SURREY, B.C. - Surrey businesses have three November dates worth circling: a federal AI funding intake that closes at noon on Monday, November 23, a free full-day AI training session at City Centre Library that same day, and a free tariff-help webinar on Wednesday, November 18. The City of Surrey pulled the deadlines together in its business newsletter issued Wednesday, November 4, 2026.
The money: up to $5 million for AI projects
PacifiCan, the federal economic development agency for British Columbia, is offering eligible B.C. businesses between $200,000 and $5 million in repayable funding to adopt AI technologies or bring AI solutions to market, covering up to 50 percent of eligible project costs. Applications close at 12:00 p.m. Pacific time on Monday, November 23, 2026.
The money flows through the Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative (RAII). The Government of Canada is investing an additional $500 million over five years in the initiative, bringing its total to $700 million, as part of AI for All, Canada’s national AI strategy. PacifiCan delivers the program in B.C. and is currently accepting applications from businesses for funding beginning in 2026-27. Future intakes for not-for-profit organizations and smaller businesses are planned for investments starting after April 1, 2027.
Two practical points for Surrey owners: because the funding is repayable and covers at most half of a project’s cost, an applicant needs its own share of the money lined up; and with the intake closing at noon on November 23, a business that wants in has less than three weeks to put an application together.
Free training: one last session this year
The City is also promoting the final free AI business training session of 2026, on Monday, November 23, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at City Centre Library in Surrey City Centre. The one-day session focuses on practical ways to use AI tools to improve productivity and streamline day-to-day operations. Sessions in this series at the library are run by DIVERSEcity’s Skills Training Centre, and the course listing says participants must have a business registered in Surrey or a Surrey business licence.
The timing makes November 23 a double deadline: funding applications close at noon that day, in the middle of the training session, so an owner planning to do both should file the funding application first.
Tariff help, in 45 minutes
Businesses feeling the tariff squeeze can join a free webinar on Wednesday, November 18, from 9:00 to 9:45 a.m. on resources to help businesses navigate tariffs. The City says the session walks through support programs available to manage financial pressures, strengthen competitiveness and expand into new markets.
Residents: what shops do you want?
The City is also asking residents to help shape Surrey’s business community through its Consumer Insights Survey, which closes Monday, November 30. The survey asks what shops, restaurants and services people would like to see in Surrey and how they shop locally; the City says the answers help it identify opportunities, attract new businesses and better meet residents’ needs.
Innovation Boulevard gets a spotlight
Finally, the newsletter points Surrey firms to a new BCBusiness feature on Innovation Boulevard, the City Centre innovation precinct, explaining how businesses can access research expertise, technical resources, testing facilities and industry partnerships to improve productivity and solve operational challenges.
Registration and application links for all five items are in the City of Surrey’s business newsletter and on the City’s and PacifiCan’s websites.
(Source: City of Surrey business newsletter and PacifiCan, November 4, 2026)
