Ottawa Puts Nearly $26 Million Behind 31 Toronto-Area Businesses Under the Tariff Program

The tariff money is moving. On October 2, FedDev Ontario announced nearly $26 million for 31 businesses and organizations in the Greater Toronto Area under the Regional Tariff Response Initiative, Ottawa's tariff program for southern Ontario. The projects buy equipment, automation and new markets. The program's terms did not change. And the list shows something owners should read closely: in 28 of the 31 rows, the federal money covers half the project or less.

Daybar's $700,000 sits inside a $12.5 million project

Evan Solomon, the minister responsible for FedDev Ontario, made the announcement in Brampton with Shafqat Ali, President of the Treasury Board. "Tariffs are putting real pressure on businesses and workers across the Greater Toronto Area," Solomon said in the October 2 release.

The featured company, Daybar Industries, makes steel doors and frames in Brampton. Its project costs $12,475,650 per the backgrounder, and FedDev Ontario is putting in $700,000. Roughly $11.8 million comes from somewhere else.

Mark Dodson, Daybar's president, called the funding "essential to keeping Canadian manufacturers competitive."

The cheques run from $132,292 to $2.87 million

The backgrounder lists every recipient's project cost and federal contribution. The smallest is $132,292, to Brentwood Classics. The largest is $2,870,729, to SinaLite, which is 75% of its $3,827,639 project. Daybar's share is under 6%.

Neither page says which contributions have to be paid back. Under the published terms, pivot money you keep stops at $1 million, and five of these contributions are above that line.

The program did not change

A business can still get up to $3 million it keeps: up to $2 million in payroll support and up to $1 million for a pivot project. Above $1 million, a pivot can draw up to 75% of eligible costs as an interest-free loan, up to $20 million in total program money per business.

To qualify you still need an incorporated, for-profit business in southern Ontario, at least $1 million in revenue in one of the last two fiscal years, and a tariff hit you can show. Not-for-profits cannot get payroll support. On October 5 the program page still said "Accepting applications," with no closing date.