BDC LIFT — Track A
BDC LIFT Track A — the $2M AI-only loan, explained.
Track A is the version of BDC LIFT that most Canadian SMEs end up using. AI-only, $25K to $2M, available to any operating SME at $1M+ revenue in any sector. The rate drops to 2.25% when you pick a Canadian system integrator. This page is the plain-English walk-through — what the loan actually pays for, what it won't, and the project shapes BDC routinely funds.
What Track A actually is
BDC LIFT runs as two parallel tracks. Track A is the AI / digital track — software, integration, deployment work — with a $2M ceiling. Track B is the AI-plus-equipment track for sectors where AI implementation is paired with physical equipment investment, and the ceiling pushes to $5M. Most Canadian SMEs evaluating LIFT for the first time are looking at Track A, because most SMEs are funding software work and the equipment side either isn't relevant or is being financed separately.
Track A is sector-agnostic. Services, retail, professional services, trades, B2B SaaS, distribution, hospitality, light industrial — if you're at $1M+ revenue, Canadian-incorporated, and you've been operating for two full fiscal years, you're in the band BDC underwrites. The full eligibility tests are the same as for the program overall — there's no special Track A bar beyond the revenue floor.
The structural shape of the loan is what most operators don't appreciate until they sit down with their accountant: up to 24 months of principal-payment postponement, 5-year amortisation typical, preferential rate of 2.25% when the AI work is delivered by a Canadian system integrator. That combination — deferred principal, long amortisation, sub-market rate — is what makes Track A specifically attractive versus operating cash flow or a commercial bank loan for the same work.
What Track A covers — and what it won't
The single biggest source of friction in LIFT applications is misunderstanding what the loan actually funds. Track A is built around AI implementation labour and the artifacts that implementation produces. It is not a SaaS subscription budget, not a payroll bridge, not a working-capital line.
Track A funds
- Integrator design, scoping, and architecture work
- Build and integration labour (the engineers, the agent design, the connectors)
- AI model spend during the build and tuning phase
- Data infrastructure that's in direct service of a defined AI use case
- AI tooling and platform subscriptions tied to the project (e.g. observability, evaluation, vector storage)
- Change management, training, and adoption work
- Post-deployment measurement and the first 6–12 months of operations
- A defined warranty / support window after go-live
Track A will NOT fund
- Physical equipment, hardware, or facilities work (that's Track B)
- Real estate, leasehold improvements, vehicles
- Ongoing seat licenses for ChatGPT Enterprise, Copilot, or other off-the-shelf AI tools you'd pay for anyway
- CRM, ERP, or PMS replacement projects with AI bolted on as cover
- Generic website rebuilds or marketing redesigns
- Payroll for employees not directly working on the AI project
- Working capital, accounts-receivable financing, or general operating cash
- Speculative R&D with no defined production deliverable (that's NRC IRAP territory)
The $2M cap — and how project size actually scales
The $2M Track A ceiling is the headline number. In practice, very few first-time Track A borrowers come anywhere close to it. The realistic project-size distribution we see is roughly:
- $25K – $60K — a single high-leverage AI workflow. Typically intake automation, missed-call recovery, or a single back-office agent. For SMEs at the $1M–$2M revenue band with one obvious bottleneck.
- $60K – $200K — the sweet spot for first-time AI adopters. Two to four connected workflows: front-of-house intake, back-office triage, and the integration plumbing into the existing CRM/ERP, with 12 months of operations. This is where most Track A loans land.
- $200K – $600K — multi-department AI deployments for SMEs at $5M–$25M revenue. 4–6 production workflows across operations, finance, sales, and support, plus data infrastructure that supports the agent layer and unblocks future use cases.
- $600K – $2M — substantial AI infrastructure investments for established SMEs ($25M+ revenue) with multiple business units. Funded only when the operating need is genuine and the implementation organisation can absorb work at that pace without distress. Rarer than the press releases suggest.
The honest advice we give every first-time applicant: go smaller on day one than your enthusiasm wants. A $150K Track A loan that delivers 2–3 workflows in 90 days and proves out the operating model is worth more than an $800K loan that tries to do everything at once and stalls in adoption. BDC writes follow-on loans. They do not write second loans to people whose first stalled.
The 2.25% preferential rate — and the Canadian integrator test
The 2.25% preferential rate is the single most important detail in Track A and the one most operators miss reading the BDC marketing copy. BDC offers a 2.25% rate on Track A loans when the borrower's AI solution OR system integrator is Canadian. For most SMEs the practical lever is the integrator — picking a Canadian-incorporated, Canadian-delivered system integrator is what unlocks the rate.
BDC's working criterion for "Canadian integrator" is the integrator's Canadian operating presence — incorporated in Canada, staff based in Canada, delivery from Canada. Picking a US or offshore implementation partner doesn't satisfy the clause, even if the model providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google) are American. The integrator role — the design, build, deployment, and ongoing support — is what BDC reads.
