Is There a Grant for Your Small Business Website in Ontario? What's Actually Open in 2026

If you search for a grant to pay for a small business website in Ontario, the first page of results will mostly show programs that have closed. The $2,500 Digital Main Street grant and the federal Canada Digital Adoption Program both still appear as active on plenty of listing sites, and neither has taken applications in a long time.

The answer, as of October 2026, is that there's no open Ontario or federal grant whose purpose is paying for a small business website. There is funding nearby, though: a new provincial retail grant, a start-up grant, loans that can be used for a website, and the tax deduction most owners forget. This article goes through each one, what it pays for, and what it doesn't.

We build websites, so we'd benefit from telling you a grant will cover one. It mostly won't, and you're better off knowing that before you plan around it.

The two programs everyone still mentions

Digital Main Street's Digital Transformation Grant. For several years this was the answer. It gave Ontario main street businesses $2,500 toward a website, online store or digital marketing, after a free digital assessment. The grant portal is closed. Digital Main Street keeps its free online assessment and training modules available, and those are still worth an afternoon, but there's no money attached to them now.

The Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP). The federal program had two streams: Grow Your Business Online, a $2,400 grant for getting a business selling online, and Boost Your Business Technology, up to $15,000 for a digital adoption plan plus a 0% BDC loan of up to $100,000. BDC's 2025 annual report confirms that the government stopped accepting new CDAP applications on February 19, 2024. The only people still using it are businesses that signed a grant agreement before that date, and BDC's loan depends on that agreement still being valid.

Ontario's new $5,000 retail grant, and why it won't pay for a website

In May 2026 the province added $5 million to the Digital Competence Centre, which the Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI) runs. Most of that money, 351 of the 448 projects it expects to fund over the next year, goes to the Retail Modernization Project Grant.

The grant is real, open and first-come, first-served. It pays up to $5,000 of matched funding toward digital hardware, software and the external cost of installing them. To qualify, the business has to be:

• An Ontario retailer that's open to the public and sells directly to consumers
• Operating from a physical commercial location, not from home
• Incorporated and operating for at least one year
• Earning at least $100,000 a year in revenue
• Employing 1 to 50 full-time staff

The program's own summary is clear about what it won't fund: "Software subscriptions, fixtures and fittings, marketing, website & SEO costs are not covered." Businesses engaged in e-commerce, corporate chains, franchises, charities and professional services are ineligible.

What it does fund is point-of-sale systems, inventory management, accounting software, CRM tools, self-checkout kiosks, scheduling software and similar equipment. For a shop, café, salon or boutique that's worth having. If your point-of-sale system can sync inventory and hours with your website and Google Business Profile, the grant can pay for the system, even though it won't pay for the site.

Two other OCI programs, and who they fit

The same Digital Competence Centre runs two more streams, both aimed at larger businesses than most people searching this.

Digital Modernization and Adoption Plan (DMAP). Up to $15,000 for an approved Digital Adoption Consultant to write a plan for your business's technology. It's open to Ontario for-profit businesses with 1 to 499 employees, first-come, first-served while funds last. It pays for the plan, not for building anything. You can apply for DMAP or the retail grant, but not both.

Technology Demonstration Program. Up to $50,000 to implement what a DMAP recommends, for businesses with at least $750,000 in annual revenue that have completed a DMAP. It's currently closed to applications.

Starter Company Plus: the one that might

Starter Company Plus is a provincial program delivered through local Small Business Enterprise Centres. In Mississauga that's IDEA Mississauga, and in other cities it's the local centre. It combines training and mentoring with the chance to apply for a grant of up to $5,000.

The conditions are strict. You contribute at least 25% of the grant yourself, which means $1,250 in cash or in-kind for the full amount. You attend a mandatory info session and weekly training. The business must be new, which IDEA Mississauga defines as operating for less than two years. And completing the program doesn't guarantee a grant. IDEA Mississauga's page also says the program isn't suitable for anyone working full-time, and excludes franchises, MLM, resellers and seasonal businesses. It lists its next cohort as January to March 2027, with information sessions in early November.

Neither the province nor IDEA Mississauga publishes a list of eligible expenses. The grant is tied to the business plan you submit, so if a website is part of your launch, ask the centre directly whether it's an acceptable line before you count on the money.

Loans that can pay for a website

If a grant isn't available, financing usually is.

• Futurpreneur. Up to $75,000 for founders aged 18 to 39, made up of up to $25,000 from Futurpreneur and up to $50,000 co-lent by BDC. It comes with up to two years of mentorship, and businesses up to 24 months old can apply.
• The Canada Small Business Financing Program. A government-backed loan arranged through your own bank or credit union. Term loans can finance intangible assets and working capital as well as equipment, within sub-limits, and the lender will take security against business assets.
• Your bank's ordinary small business loan or line of credit, which is often the fastest route for a $3,000 to $10,000 project.

Borrowing for a website makes sense when it pays for itself through enquiries. If you're not sure yet what a site costs, our breakdown of what a business website costs in the GTA is the place to start.

The deduction most owners forget

A website built for your business is a business cost. Depending on how it's built and what it does, your accountant will either deduct it as a current expense or claim it over time through capital cost allowance. CRA has generally treated website software and development work as Class 12 property, which depreciates quickly. Ongoing costs like hosting, maintenance and domain renewal are normally deductible in the year you pay them.

That's not a grant, but for an incorporated business it can take a meaningful share off the real cost. It's worth a five-minute conversation with your accountant before you sign a quote, not after.

Training your staff to run it

The Canada-Ontario Job Grant was relaunched as the Ontario Job Grant, with registration opening May 4, 2026. It helps employers pay for training their existing staff, and small and medium-sized employers are named as a focus. If you'd rather have someone on your team learn to manage your website, Google Business Profile or ads than pay someone else, it may help cover the course. Check the current funding levels and eligible training in the program guidelines before enrolling, as the redesigned program's terms differ from the old one's.

Grant scams, and "grant-approved" websites

Wherever there's a well-known grant, there are people pretending to offer it. The Competition Bureau says government departments generally don't charge for information about their programs and that nobody can guarantee you a grant or loan. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre lists grant and loan offers among its common scams.

Watch for:

• A call, text or DM you didn't ask for, offering "special access" to government funding
• A fee to apply, or to receive a list of available grants
• A site that uses a government logo but isn't on gov.ca, canada.ca or ontario.ca
• Requests for your SIN, banking details or to open a new account to "receive" the funds
• A vendor promising that their website "qualifies for" a grant that's actually closed

The last one isn't always fraud. Some web designers registered as approved vendors when the Digital Main Street grant was open, and their pages may still say so. But a quote built around $2,500 that isn't coming is a quote that's $2,500 more than you think. If anyone links a price to a grant, ask for the program's official page and its current intake dates in writing.

Report anything suspicious to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.

At a glance

Programs change, and this table is only correct as of the date on this article. Check each one on its official site before applying.

If there's no grant, start smaller

Most of the money a grant used to cover can be saved by building less in the first version. A five-page site with clear service pages, a fast contact form and a properly set up Google Business Profile will do more for a new local business than a larger site built later. Our Sprint is a fixed-price project from $1,499 for exactly that kind of focused first step, and a full site is quoted within 24 hours with the scope written down.

If you're weighing up who should build it at all, we've compared agency, freelancer and DIY options, including when a $20-a-month builder is the right answer.

Not sure what you need yet? Book a call and we'll tell you, including if the answer is "nothing right now".