December 21, 2025

Most people checked out for the holidays. If you're still reading this, here's your edge.

Tuesday morning, SCALE AI dropped $128.5 million across 44 AI projects. Biggest single AI funding announcement in Canada this year.

What it is:
Applied AI for real businesses: healthcare ops, supply chains, manufacturing, retail logistics.

Who got it:
Companies across BC, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec. The common thread? Tech teams partnered with actual operating businesses.

The signal:
If you're building AI/data/automation tools for non-tech companies, 2026 is going to be busy.

This round is already allocated, but it shows where money is flowing in 2026.

Most federal money doesn't come from one big Canada-wide program. It flows quietly through Regional Development Agencies.

Translation: See a competitor in another province get funded? There's probably an equivalent program where you are.

The agencies:

Example: A manufacturing grant in Ontario often has a near-identical version through PrairiesCan or PacifiCan.

Most Q1 2026 funding will move through these. Know which one covers you.

CanExport SMEs: Closed for 2025.

CanExport Associations: Open until January 6, but this is for trade groups and industry orgs, not individual businesses.

If you run or work with a trade association, worth flagging. Otherwise, the SME stream reopens sometime in 2026. I'll tell you when.

Stop chasing one-off deadlines. The companies quietly stacking funding focus on year-round programs that refresh budgets in January.

Worth bookmarking:

These aren't sexy. But they're repeatable.

This is the week everyone stops paying attention. Which makes it the best week to get ahead.

I'm already tracking new programs launching in Q1. Reply with your province + industry and I'll flag what's actually worth watching in January.

— Zak