BDC LIFT is a $500 million program from the Business Development Bank of Canada that lends small and medium-sized businesses the money to adopt AI, and pairs the loan with a mandatory advisory plan.
Most of what has been written about it stops at "here is how to apply." This page is about the part that comes after approval: what the money can pay for, what a realistic AI project costs, and what BDC's advisor will want to see from whoever builds it.
Two things up front. LIFT is a loan, not a grant, and it has to be paid back. And I cannot get anyone approved. BDC decides that. What I can do is be the Canadian builder on the other side of the plan, which matters more than it sounds.
LIFT has two tracks. The one that applies to AI software is Track 1: Digital Transformation and AI. As of September 2026, BDC's published criteria are:
Track 2 is for productivity equipment in manufacturing, transport, construction, and similar sectors, with a $5 million revenue floor. It doesn't cover software, so I'll leave it there.
If your revenue is under $1 million, LIFT isn't the right door. The NRC IRAP AI Assist contribution often is, and it isn't a loan.
Criteria change. Confirm the current ones on BDC's LIFT page before planning around them.
This is the question nobody answers clearly. BDC's own wording is that LIFT can finance "AI implementation, training, and integration costs," and that financing may include "installation, integration, and implementation costs when directly tied to the technology investment and reviewed as part of the overall project."
In plain terms, a custom AI build done by an outside developer is an implementation cost. The software you license, the work to connect it to your existing systems, and the training for your staff can all sit inside the loan, as long as they are part of the plan BDC's advisor reviews.
What it is not for: general working capital, hiring, or "we'll figure out the AI part later." The loan follows a specific plan.
BDC offers a preferential rate when the AI solution or the integrator is Canadian. At launch, the press reported that rate as 2.25%, which is far below normal commercial lending. BDC's advisor determines whether a supplier counts as Canadian, and there is no public directory, so it comes down to who you bring to the table.
Syllogistic Software is a Canadian corporation, based near Metro Vancouver, and I write the software myself. If I build your project, the Canadian-integrator condition is met by the same person doing the work.
LIFT starts at $25,000, which is a useful anchor because it is also roughly where a worthwhile custom AI project starts. These are the shapes of project I typically deliver, so you can match a loan size to something concrete rather than to a vendor's slide deck.
A single internal tool that removes one repetitive job. Reading invoices, delivery slips, or forms into your accounting or inventory system. Drafting replies to the common half of your inbox for a human to approve. Built on your data, connected to one existing system, with a review screen so nothing goes out unchecked.
AI woven through a whole process rather than one step. Intake, classification, drafting, and hand-off across two or three of your systems, with reporting on what the AI did and what a person changed. This is the size where most of the measurable savings live, and where an AI Audit beforehand earns its keep.
Something your customers touch, or a system that replaces a category of work across the company. A customer-facing assistant with real integrations, or an internal platform that several departments run on. The portfolio shows what these look like when finished.
Every estimate I give includes what the system costs to run each month, because AI API bills are real and vendors rarely mention them. For most internal tools it is tens of dollars a month, not thousands. I've paid these bills on my own products, so the numbers come from invoices, not guesses.
These are ranges, not quotes. A real number comes from looking at your process, which is what the AI Audit is for.
Contact BDC through the LIFT page or your account manager. They confirm eligibility and start the Digital Plan with their advisory team. This happens on BDC's side and on BDC's timeline.
The Digital Plan goes faster and lands better when you arrive with a specific project rather than a wish. An AI Audit produces exactly that: a ranked list of processes, and a cost and effort estimate for each one.
I provide a written scope with deliverables, milestones, a fixed price or a capped estimate, monthly running costs, and confirmation that the work is done by a Canadian corporation. That is what the advisor needs to fold the build into the plan and apply the Canadian-supplier rate.
Once the loan is in place, I build in stages you can see and use, usually two to four weeks each. You are not waiting six months for a reveal. If something in the plan turns out to be wrong, we find out at milestone one, not at the end.
How long BDC takes from first contact to funds is BDC's to answer, and it varies. Plan on weeks, not days, and start the conversation with them before you need the money.
LIFT is a loan, so it combines with programs that don't lend.
I don't write LIFT applications, I don't charge a fee for "helping you get approved," and I don't quote success rates. There is a cottage industry that does those things, and the last federal adoption program showed how that ends.
What I do is build the thing the loan is for, in Canada, to a written scope, and stand behind it afterwards.
If you already know what you want built, email me the one-paragraph version and I'll tell you whether it is a $25,000 project or a $150,000 one, and whether it is worth doing at all.
If you don't know yet, the AI Audit is the fastest way to find out, and its report is the document BDC's advisor will want to read.
Either way, the first conversation is free and I will say so plainly if LIFT is the wrong tool for your situation.
Sources: BDC LIFT, BDC LIFT Track 1, BetaKit on the launch rate. Program details verified September 2026. Syllogistic Software is not affiliated with BDC.