In the federal budget 2026, the federal government has announced a few new patent-related measures and continued funding for several intellectual property (IP) programs to help Canadian businesses identify, protect, and leverage their intellectual property assets.
Key IP Funding Announcements
In today’s 2026 federal budget, we see the following IP-related funding or programs. Indeed, there is mention of “strengthen[ing] research and commercialisation while protecting intellectual property”.
- $930 million expansion of SR&ED commercialisation,
- Renewed support for clean technology through IRAP,
- $1 billion investment into the Strategic Response Fund to support large-scale R&D projects, and
- a review of intellectual property.
That last point appears to be “Federal Intellectual Property Review to help Canadian innovators protect, commercialise, and retain more intellectual property here in Canada, including stronger research commercialisation and safeguards against abusive patent practices.”
Commitments from 2025 are confirmed
“Budget 2025 announced the government’s intention to undertake a performance review to strengthen Canada’s intellectual property ecosystem and support the growth of intellectual-property-intensive firms.
New measures in 2026
The new patent-related measures to be introduced in 2027 include:
- “Amending the Patent Act to require changes in patent ownership to be registered with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, giving businesses and investors clearer information about who owns Canadian patents and helping reduce due diligence costs and investment risk.”
- “Developing new regulations under the Patent Act to establish minimum requirements for written patent demand letters. This will help protect Canadian businesses from abusive practices, including vague or misleading patent infringement claims intended to extract nuisance payments.”
Past Announcements of Note
Budget 2025 provided:
- $84.4 million over four years, starting in 2026-27, to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada to extend the Elevate IP program also known as AccelerateIP.
- $75 million over three years, starting in 2026-27, to the National Research Council to extend the IP Assist Program.
- $22.5 million over three years, starting in 2026-27, to renew support for the Innovation Asset Collective’s Patent Collective.
The budget also included support through CanExport designed for businesses working with international R&D partners, this program covers 75% of eligible costs up to $37,500 per project (with a $100,000 annual cap) specifically to protect Canadian IP in foreign markets.
There is also the Productivity Mega Deduction, which is great despite the odd name.
Take Away on Government Contributions
The budget is minutes old. We will have more to say later. However, we at Perpetual have been very successful in securing contributions to our clients’ IP education, IP plans, and IP assets. These government contributions, don’t call them grants, have greatly reduced costs for over 80 companies we have dealt with. Indeed, last time we tallied it the contributions in all areas, not just IP, exceeded 20 million.
Conclusion
If you would like to discuss joining one of these programs or the protection of one of your company’s inventions, then please contact us.
