Canada · Business Funding
Business Funding in Canada, Where Things Stand After the 2025 Rate Changes
Canada's small-business economy runs on the Toronto region's services and logistics base, Vancouver's trade and construction market, Calgary and Edmonton's energy-services firms, Montreal's manufacturing corridor, and independent operators across every province and territory. Commera works in Canada as a referral partner: we review your file, then refer it to Canadian funding partners, who price and contract the deal. Since January 1, 2025, an amended federal criminal interest rate has capped the all-in cost of most credit, with commercial tiers worth understanding before you compare offers. This page exists so Canadian owners can find honest context.
Canadian owner? Email us at contact@commerafunding.com , we'll refer your inquiry to our Canadian funding partners, who price and contract the deal.
By Filip Kozina · Co-Founder, Commera Funding
Reviewed July 31, 2026
What Canada's commercial financing law means for you
No Canadian commercial financing disclosure law; Criminal Code s. 347 caps the cost of credit
Effective: Amended criminal interest rate effective January 1, 2025
Citation: Criminal Code (Canada), s. 347, as amended effective January 1, 2025; Criminal Interest Rate Regulations
Canada has not enacted a commercial financing disclosure statute of the California SB 1235 type, and no province mandates a standardized pre-signing disclosure for commercial financing. What Canadian borrowers have instead is a federal ceiling on the cost of credit. As of January 1, 2025, Criminal Code s. 347 sets a criminal rate of 35% APR, and it defines interest broadly to include fees and commissions, not just the stated rate. The Criminal Interest Rate Regulations then exempt commercial borrowing by businesses (non-natural persons) in tiers: no cap on amounts above $500,000, a 48% APR cap from just over $10,000 up to $500,000, and the 35% ceiling at or below $10,000. The practical use for an owner is knowing what you are being quoted: the tiers are all-in numbers, so a quote's fees and commissions count toward the rate.
Applicability
The commercial tiers turn on borrower type and amount. They apply where the borrower is a business rather than a natural person: above $500,000 no criminal-rate ceiling applies, from just over $10,000 up to $500,000 the all-in cost must sit at or under 48% APR, and at $10,000 or below the general 35% rate applies. How the ceiling applies to any specific agreement, including a purchase of future receivables, is a question for Canadian counsel.
What you should expect
- Pricing and contracting from the Canadian funding partner, not from Commera; our role in Canada is referral
- No mandated pre-signing disclosure form, so get total repayment, payment schedule, and prepayment terms in writing before you sign
- All-in math on any quote: fees and commissions count toward the criminal-rate tiers, not just the stated rate
- On a deal from just over $10,000 up to $500,000, a 48% APR ceiling; above $500,000, no criminal-rate ceiling applies
Plain-English context, not legal advice. This summary draws on published law-firm analyses of the 2025 amendments (Stewart McKelvey and Lexology summaries); have qualified Canadian counsel confirm before relying on it. Commera acts as a referral partner in Canada, and the Canadian funder prices and contracts the deal.
Funding options for Canadian businesses
Available to Canadian businesses through our funding partners, priced and contracted by the partner.
Figures on this page are illustrative estimates only and are not an offer of financing. All amounts, rates, factor rates, terms, payment amounts, timelines, and qualification criteria vary by lender, depend on funder underwriting and your business's bank statement history, and are subject to change without notice. Nothing here is guaranteed until a funder issues terms and you sign them. Factor rates do not represent APR. Commera is a broker, not a lender, and does not set rates.
Common questions from Canadian owners
Is a merchant cash advance legal in Canada?
Yes, commercial financing, including merchant cash advances, is legal in Canada. The guardrail is federal: as of January 1, 2025, Criminal Code s. 347 makes it a criminal offence to charge more than a 35% APR, with fees and commissions counted as interest. The Criminal Interest Rate Regulations exempt most commercial borrowing by businesses: no ceiling above $500,000 and a 48% APR ceiling from just over $10,000 up to $500,000. There is no SB 1235-style disclosure statute, so get total repayment, payment schedule, and prepayment terms in writing before signing.
How does the 48% cap work on a deal between $10,000 and $500,000?
The ceiling is all-in. Interest under s. 347 includes fees, commissions, and similar charges, not just the stated rate, so the full cost of the financing has to stay at or under 48% APR once everything is counted. When you compare offers, annualize the whole cost: on a short-term product a modest-sounding fee can translate into a high APR. Ask the funder to show the all-in annualized figure, and have Canadian counsel confirm how the ceiling applies to your specific agreement.
What does referral partner mean for my business?
In Canada, Commera does not price, fund, or contract your deal. We review your file, then refer it to Canadian funding partners; the partner that takes it sets the terms, issues the agreement, and funds it. What we do: match your file to partners, explain the offers next to each other, and stay your point of contact. What we do not do: quote you our own rates or paper the transaction. Your agreement is with the Canadian funder.
Can I apply from Ontario, BC, or anywhere else in Canada, and what changes vs a US applicant?
Yes. The application form accepts all 13 provinces and territories, so an owner in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, or anywhere else in Canada applies the same way a US owner does: same form, same documents, bank statements and basic business information. What changes is who funds you. A Canadian file goes to our Canadian funding partners rather than Commera's US lender network, the offer and the contract come from that Canadian funder, and timing follows the partner's underwriting rather than ours.
Canadian business owner? Get in touch.
We refer Canadian files to funding partners in Canada, and the partner prices and contracts the deal. Email us, no fees, no pitch.
Email contact@commerafunding.com