Grants and tax credits to digitize your operations in Quebec

The programs at a glance

The amounts are maximums. The actual funding depends on eligible expenses, on stacking with other public assistance and on the organization’s review. Programs can close before their deadline: always check the official page before you apply.

ESSOR: a digital plan, then carrying it out

Component 1 of ESSOR, administered by Investissement Québec for Quebec’s Ministère de l’Économie, funds the process in two stages. Component 1B pays for the diagnosis, the digital plan, the analysis of priority projects, the implementation plan and the selection of systems, including the integration of artificial intelligence where relevant. Component 1C then pays for carrying out that plan: it requires a plan from component 1B completed within the last 24 months, a project lasting no more than 12 months, and a start within 3 months of authorization. The funding takes the form of a non-repayable contribution.

To be eligible, the business must have 250 employees or fewer, revenue of at least $2.5 million and a French version of its website. Since March 13, 2026, some sectors are no longer prioritized, including professional, scientific and technical services, finance and health care; manufacturing is not among them. In some regions, Investissement Québec’s DÉPART program takes precedence over ESSOR.

• Eligible expenses: fees of outside consulting firms, purchase of specialized information, travel expenses.
• Refused expenses: the business’s internal expenses, capital assets and depreciation, expenses incurred before the application is filed, sales taxes.
• Component 2 targets larger investment projects: acquiring and implementing equipment or software, moving to the cloud, business intelligence or AI. It works mainly through loans and guarantees.

The C3i: a tax credit on management software

The investment and innovation tax credit (C3i) applies to manufacturing equipment, computer equipment and a “qualified management software package”. The law defines it as a software package that mainly manages all of the business’s operational processes (an ERP), customer interactions across several channels (a CRM) or the supply chain. The rate is lowest in the Montreal and Quebec City metropolitan communities, and higher in regions with intermediate or low economic vitality.

In March 2024, Revenu Québec clarified that the costs of implementing or customizing a qualified management software package can generally count, and that a cloud subscription of more than a year, with mandatory payments, can be an eligible capital expenditure. The property must be used mainly in Quebec, for the business, for at least 730 days. The credit is claimed in the corporation’s income tax return, with no prior application.

The text refers to a “software package”. An application developed for a single business is not named in it: ask your accountant before counting on this credit.

Artificial intelligence: CED, BDC and training

The Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative (RAII) of Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED) targets, among others, small businesses ready to adopt AI technologies or solutions, for adoption or strategic integration projects. The funding is repayable; costs are eligible from the date the application is filed. Manufacturing, robotics, health, energy, transportation and agriculture are priorities, as are projects that include cybersecurity measures.

BDC’s LIFT combines advisory services with financing at a preferred rate. Its digital transformation and AI stream is for Canadian businesses with annual revenue of at least $1 million, in nearly every sector, for enterprise systems (ERP or CRM), AI or cybersecurity projects, carried out with Canadian providers. The financing supports carrying out the recommendations of the digital plan or the AI plan.

To train the team, ADRIQ has offered Trans Num IA since fall 2026: a 40-hour virtual program for three people per business, aimed at small businesses with 250 employees or fewer, up to building AI agents. Spots per cohort are limited.

For a first project: CCTTs, Prompt and Montreal

• Mon succès numérique (“my digital success”), from the Réseau des CCTT, Quebec’s network of college technology transfer centres, funds a process, method or product project built on digital technologies and carried out with one of these centres. It targets businesses with 500 employees or fewer; website redesigns and search engine optimization are excluded.
• Prompt’s Technology Requirements Document helps a manufacturer have an expert specify the productivity solution to choose, before investing. The project lasts no more than 90 days.
• In Montreal, PME MTL’s Innovation, Productivity and Sustainable Development Fund supports, among other things, installing technology, robotics or automation; it requires a sustainable development approach and a financial contribution from the business.
• Elsewhere in Quebec, the economic development office of your regional county municipality (Réseau Accès PME) knows the programs in your region.

Programs that have ended: what to stop looking for

• Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP): the Boost Your Business Technology stream no longer accepts applications.
• ADRIQ’s Trans Num, in its original form: closed. Trans Num IA, a training program, followed it.
• Quebec’s Offensive de transformation numérique (digital transformation offensive): organizations can no longer propose new projects; services already funded, such as Mon succès numérique, continue.
• DÉCLIC AI (CRIM): applications have been closed since June 30, 2026.
• Tax credit for training workers of a small business: it only covered expenses incurred before 2023.

What about research and development credits?

Federal SR&ED and Quebec’s tax credit for R&D, innovation and pre-commercialization (CRIC) target experimental development: work that seeks to overcome a technological uncertainty systematically, with hypotheses, testing and conclusions. A management application built with known technologies generally does not qualify, even if it is new to your business. If your project involves real technical uncertainty, a specialist in these credits can tell you.

How to prepare your application without losing the funding

1. First check the business’s eligibility: number of employees, revenue, sector and region.
2. File the application before you sign a contract or pay an invoice: it is the most frequent reason for refusal in the program rules.
3. Start with the plan. ESSOR requires a digital plan before funding its implementation, and a well-described project makes a stronger case everywhere.
4. Get a written proposal that describes the scope, the deliverables, the timeline and the price. That is what the organization will review.
5. Ask the eligibility question in writing, especially for custom development, and keep the answer.
6. For a tax credit, keep the invoices and leave the claim to your accountant.