh three things heavily: whether your revenue model is realistic, whether you have some skin in the game (personal investment or committed matching funds), and whether the business creates or retains local jobs.
This is why a warm introductory meeting outperforms a cold application. Come with a one-page plan and a 12-month cash-flow forecast, be honest about risks, and ask the officer directly which of their funds you fit and what a strong application looks like. In practice, founders who meet their officer before applying convert at a much higher rate than those who submit blind.
How much start-up grant money can you get in Quebec, place by place?
A new Quebec business can get between $3,000 and $50,000 in non-repayable start-up money as of November 10, 2026. Local start-up grants cap at $25,000 in Montréal, Laval and Gatineau and at $30,000 in Ville de Québec, and ESSOR Component 1A pays up to $50,000 toward a feasibility study anywhere in the province.
A start-up grant is money you do not pay back, tied to a business's first years. In Quebec it almost always arrives beside a loan or your own cash, so read the last column first.
| Where | Program | Most it pays | Comes with a loan? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ville de Québec | Bourse de démarrage et repreneuriat | $15,000 a shareholder, $30,000 a project | Yes: $15,000 more from a lender, public body or crowdfunding |
| Island of Montréal | PME MTL Fonds Jeunes Entreprises | $25,000 | Yes: a PME MTL loan |
| Laval | Fonds créateur d'entreprise | $25,000 | Matching cash |
| Gatineau | ID Gatineau Fonds de soutien aux entreprises | $25,000 | You fund the rest |
| Anywhere in Quebec | ESSOR Component 1A | $50,000, half a study | You pay half |
| Anywhere, founders 18 to 39 | Desjardins Créavenir (grant part) | $3,000, or $5,000 if innovative | Credit to $16,000 |
| Anywhere in Quebec | Défi OSEntreprendre (an award) | Prizes to $10,000 | No: a competition |
Plan the grant as a top-up on a loan, not the whole budget: see why the Montréal grant needs its loan, and how Quebec's funding levels stack.
Who qualifies
Eligibility varies by program, but nearly every Quebec startup program shares a common core. You generally qualify if:
- Your business is registered in Quebec (an NEQ from the Registraire des entreprises), or you're incorporating as part of the project.
- Your head office and activity are in Quebec — and for local funds, in that specific territory (borough, city, or MRC).
- You can show a viable business model: a plan, a market, and a realistic cash-flow forecast.
- You can contribute matching funds or personal investment — most programs cover a share of costs (often 50%), not the whole bill.
Sector-specific programs add their own gates: ESSOR leans toward manufacturing and productivity projects, MAPAQ programs toward agri-food, and the multimedia and film credits toward creative industries. If your project is research or innovation, the R&D tax credit reaches the widest.
Can you apply for funding before registering a business in Quebec?
Mostly no. As of November 10, 2026, nearly every Quebec start-up grant and loan asks for a registered business with a Québec enterprise number (NEQ). What an idea or a side business can get before registering is help: an incubator place, free planning tools, and Quebec's support for people starting out self-employed.
- Before your NEQDistrict 3 coaching, no equity takenSoutien au travail autonome, if you qualifyFuturpreneur's free plan and cash-flow tools
- Needs the NEQPME MTL Fonds Jeunes Entreprises and ESSOR Component 1A
- Needs a first incorporationVille de Québec's Bourse and the CRIC credit
- Needs a launchFuturpreneur's loan, first sales a few months off
A side business can register, but two of the biggest start-up grants want you full-time. PME MTL asks for at least 35 hours a week in the business, and Ville de Québec asks you to work in it full-time. Futurpreneur runs a separate Side Hustle program for founders keeping a day job.
Registering runs through Québec.ca's Démarrer une entreprise service. Registered but no sales yet? See pre-revenue start-up grants across Canada.
Sources: quebec.ca, pmemtl.com, ville.quebec.qc.ca and futurpreneur.ca, read November 10, 2026; our records for District 3, ESSOR, the CRIC and the Side Hustle program.Which government office helps a small business in Quebec?
No single office handles a small business in Quebec, as of November 10, 2026. Québec.ca's Démarrer une entreprise service handles registration, your local economic-development office (a PME MTL pole in Montréal, your MRC elsewhere) hands over start-up grants and loans, and Investissement Québec and CED Quebec fund larger projects.
- Money
- Advice
- Paperwork
| Office | Go here when | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Québec.ca, Démarrer une entreprise | You are registering | Paperwork your NEQ, step by step |
| PME MTL, six poles | Your head office is on the island of Montréal | Money Advice start-up grant, loans |
| Your MRC's economic-development service | You are elsewhere in Quebec | Money Advice the local investment fund |
| Ville de Québec | You are in the Québec agglomeration or Wendake | Money the start-up bursary |
| Services Québec | You hire your first employee | Money the wage subsidy |
| Investissement Québec | A study, equipment or growth | Money ESSOR, loans, investment |
| CED Quebec (federal) | You are expanding | Money often repayable |
| Centre de transfert d'entreprise du Québec | You are buying a business | Advice businesses for sale |
Start with the money your local office decides itself.