Worked example on a representative Track A project:
$250K Track A loan · 5-year amortisation · Canadian SME at $3M revenue
Illustrative only. BDC sets actual rates per applicant; final terms depend on credit, security, and the specific scope BDC underwrites. Source: BDC LIFT program page. Run your own scenario on the LIFT calculator.
Read another way: on a $250K Track A project, the integrator-choice question is worth roughly $20K of free margin over the loan's life. That's about the cost of adding a fifth production agent to the same scope without lifting the loan ceiling. The longer version of why this clause exists — and how to make sure you actually qualify — is in the 2.25% Canadian-integrator post.
Typical Track A project shapes
Five anonymised project shapes from the last 18 months that show what Track A funding actually looks like in flight. Names omitted; dollar bands rounded to nearest $25K.
Receptionist + missed-call recovery
Single AI workflow for an HVAC contractor. Voice intake during overflow and after hours, SMS missed-call recovery, writes jobs into ServiceTitan. First Track A loan for the borrower. The smallest realistic shape — one workflow, one integration, one quarter to ROI.
Intake + scheduling + follow-up
Law firm. Three connected workflows: client intake automation, scheduling agent integrated with the practice-management system, and matter-status follow-up. 12 months of model spend and operations included. Typical "sweet spot" Track A shape.
Support triage + customer health
Software vendor. AI agent triaging Zendesk tickets, customer-health predictive model tied into the CRM, and the data pipeline that supports both. Multi-department deployment with formal change-management workstream. Mid-range Track A.
Order intake + demand forecast
Wholesale distributor. AI-driven order intake across phone, email, and EDI; demand forecasting model feeding into the ERP for inventory planning; supplier negotiation prep agent. Five production workflows. Larger Track A shape — strong operating business, clear ROI math.
Reservations + no-show prevention
Restaurant group, three locations. Reservation intake, automated reminder + no-show prevention, POS-aware reporting agent for the GM. Smaller Track A but tightly scoped — exactly the band where a Canadian integrator pays for itself in rate savings.
Application timeline — what 8–12 weeks actually looks like
The realistic timeline from first BDC contact to funds disbursed is 8–12 weeks for most Track A applications. The implementation work runs on top of that. Here's the breakdown that matches what we see week-to-week:
BDC intake + initial fit conversation
You contact BDC directly or via the integrator's referral. BDC confirms basic eligibility (revenue floor, ownership, sector) and assigns an Advisory engagement. Usually a single call plus a follow-up document request.
Readiness assessment + Advisory plan
BDC's mandatory Advisory plan is delivered by BDC or a vetted advisor. We typically run a parallel technical readiness assessment that feeds it, so the Advisory document and the implementation scope align at submission. Running them parallel saves 2–4 weeks calendar time.
Loan application + underwriting
You submit the formal Track A application with the scoped implementation plan attached. BDC underwriting reads the financials, ownership documents, project scope, and the integrator credentials (which is where the Canadian-integrator rate clause gets applied). Expect at least one round of follow-up questions.
Term sheet, signing, disbursement
Term sheet review, legal closing, security registration, signing. Funds disburse on signature — typically in tranches tied to project milestones rather than a single lump sum, especially for larger loans. By this point the implementation kick-off is calendared.
Implementation build
Build runs 6–14 weeks depending on scope. We instrument from day one — usage, output quality, business outcomes. BDC will want this for outcome reporting; you'll want it for the follow-on loan or the expansion decision. The 24-month principal-payment postponement means the implementation has time to prove itself before payments start.
When Track A is the wrong choice
The "wrong tool" honesty is critical to how we think about LIFT. Three patterns where Track A isn't the right answer, and you should hear that from us before BDC tells you the same thing six weeks in:
- You have hardware needs alongside the AI work. If the project genuinely pairs AI with physical equipment — fleet telematics, AI-augmented diagnostic hardware, robotics for manufacturing or logistics — you want Track B. The paired ceiling is $5M instead of $2M, and the equipment side gets funded under the same loan. Splitting the project to fit Track A is a mistake.
- Your project is under $25K. That's below LIFT's floor. If the realistic scope is "deploy one AI receptionist with no integration" and the total is $15K, pay out of operating cash flow. The transaction costs of going through BDC Advisory for a sub-$25K loan don't pencil.
- You're really doing AI research, not implementation. If there's no defined production deliverable — if the work is "explore what's possible with LLMs in our domain" — that's NRC IRAP territory, not LIFT. BDC will pull the scope apart and tell you the same thing.
- You're a Quebec-headquartered company building AI as the product. If you're commercialising AI rather than adopting it internally, Scale AI Canada is the closer fit. Track A is for AI adoption inside operating SMEs, not for AI productisation. The Scale AI vs. BDC LIFT comparison walks through which program fits which company shape in detail.
