The tariff relief rule most owners miss is in the footnote

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There's a line in BDC's eligibility table for the Pivot to Grow loan that ends the conversation for most people who read it: minimum 15% of sales must be derived from exports to the U.S.

If you run a distribution business in Brampton or a carrier out of Milton, you do the math, conclude you're not an exporter, and close the tab. Understandable. It's also the wrong conclusion, and the reason is two footnote markers hanging off the end of that sentence.

What the footnote actually says

BDC runs more than one product under the Pivot to Grow banner, and they don't share a test.

For the Pivot to Grow working capital loan and the equipment loan, the published condition is a minimum 15% of sales from U.S. exports or revenues decreased or costs increased by at least 10% due to U.S. tariffs. That "or" is the whole point. You don't have to ship anything across the border. You have to be able to show a 10% move in your revenue or your costs, and tie it to tariffs.

The Liquidity Loan is stricter. There, it's 15% of sales from U.S. exports and tariffs equal to at least 5% of company revenue. Both tests, not either.

So a food processor whose input costs jumped, a carrier whose lane volumes fell because customers stopped shipping, a wholesaler squeezed on both ends — none of them export a thing, and all of them may clear the bar on the working capital loan. Very few of them will clear it on the Liquidity Loan.

What changed this week

Finance Canada published a backgrounder on August 25 setting out a $7.5 billion package of tariff measures. Most of it targets large employers and workers. Three details matter to an owner-operated business.

The annual revenue floor for BDC's direct tariff support drops to $1 million. This one is already live on BDC's page, alongside a three-year operating history and historically positive cash flow.

A second $500 million liquidity stream is being added to Pivot to Grow, with loans from $250,000 to $5 million and interest-only payments over 36 months.

Effective September 2026, the Regional Tariff Response Initiative gets another $1.5 billion, and the cap on non-repayable contributions rises from $1 million to $3 million, now covering demonstrated liquidity needs rather than only pivot or capital plans.

That last one is the sleeper. Non-repayable means what it sounds like.

Timing matters more than usual right now

The RTRI runs through the regional development agencies, not through BDC. Nationally it's $3.45 billion over four years , and ISED notes plainly that intake dates vary by region.

For most of our members that agency is FedDev Ontario, whose southern Ontario page currently shows non-repayable funding of $125,000 to $1 million and says the expanded terms will be published shortly. The announced $3 million cap isn't live there yet.

Which gives you a narrow, useful window. If you're going to need this, the work of assembling the file is the same either way, and the file is what takes three weeks. Start it now and apply when the number moves.

The 10% test is a documentation problem

Everything above turns on proving a number. Before you call anyone, put together:

Monthly revenue and cost history, twelve months either side. The claim is a 10% move caused by tariffs. That's an arithmetic claim, and it either shows or it doesn't.

The causal thread, written down. Which customers cut volume, which suppliers raised prices, which quotes you lost. "Business is slow" isn't a submission.

A resilience plan. BDC makes it mandatory and requires you to show capacity to execute it. New markets, supply chain changes, equipment. Two pages beats a good conversation.

Clean recent financials. Historically positive cash flow and pre-tariff viability are both published conditions. If last year was rough for unrelated reasons, know that walking in.

One caution worth reading twice

The Liquidity Loan carries a termination clause. If the tariffs that came into force on August 19, 2026 are repealed, cancelled, suspended or otherwise cease to have effect, the liquidity support automatically terminates on that date. That's a reasonable way to design a relief program. It's a poor foundation for a cash flow plan that has to survive the next two years. The working capital and equipment loans run to March 31, 2028 and don't carry that trigger.

The short version

The export threshold that stops most owners reading isn't the only door. A documented 10% swing in revenue or costs opens the working capital loan without a single cross-border shipment. The revenue floor is now $1 million. The non-repayable regional money roughly triples in September, and your regional agency hasn't published its terms yet. None of this is automatic, and all of it rewards the business that already has its numbers in order.

We'll keep watching the FedDev intake terms and flag it here when they land. If you're working through whether your numbers clear the bar, that's exactly the conversation worth having with people in the same position rather than alone with a spreadsheet.

This is general information, not professional, legal or financial advice. Program terms change, so confirm current conditions with BDC or your regional development agency before you rely on anything here.

Sources

BDC, Pivot to Grow Loan — eligibility criteria, product conditions and footnotes, accessed August 25, 2026.

Department of Finance Canada, "Support for Canadian workers and businesses affected by U.S. tariffs," backgrounder, August 25, 2026.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Regional Tariff Response Initiative , updated August 25, 2026.

FedDev Ontario, Regional Tariff Response Initiative in southern Ontario , accessed August 25, 2026.