On the island: PME MTL's grant → Elsewhere: your local fund →
How to apply
There is no single Quebec grant portal. Each program is submitted to the body that delivers it. The path that works for most founders:
- Register your business in Quebec. Get your NEQ from the Registraire des entreprises — it's required by almost every provincial and local program.
- Find your local economic-development office. Montréal founders find their PME MTL pole; everyone else finds their MRC, SADC/CAE, or municipal service.
- Book a meeting before you apply. Ask the officer which fund fits your stage and what a strong file looks like. This one step lifts approval odds more than anything else.
- Assemble your plan and financials. A business plan, a 12-month cash-flow forecast, and evidence of matching funds — most programs expect all three.
- Submit to the specific fund. Apply through the program's own form or your officer, not a central website.
- Claim the R&D tax credit at year-end. If you did development or innovation work, file for Quebec's CRIC credit with your corporate return — it doesn't have a deadline you apply to.
Common first-timer mistakes
The Quebec funding network is generous but easy to misread. The mistakes that cost founders the most:
- Searching only in English. Many of the best programs surface only under French names — subventions, Fonds local d'investissement, aide financière. If you search only English, you miss half the map.
- Applying provincially before locally. Founders skip their PME MTL pole or MRC and apply straight to Investissement Québec — then get told to start local. The local office is the on-ramp.
- Expecting a big pure grant. The large amounts in Quebec are loans and investment, not grants. Founders who wait for a $500,000 grant that doesn't exist for their stage lose months.
- Ignoring the R&D tax credit. The CRIC credit is refundable and reaches almost any firm doing development work — yet many startups never claim it.
- Applying blind. Skipping the pre-application meeting with your local officer is the biggest single predictor of a rejected file.
Quebec funding closing in the next six weeks
5 programs open to Quebec businesses close between November 14 and December 26, 2026. 2 are specific to Quebec; the rest are Canada-wide.
| Program | Closes | Amount | Open to |
|---|---|---|---|
| IVADO Scientist in Action: AI Intern Subsidy for Startups | $30K intern for $11,250 | Quebec · Program | |
| NEXT AI Accelerator (NEXT Canada) | Non-monetary | Quebec · Program | |
| ICTC: WIL Digital Program (Tech Sector Student Work Placement) | Up to 50% of salary, max $5,000 | Canada-wide · Grant | |
| Pizza Hut Canada: Equal Slice Grant Program | Canada-wide · Award | ||
| Canada Summer Jobs | 50% to 100% of minimum wage | Canada-wide · Grant |
Deadlines as of November 14, 2026, from the GrantCompass catalogue: each is the funder’s published deadline as our catalogue records it, so confirm on the funder’s page before you plan around it. This list is rebuilt from the catalogue; a program whose date has passed drops off.
What's changed in 2026
Quebec consolidated its R&D tax credits. The province replaced its older suite of research credits with a single, streamlined credit — the CRIC (crédit d'impôt pour la recherche, l'innovation et la précommercialisation). For most startups doing development work it is simpler to claim and still refundable, at a rate in the 20–30% range depending on the work.
An AI-adoption credit is now on the table. Quebec's CDAEIA credit gives back up to 30% of eligible salaries tied to integrating AI into your operations — a genuinely new lever for tech and services firms in 2026.
Tariff-response funding appeared. In response to 2025–2026 trade disruption, CED and Investissement Québec stood up tariff-response and supply-diversification programs (including CED's Regional Tariff Response Initiative and IQ's Panorama export program) aimed at Quebec manufacturers and exporters exposed to U.S. tariffs.
Inclusive-entrepreneurship funding expanded. Evol continues to broaden its reach as the province's dedicated lender for women-, Indigenous-, immigrant-, and diversity-led ventures — one of the clearest signals of where Quebec is directing new money.
Sources: Revenu Québec; Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie; Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions; Evol.FAQ
Are there actual grants for startups in Quebec, or only loans?
Do I need to be based in Montréal to get Quebec startup funding?
Can an English-speaking founder apply for Quebec grants?
What is the fastest startup grant to get in Quebec?
What is the Quebec R&D tax credit worth?
Can an existing business qualify for start-up funding in Quebec?
Can I apply for funding before registering a business in Quebec?
Is there a $5,000 start-up grant in Quebec?
Which government office do I call first to start a business in Quebec?
Federal business funding on record for Quebec companies
3,293 companies in 8 Quebec cities are named in federal business-funding records, fiscal 2005 to 2026; 805 of them were funded in fiscal 2025 or later. In Montréal the typical company on the record received $125K in total across those years. The record is federal: territorial and provincial programs are not in it.
| City | Companies on record | Typical total per company | Funded since fiscal 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montréal | 1,635 | $125K | 448 |
| Québec | 655 | $120K | 152 |
| Laval | 261 | $112K | 46 |
| Sherbrooke | 181 | $192K | 55 |
| Gatineau | 173 | $175K | 23 |
| Lévis | 141 | $150K | 29 |
| Saguenay | 131 | $171K | 20 |
| Longueuil | 116 | $172K | 32 |
Data as of July 2026. Covers published federal agreements over $25,000 for the programs we track, in cities with 20 or more named companies; loans and most tax credits are not in it. Each city links to its full list. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
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