Track A FAQ
What's the maximum loan size under BDC LIFT Track A?
Track A caps at $2M for AI-only projects. The minimum is $25K, so the band BDC underwrites is $25K to $2M. Most first-time Track A borrowers land between $60K and $300K — enough to fund a real implementation across 2–4 AI workflows with integration and 12 months of operations, without overshooting what the business can realistically absorb in a single deployment cycle.
What does Track A cover specifically?
Track A funds AI implementation work: integrator design, build, integration labour, model spend during the project, change management, training, and post-deployment measurement. It funds the software side of an AI deployment — the agents, the integrations, the data plumbing, the human work to make it land. It does not fund physical equipment, real-estate, ongoing SaaS subscriptions to off-the-shelf tools, generic CRM replacements, or payroll outside the immediate project scope.
How does the 2.25% rate work for Track A?
BDC offers a 2.25% preferential rate on Track A loans when the borrower's AI solution or system integrator is Canadian. For most SMEs the practical way to satisfy that clause is picking a Canadian-incorporated, Canadian-delivered system integrator — like Creatrixe. The rate is BDC's, not the integrator's. The integrator-Canadian-ness is what unlocks it. On a $250K Track A loan, the preferential rate is worth roughly $20K in interest savings over a 5-year term versus indicative market rates.
How long does a Track A application take?
Realistic timeline is 8–12 weeks from first BDC contact to funds disbursed. Roughly: 2–4 weeks for the readiness assessment and Advisory plan, 4–8 weeks for BDC underwriting and the loan offer, then disbursement on signature. Implementation typically runs another 6–14 weeks after disbursement depending on scope. Most Track A borrowers are live with the first AI workflow inside 4–6 months of first BDC contact.
Can Track A fund my ChatGPT or Copilot subscriptions?
No. Track A funds implementation, not ongoing subscriptions to off-the-shelf tools. Model spend during the project — the API costs you incur while building and tuning the agents — is in scope. The ongoing monthly seat licenses for ChatGPT Enterprise, Microsoft Copilot, or any other generic AI subscription you'd be paying anyway are not. The Advisory layer surfaces this kind of mislabelling during scoping.
When is Track A the wrong choice?
Three patterns: (1) You have meaningful physical-equipment needs paired with the AI work — that's Track B territory, with the $5M paired ceiling. (2) Your project is under $25K — that's below LIFT's floor; pay out of operating cash flow instead. (3) You're at $5M+ revenue and you're in one of Track B's eligible sectors (manufacturing, transport, wholesale, construction, agriculture, mining, architecture/engineering) — even if your project is AI-only, Track B may give you better optionality if equipment shows up in phase two.
Do I need the BDC Advisory Services plan to access Track A?
Yes — the Advisory plan is mandatory for LIFT. It's delivered by BDC or a BDC-vetted advisor, and it's the document that scopes what the loan will fund. We typically run a parallel technical readiness assessment that feeds the Advisory plan, so the BDC document and the implementation scope are aligned at submission. Running them in parallel rather than sequentially shortens the calendar time by 2–4 weeks.
What's the typical Track A project shape?
For a first-time Track A borrower at $1.5M–$5M revenue, the typical shape is $80K–$200K funding 2–3 connected AI workflows: an intake or front-of-house agent, a back-office or operations agent, and the integration plumbing into the existing CRM/ERP, with 12 months of model spend and operations included. Larger Track A borrowers ($5M–$25M revenue, $300K–$1M loans) usually fund 4–6 workflows across multiple departments, including data infrastructure work that supports the agent layer.
Where to go next
If Track A looks like the right shape for your business, the practical next steps are short:
- Confirm eligibility against the hard tests — revenue, ownership, operating history, sector, AI scope.
- Run the LIFT calculator to see what a project at your revenue level realistically looks like at the 2.25% rate.
- Read the Track B page if you're in a sector where equipment might be in play. Track B has the higher ceiling and the paired-financing structure, and the choice between A and B is worth thinking through before you scope.
- Book a 30-minute scope call. We'll walk through what a defensible Track A application looks like for your business and tell you whether to proceed.
For background reading, the "What is BDC LIFT" primer is the right pre-read if you're still mapping the landscape, the Canadian-integrator rate post covers the 2.25% clause in detail, and the Scale AI vs. BDC LIFT comparison is the right read if you're evaluating Track A against other federal AI funding. Or step back to the main LIFT hub for the full program overview.
Scope a Track A application against your actual business.
Thirty-minute call. We walk through your revenue, the AI scope you're considering, the integration realities of your existing stack, and tell you whether Track A is the right tool — and what a defensible scope looks like for BDC underwriting. If we'd recommend you not pursue it, we'll say that too.