Tariff relief for BC businesses: what is on offer, and what your books need to show
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Federal and provincial support expanded in September 2026. Every program asks for financial records first, and an application moves only as fast as those records are ready.
Download the checklist · text file
What is available
| Program | What it offers | Run by |
|---|---|---|
| Regional Tariff Response Initiative | Up to $3 million non-repayable: up to $2 million for liquidity and up to $1 million for a pivot project | PacifiCan (federal) |
| Pivot to Grow | Financing, including a liquidity loan for businesses hurt by US tariffs | BDC (federal) |
| BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund | $30 million added for equipment, technology and expansion projects | Province of BC |
| BuyBC | $15 million to take the program beyond agriculture and into non-US markets | Province of BC |
PacifiCan opened applications for the expanded initiative in British Columbia on 8 September 2026. Liquidity support covers up to 12 months of need.
The provincial measures are part of a $90 million package announced on 18 September 2026. It also added $30 million for technology companies through the Integrated Marketplace initiative and $15 million for rural economic infrastructure. The province said it would prioritize businesses and communities hit by forestry tariffs.
Who it is for
These programs are for businesses that can show a trade disruption has hurt them: US tariffs, Canadian counter-tariffs or countervailing duties. They are not general small-business grants. Each program sets its own tests, including minimum revenue and how long the business has operated, and those tests change. Read the eligibility page before you start.
For example, at the time of writing BDC’s criteria for its liquidity loan include at least 15% of sales from exports to the US and tariffs equal to at least 5% of revenue. Financing starts at $250,000, and the program runs until 31 March 2028.
What the application will ask of your books
A funder reading statements that are months behind, or a forecast that does not start from reconciled balances, will ask questions before it assesses anything else. The bookkeeping is not the application, but the application is built on it.
A fictional cash-flow example
A fictional furniture maker sold CAD 60,000 a month into the US before tariffs and now sells CAD 35,000. Its fixed costs are CAD 50,000 a month. A 12-month forecast built from reconciled books shows the monthly shortfall and when orders from new Canadian customers are expected to close it. A liquidity application needs that kind of evidence. The figures are invented and are not a client result.
Recording the money once it arrives
A loan is a liability, not income, whatever it pays for. A non-repayable contribution is government assistance, and how it is recorded depends on what it pays for: operating costs, or an asset such as equipment. Some agreements make a contribution repayable if conditions are not met. Keep the agreement with the books and record the money in its own account. Whoever prepares your tax return decides the tax treatment.
How much can a BC business get from the Regional Tariff Response Initiative?
Up to $3 million in non-repayable support: up to $2 million for liquidity, covering up to 12 months, and up to $1 million for a pivot project. PacifiCan delivers it in British Columbia and opened the expanded program on 8 September 2026.
Is tariff relief a grant or a loan?
It depends on the program. Regional Tariff Response Initiative support is non-repayable, subject to its agreement. BDC’s Pivot to Grow is financing and must be repaid. The provincial money flows through existing programs, each with its own terms.
Do I need accountant-prepared financial statements to apply?
Programs set their own requirements, and some ask for statements prepared or reviewed by an external accountant for past years. Check the program’s eligibility page. At a minimum, expect to supply statements and a forecast built from reconciled books.
My books are behind. Can I still apply?
Catch up first, or alongside the application. An application built on incomplete books draws questions, and the figures you submit have to agree with the statements that follow. We quote catch-up work separately and say how long it would take.
Can Orbis help with the application?
We prepare the bookkeeping records and the forecast an application relies on. We do not decide eligibility or promise an outcome, and your business makes the application to the program itself.
The dated note on the September 2026 announcements
Want this handled for you
This is the work we do for clients every month. Tell us what you sell and where your books stand, and a written plan and a fixed monthly price follow within one business day.
info@orbisaccounting.ca