News Summary

The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) has introduced a substantial $500-million loan program named LIFT (Lead with Innovation and Focus on Technology) aimed at assisting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Canada to adopt artificial intelligence (AI). The LIFT initiative will provide loans ranging from $25,000 to $5 million to help 1,000 SMEs integrate AI and other digital technologies, thereby improving their productivity and competitiveness. SMEs participating in the program will receive guidance from consultants to ensure effective integration of AI solutions. Additionally, they can benefit from a preferential interest rate of 2.25% if they choose Canadian AI systems. This program is part of BDC’s efforts to close the AI adoption gap in Canada, with statistics showing that only 30% of Canadian SMEs used AI in 2025, yet these users were 24% more productive than non-users.