Ottawa Adds $1.5B for Tariff-Hit Canadian Businesses: Steel, Aluminum, and Food Security Now in Focus

On May 4, 2026, Ministers Mélanie Joly and Evan Solomon announced $1.5 billion in additional support for tariff-impacted Canadian businesses. The headline: a new $1 billion Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) program for firms that manufacture or export products containing steel, aluminum, or copper, and an additional $500 million for the Regional Tariff Response Initiative (RTRI) that we covered in March.

The same day, FedDev Ontario quietly republished the RTRI guidelines with a meaningful change: food security joins steel and automotive as a third priority sector for non-repayable funding. If you missed the original RTRI intake before the original envelope was committed in early May and assumed the door had shut, it hasn’t — the program is open again with a fresh $500M envelope and a broader priority list.

What was announced on May 4

Three things SMEs and mid-market companies need to understand:

1. $1 billion BDC program for steel, aluminum, and copper-intensive manufacturers and exporters — financing on favourable terms to absorb immediate pressures and fund operational transformation.
2. $500 million top-up to the RTRI — delivered through the seven Regional Development Agencies, supporting tariff-impacted businesses in all sectors with up to $10M repayable or $1M non-repayable contributions.
3. Food security added as a priority sector under RTRI — alongside steel and automotive, food producers, processors, and distributors are now flagged for priority access to non-repayable funding.

The new $1B BDC program (steel, aluminum, copper)

The new BDC program is a direct response to the United States’ April 6, 2026 adjustment to its tariffs on products containing steel, aluminum, and copper. It is designed to get money into the operations of affected companies quickly.

• Who it’s for: Canadian companies that manufacture or export products containing steel, aluminum, or copper, and that use these metals significantly in their production.
• What it offers: Financing at favourable terms (specific rate and term details to be published by BDC). Designed for both immediate liquidity and longer-term transformation investments.
• How it complements RTRI: RTRI funds project costs (equipment, market diversification, automation). The BDC program offers operating-level financing. Many tariff-impacted firms will use both.

The $500M RTRI top-up (all sectors)

The RTRI launched in March 2025 with a sizeable envelope and saw heavy uptake — the original FedDev Ontario intake closed on May 1, 2026. The May 4 announcement adds $500 million in fresh funding through the same program, delivered by all seven Regional Development Agencies (FedDev Ontario, FedNor, ACOA, CED, PrairiesCan, PacifiCan, CanNor).

If you’re new to the RTRI: it offers project-based contributions to for-profit businesses (3+ years incorporated, 5–499 FTEs) that can demonstrate tariff impact, structured as either a repayable contribution up to $10 million (75% cost share) or a non-repayable contribution up to $1 million (50% cost share, one per company). For the full program rules, eligibility criteria, and our take on stream selection, see our deep dive on the RTRI.

Food security: the new priority sector

The most consequential change in the updated RTRI guidelines is the addition of food security as a third priority sector for non-repayable funding. FedDev Ontario’s definition is broad and deliberately inclusive:

The food security pillar includes activities that support domestic food production, processing and distribution, and delivering food to markets and communities, including strengthening supply chains and improving resilience to tariffs, supply chain pressures and other market disruptions.

— FedDev Ontario, RTRI Guidelines (May 2026)

In practice, this opens priority access for a much wider set of companies than steel or automotive does:

• Greenhouse operations across Leamington, Kingsville, and Niagara facing higher input costs on tariffed steel structural components, aluminum-clad equipment, and imported packaging
• Primary food producers — dairy, beef, poultry, fruit growers in Niagara and Norfolk County, field-vegetable operations — hit by tariffed fertilizer, equipment, or feed inputs
• Food processors and manufacturers — meat processors, bakeries, beverage and dairy plants, cheese producers — dealing with disrupted U.S. supply chains or lost U.S. customers
• Cold chain, logistics, and distribution operators investing in domestic capacity to replace U.S.-routed flows
• Packaging suppliers to the food industry where steel and aluminum tariffs flow straight through to per-unit costs
• Agtech and food-tech companies building automation, traceability, or supply-chain tools that strengthen Canadian food security

Who should look at this announcement

The May 4 package is broad, but a few profiles should move first:

• Steel, aluminum, or copper-intensive manufacturers and exporters. The new BDC program was designed for you, and RTRI remains the right project-funding tool. The $150M steel carve-out is significant.
• Automotive and parts companies. Already a priority RTRI sector. Tariffs on metal inputs make automation and onshoring projects newly economical.
• Food producers, processors, distributors, and food supply-chain technology companies. Newly priority sector. The up-to-$1 million non-repayable stream is the clearest opportunity here — direct, non-dilutive funding for projects that strengthen Canadian food supply.
• Anyone affected by the new tariff rules — full stop. The May 4 update broadens an already-broad door. If U.S. tariffs, Canadian counter-measures, or the recent April 6 metal-tariff adjustments have hit your business in any way, you are likely eligible.
• Anyone who tried to apply before May 1 and didn’t get through. Funding has been refilled. Reapply with a sharper case and current evidence.

How to demonstrate eligibility

RTRI’s tariff-impact test is the gating question. To qualify, your business must either (a) have at least 25% of sales in tariffed markets, or (b) demonstrate it has been directly affected by tariffs or counter-measures. Direct impact is broad and includes:

• Increased input costs from supply chain disruption or alternative sourcing
• Increased finished-product costs
• Addition of an import or export tax
• Revenue decline or loss of market access (lost contracts, reduced export volumes)
• Employment effects (layoffs, hiring freezes, Work-Sharing Program uptake)

Document the impact carefully. We tell clients to assemble a one-page evidence packet — customer concentration, before/after cost or revenue data, supply chain notes — before drafting the application. That packet often becomes the strongest section of the application narrative.

Our take

The May 4 announcement is one of the most pragmatic federal tariff responses we’ve seen. Three reasons we like it:

1. The non-repayable RTRI stream is the best small-business grant on the market right now. Up to $1 million non-repayable per company, with no industry restriction beyond tariff impact. We’ve walked a number of companies through it and the application work is meaningful but tractable.
2. Adding food security broadens the program in a useful direction. Food supply chains absorb tariff costs the same way steel and automotive do, and Canadian food sovereignty has cross-party momentum. We expect this priority to be enforced, not nominal.
3. The new BDC program plugs a real gap. RTRI funds projects, not operations. For steel, aluminum, and copper firms whose immediate problem is working capital under compressed margins, the new BDC tool is the right complement.

The risk: announced funding pools fill quickly. The original RTRI envelope was committed within weeks of opening. Companies that wait for full BDC program rules before assembling their RTRI case will be late twice.

What to do this week

1. Document your tariff impact. Pull together a one-page evidence packet — customer concentration, before/after cost or revenue data, supply-chain notes, layoffs or hiring freezes — before you start drafting.
2. Decide repayable vs. non-repayable. If your project is over $2M and you have repayment capacity, the up-to-$10M repayable stream usually wins. For smaller projects, the up-to-$1M non-repayable stream is usually better.
3. Map your stacking strategy. RTRI can be combined with SR&ED, IRAP, and provincial programs up to a 90% government-assistance ceiling.
4. Watch for BDC program details. If you’re in steel, aluminum, or copper, BDC will publish program rules in the coming weeks. Have your file ready.

If your company has been impacted by tariffs and you want help figuring out which of these tools you qualify for and how to structure the application, just connect with us. The first conversation is free — this is what we do every day. We don’t charge anything to look at your situation and tell you whether RTRI, the new BDC program, or something else is the right fit.