At a glance
Discover how innovation, strategic investment, and government funding with tax incentives can shape your manufacturing projects.
If you’re an advanced manufacturing company in Canada, innovation is no longer just a competitive advantage, it’s becoming essential to your survival and growth strategy.
After weathering an uncertain first half of 2025, manufacturers outside the steel, aluminum, and automotive sectors have found tariff impacts less severe than initially feared. With Canadian counter-tariffs being significantly reduced and greater policy clarity emerging, project activity is accelerating again.
If you’re planning reshoring operations, modernizing facilities, or strengthening interprovincial supply chains, integrating funding early in your process can materially improve project economics and reduce execution risk.
Innovation as a critical driver
Across the advanced manufacturing sector, companies are recognizing that innovation is fundamental to building resilience against global disruptions. Our Ayming 2025 Federal Budget report reinforced this reality, positioning industrial innovation as a cornerstone of Canada’s economic strategy.
Supply chain vulnerabilities exposed during recent years have accelerated the need for domestic manufacturing capabilities in strategic sectors. The push to reduce international dependencies is creating innovation imperatives and reshaping investment priorities.
Many manufacturers are taking a disciplined approach, not abandoning global connections, but strategically reshoring critical operations to protect margins and supply commitments.
Emerging advanced manufacturing trends
If you supply domestic or export markets, reliability is essential. Customers expect consistency over long project timelines, which is reshaping how manufacturers approach operations and supply chain management.
That’s why many manufacturers are now:
- Strengthening interprovincial supply chains to reduce international dependencies
- Developing domestic manufacturing capacity for critical components
- Making products CUSMA compliant to preserve US market access
- Forming strategic R&D partnerships to accelerate innovation cycles
In support of an Ontario manufacturers reshoring objectives, we identified the Ontario Together Trade Fund as an aligned opportunity and partnered with them to prepare a comprehensive application, including detailed CUSMA compliance technicalities.Brock Giedraitis, Ayming Grant Consultant
Learn more about the Ontario Together Trade Fund
Many manufacturers are unaware of specific federal and provincial incentives that are available to support these initiatives.
Ayming helps manufacturers identify, secure, and finance these opportunities, reducing risk and accelerating project timelines. If you’re planning to invest in your manufacturing capabilities, connecting with Ayming early can help ensure your project is fully funded and built for long-term success.
Strategic innovation & capital investments
Canada’s most competitive manufacturers are taking a two-track approach to innovation and growth, ensuring each initiative aligns with the right type of support.
Manufacturers are investing in the development of new or improved products intended for commercialization, including:
- Advancing proprietary product designs and performance capabilities
- Addressing technical uncertainties tied to new materials, systems, or applications
- Scaling innovations that create new revenue and export opportunities
At the same time, manufacturers are strengthening operational efficiency and productivity through investments such as:
- Enhancing robotic systems and CNC technology
- Deploying IoT sensors and real-time monitoring systems to optimize production
- Implementing automation and digital manufacturing tools
While both investment areas are essential to competitiveness, initiatives focused on process efficiency and technology adoption are typically supported through capital and productivity funding programs rather than product development initiatives. These incentives help manufacturers increase productivity, improve quality, and respond faster to changing market demands. With the right funding strategy, projects can be executed more quickly and efficiently. Ayming supports manufacturers by identify eligible investments, structure claims, and securing available tax credits and government funding, so growth and innovation can be financed with confidence.
Commercial innovation
For our manufacturing clients, we can help identify commercial innovation projects that are eligible to the IRAP program and guide them through the application process to secure funding at the R&D stages.Constance Dubuc, Ayming Grant Consultant.
Learn more about the IRAP program
Government funding programs like IRAP and many others can make these strategic investments much more achievable. Tax incentives like provincial Manufacturing Investment Tax Credits, allowing manufacturers to recover up to 15% of eligible capital investments, and the Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit of up to 30% can significantly reduce project costs.
Financing as a catalyst for manufacturing excellence
Strategic financial backing does more than just fund projects, it transforms how manufacturers approach innovation entirely. Early integration of funding mechanisms into technology planning creates a competitive ecosystem where bold ideas can flourish without undue financial strain.
The manufacturers seeing greatest advancement are those who view funding as:
- Innovation Accelerator: Compressing development timelines from concept to implementation
- Risk Redistributor: Sharing the financial burden of technological experimentation
- Capability Multiplier: Extending your technical reach beyond internal resource limitations
- Competitive Differentiator: Creating implementation advantages that competitors cannot easily match
Accelerate your innovation journey
As we move into 2026, the advanced manufacturing sector in Canada has unprecedented opportunities to innovate and grow. The companies that will thrive are those that recognize innovation not as an occasional initiative but as a continuous strategic imperative, one that can be significantly enhanced through strategic funding approaches.
The application process for major funding initiatives can be intense, requiring significant engagement and comprehensive information sharing. Manufacturers often underestimate the level of detail and strategic alignment needed to secure competitive funding. A strategic funding roadmap helps manufacturers align innovation projects with government priorities, time applications for optimal success, and structure projects to maximize funding potential.
This is where Ayming Canada comes in. We work alongside Canadian manufacturers to support innovation, modernization, and growth. We understand the realities of high-volume, cost-sensitive manufacturing and the pressure to deliver reliably into global markets.
By partnering with us, you can focus on your core manufacturing expertise while we ensure your innovative initiatives receive the optimal funding support. The result is accelerated innovation, improved competitiveness, and stronger financial performance in an increasingly challenging global marketplace.
