Tech-Access Canada, the national network of Canada’s 70 Technology Access Centres (TACs), has welcomed Budget 2026 proposals to expand the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax incentive and renew federal clean technology support. TACs already help Canadian companies test new technologies, validate products and prepare for production. The proposed Canadian Innovation Pipeline Initiative would give more businesses year-round access to the teams and facilities already doing that work.
TACs provide contract research services to businesses. Under existing Canada Revenue Agency rules, businesses can claim eligible costs for qualifying SR&ED work that TACs perform under contract on their behalf. The proposed expansion, estimated at $930 million over five years, would extend eligibility to certain commercialisation expenses, including testing and validation required for initial regulatory approval or certification when directly linked to an eligible SR&ED project.
„A tax credit can help a company recover eligible costs. Somebody still has to pay for the test first,“ said Ken Doyle, Executive Director of Tech-Access Canada. Some of the firms TACs work with are still building the case for NRC IRAP funding or seeking their first outside investment. Such a test can be exactly what a customer or investor needs to see before they commit, he said. Canada already has the people, labs and equipment; the task is to fund the projects that put them to work. Tech-Access Canada estimates that, through its partnership with the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP), approximately 75,000 hours of applied innovation and commercialisation support delivered by TACs have been funded over the past decade.
The network also welcomes the proposed renewal of NRC IRAP’s Clean Technology initiative. In the 2026 pilot, TACs moved quickly to complete 54 projects, helping companies advance from real-world prototype demonstration at technology readiness level (TRL) 7 toward commercial deployment at TRLs 8 and 9. TACs and their industry partners have a further 161 projects scoped and ready to start as soon as a second round is approved. „The clean technology pilot gave companies a chance to see how their technologies performed under real operating conditions,“ said Jennifer Andersen, Vice-Chair of Tech-Access Canada and Executive Director, Applied Research & Innovation at Fleming College. That evidence helps a business decide whether it is ready to deploy or where it needs to do more work.
Since the tri-agency College and Community Innovation program began, the federal government has invested more than $1 billion through it in applied research, according to the network. The $165 million committed in the 2026 Spring Economic Update will help sustain that capacity. Melanie Ross, Chair of Tech-Access Canada and Research Chair at SAIT’s Green Building Technology Access Centre, said Canada’s three granting councils and the Canada Foundation for Innovation have helped build applied research capacity that businesses can draw on across the country. Tech-Access Canada estimates that the Canada Foundation for Innovation has invested $500 million in federal funding for research infrastructure at colleges and cégeps over the past decade.
Tech-Access Canada proposes to deliver the Canadian Innovation Pipeline Initiative through the TAC network. Interactive Visits would help firms decide what is worth pursuing; Strategic Interactions would help them test and validate their technologies; TRLascend projects would help them demonstrate those technologies at pilot scale and prepare for production or deployment. The proposed $33 million annual investment would support about 3,000 engagements with Canadian businesses each year once fully implemented. The TAC network already gives companies access to more than 2,100 applied R&D professionals, two million square feet of dedicated applied R&D space and approximately $500 million in specialised equipment. With approval and funding, it could start accepting Pipeline projects within 48 hours, the network said.
