Quebec plant hit by U.S. tariffs: the federal and Quebec support programs available in 2026

REF. 01Employees

Keeping your employees: the WRRP (federal)

The Workforce Retention and Retraining Program (WRRP, "PMERMO" in French) is run by Service Canada. It has two parts:

• Work-Sharing: your employees work fewer hours instead of being laid off, and Employment Insurance (EI) pays them benefits for the hours they lose. The tariff special measures, in effect until March 31, 2028, make the rules more flexible. A business qualifies after 1 year of operation in Canada, even if its work has dropped by less than 10%, and the reduction in hours can then exceed 60% of normal hours;
• the Retraining Grant: it pays up to $1,000 per participating employee for training. You apply for it once Work-Sharing is in place, no later than December 31, 2027.

Our guides to Work-Sharing and to the training grant give the details. This is the only application we prepare.

REF. 02Cash flow, Quebec

FORCE: an Investissement Québec loan for cash flow needs

FORCE is a program of Investissement Québec, the Quebec government corporation that finances Quebec businesses. Cash flow needs are the money you are short to pay day-to-day expenses, such as wages and suppliers, when sales drop.

Who may qualify. The business must meet all of these conditions:

• be a for-profit or social economy business (a co-operative or non-profit that sells goods or services);
• be in manufacturing or the primary sector, that is agriculture, forestry, fishing or mining (softwood lumber has its own program);
• be registered in Quebec and have done business there for at least 2 years;
• have had revenue of at least $2 million in its last fiscal year, and have been profitable in at least one of its last two fiscal years;
• be hit by a U.S. tariff of at least 25% that came into effect on or after March 4, 2025;
• for a loan of $10 million or less, earn at least 25% of its revenue from exports to the United States in one of its last two fiscal years. For a loan of more than $10 million, the business must instead be considered strategic by Quebec's Ministry of the Economy.

What the program offers. The loan can be up to $50 million. It covers your cash flow needs for up to one year. It is interest-free for the first year and is repaid over up to 7 years. You can wait up to 24 months before you start repaying the principal. You apply through an Investissement Québec account manager. The program ends on March 31, 2028.

REF. 03Cash flow, SMEs

PAUPME, tariff component: a loan from your MRC for smaller businesses

The PAUPME (Programme d'aide d'urgence aux petites et moyennes entreprises, Quebec's emergency assistance program for small and medium-sized businesses) has a component for tariffs. You apply to your MRC, the regional county municipality, or to the organization that manages the local investment fund. Your MRC can tell you who manages this fund in your region.

Who may qualify. The SME must meet all of these conditions:

• be a for-profit or social economy business;
• have been registered in the Quebec enterprise register for at least 2 years, and have its head office in Quebec;
• have had revenue of $200,000 to $2 million in its last fiscal year;
• earn at least 25% of its 2024 revenue, directly or indirectly, from exports to the United States;
• have seen its revenue drop by at least 20% compared with 2024, or be at risk of a drop that large because of tariffs that came into effect in 2026 or later;
• have been profitable in at least one of its last two fiscal years (except in forestry);
• commit to filing an adaptation plan within 12 months, that is a document that describes how the business will adapt to the tariffs. Your MRC can tell you what it must include.

What the program offers. The loan can cover up to 75% of your cash flow needs over 12 months, up to a maximum of $150,000. It is interest-free for the first year, then carries interest of 3.86%. You can wait 12 months before you start repaying the principal. These terms are in effect until March 31, 2028.

REF. 04Cash flow, federal

Pivot to Grow loan (BDC)

This loan is offered by BDC, the Business Development Bank of Canada.

Who may qualify. The business must be based in Canada, have been operating for at least 3 years and have annual revenue of at least $1 million. It must also have been viable before the tariffs. Depending on the part of the loan, at least 15% of its sales must also come from exports to the United States, or the tariffs must have cut its revenue, or raised its costs, by at least 10%. For the cash flow part, you need both the 15% in exports and tariffs equal to at least 5% of revenue.

What the program offers. Loans can be up to $5 million. They help you protect your cash flow, diversify your markets or buy equipment. The program is available until March 31, 2028, or until the planned funding runs out.

REF. 05Cash flow and projects

CED's Regional Tariff Response Initiative (RTRI)

CED is Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, the federal economic development agency in Quebec.

Who may qualify. The business must be in Quebec, have had at least $1 million in revenue in one of its last two fiscal years and have been viable before the tariffs. At least 25% of its revenue must also come from goods exported to the United States or China, or it must be in a directly targeted sector. Finally, it must show a cash flow need or a negative impact from the tariffs, such as lost revenue or higher costs.

What the program offers. For cash flow, the support is non-repayable and can be up to $2 million, up to a maximum of 50% of eligible costs, that is the expenses the program agrees to fund. CED's official page, listed in the sources, gives the list. For a repositioning project, that is a project that helps the business adapt to the tariffs, the support can be up to $1 million non-repayable; above that amount, it becomes repayable. Cash flow support ends no later than March 31, 2028, and support for repositioning projects on March 31, 2029.

REF. 06New markets

Finding customers and suppliers in Canada

Investissement Québec offers support to sell in Canadian markets and to replace U.S. suppliers affected by the tariffs. If your business has revenue of $5 million or less, Investissement Québec refers you to the regional export promotion organization (ORPEX) in your region. An ORPEX helps businesses in its region export their products.

REF. 07Our view

Loan, contribution or WRRP: where to start?

Start with the program that solves your most urgent problem. If you are short of money to pay day-to-day expenses, look first at the loans and financial contributions. If you may have to lay off employees, look first at the WRRP: it can keep you from losing trained employees while you look for new customers. You do not necessarily have to choose one or the other. But each program has its own stacking rules, that is rules on receiving several forms of support at the same time. Check these rules with each organization, on its official page.

We left out programs that do not target tariffs specifically, and those we could not confirm were open on an official page.

REF. 08Key terms

Key terms

Cash flow (liquidity)

The money available to pay day-to-day expenses: wages, suppliers, rent.

Fiscal year

The business's accounting year, which does not necessarily start in January.

Non-repayable support

An amount paid that the business does not have to pay back, unlike a loan.

Contribution

The name public bodies give to financial support paid for a project. It can be repayable or not.

Stacking

Receiving several forms of public support for the same expense or the same period. Each program sets its own limits.

MRC

The regional county municipality, a Quebec body that groups several municipalities and, among other things, manages the local investment fund.