CSBFP lending and claims by fiscal year, 2016–17 to 2025–26
Lending under the program rose from 5,292 loans in 2016–17 to 6,486 in 2024–25, with dips in 2019–20 (5,746) and 2020–21 (3,739), then fell to 6,079 in 2025–26. Dollar volume followed the same path, and the average loan kept rising.
Claims are the losses the government covers when a borrower defaults: under the program a lender is paid 85 percent of the net eligible loss. Claims had stayed between 655 and 898 a year since 2018–19, then reached 1,250 in 2025–26. With fees of $109.6 million against claims of $130.1 million, the program's fees fell short of its claims for the first time since 2020–21.
Fiscal years run from April 1 to March 31. Counts are loans registered with the program, and claims are counted in the year they were paid, not the year the loan was made.
| Fiscal year | Loans | Value | Average loan | Claims paid | Claims value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | 5,292 | $986.3 million | $186,400 | 986 | $61.3 million |
| 2017–18 | 5,765 | $1.16 billion | $201,900 | 788 | $49.4 million |
| 2018–19 | 6,104 | $1.31 billion | $214,700 | 678 | $44.2 million |
| 2019–20 | 5,746 | $1.30 billion | $226,300 | 691 | $53.6 million |
| 2020–21 | 3,739 | $875.1 million | $234,100 | 898 | $87.0 million |
| 2021–22 | 5,075 | $1.23 billion | $243,000 | 798 | $76.9 million |
| 2022–23 | 5,591 | $1.49 billion | $266,400 | 655 | $65.4 million |
| 2023–24 | 6,239 | $1.74 billion | $279,400 | 699 | $74.0 million |
| 2024–25 | 6,486 | $1.87 billion | $288,700 | 723 | $75.3 million |
| 2025–26 | 6,079 | $1.77 billion | $291,500 | 1,250 | $130.1 million |
CSBFP loans by province and territory, 2025–26
Ontario accounted for 44.3% of loans and 46.7% of the dollars. Alberta, Quebec and British Columbia follow; the Atlantic provinces together made 201 loans, and the territories 3.
Provinces are assigned by where the borrowing business is located. The last column compares each province's loan count with the year before.
| Province or territory | Loans | Value | Average loan | Share of value | Loans vs 2024–25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario | 2,692 | $827.5 million | $307,400 | 46.7% | −10% |
| Alberta | 1,327 | $357.7 million | $269,600 | 20.2% | −2% |
| Quebec | 989 | $288.0 million | $291,200 | 16.3% | +12% |
| British Columbia | 585 | $172.5 million | $294,800 | 9.7% | −11% |
| Saskatchewan | 169 | $38.7 million | $228,800 | 2.2% | −30% |
| Manitoba | 113 | $30.3 million | $268,000 | 1.7% | −13% |
| New Brunswick | 81 | $23.4 million | $289,500 | 1.3% | −22% |
| Nova Scotia | 76 | $20.4 million | $268,700 | 1.2% | −15% |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 34 | $9.2 million | $269,700 | 0.5% | +89% |
| Prince Edward Island | 10 | $3.4 million | $341,400 | 0.2% | −38% |
| Yukon | 3 | $1.0 million | $334,500 | 0.1% | +200% |
Which industries borrow through the CSBFP, 2025–26
Accommodation and food services (restaurants, hotels and other food and lodging businesses) has been the largest borrower group by value in each of the last ten fiscal years and took 46.5% of the dollars in 2025–26. Retail trade and other services follow. The claims column shows where the year's defaults were concentrated: 655 of the 1,250 claims, up from 349 the year before, came from accommodation and food services.
| Industry sector | Loans | Value | Share of value | Claims paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and Food Services | 2,635 | $824.6 million | 46.5% | 655 |
| Retail Trade | 934 | $262.1 million | 14.8% | 180 |
| Other services | 773 | $212.8 million | 12.0% | 144 |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 374 | $125.6 million | 7.1% | 52 |
| Health care and social assistance | 260 | $78.2 million | 4.4% | 29 |
| Personal care services | 230 | $60.0 million | 3.4% | 50 |
| Educational services | 193 | $55.9 million | 3.2% | 23 |
| Manufacturing | 115 | $31.3 million | 1.8% | 20 |
| Repair and maintenance services | 108 | $27.1 million | 1.5% | 29 |
| Construction | 108 | $21.0 million | 1.2% | 11 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 82 | $17.4 million | 1.0% | 14 |
| Wholesale | 64 | $16.0 million | 0.9% | 9 |
How big CSBFP loans are
Most CSBFP loans are between $250,001 and $500,000 (52% of loans in 2025–26). Loans above $500,000 are rare (214 in the year). The program allows term loans of up to $1 million and lines of credit of up to $150,000, with a combined maximum of $1.15 million per borrower.
| Loan size | Loans | Value | Share of loans |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0 to $250,000 | 2,730 | $354.7 million | 44.9% |
| $250,001 to $500,000 | 3,135 | $1.26 billion | 51.6% |
| $500,001 to $750,000 | 110 | $67.6 million | 1.8% |
| $750,001 to $1,000,000 | 104 | $93.6 million | 1.7% |
New businesses are the program's main borrowers
In 2025–26, 74.5% of loans and 76.3% of the dollars went to businesses that had been operating for less than a year. ISED describes this group as start-ups and businesses operating less than one year. Businesses older than three years took 789 loans.
| Age of business | Loans | Value | Share of loans | Claims paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 1 year | 4,528 | $1.35 billion | 74.5% | 957 |
| More than 3 years | 789 | $207.6 million | 13.0% | 104 |
| 1 to 3 years | 762 | $212.3 million | 12.5% | 189 |
What the money pays for
Leasehold improvements, the fit-out of rented premises, were the largest use of CSBFP money in 2025–26 at $1.13 billion. Equipment and real property follow. Lines of credit, which first appear in the tables in 2022–23, grew to 542 in 2025–26 from 382 the year before, worth $35.1 million.
| Asset financed | Loans | Value | Share of value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leasehold improvements | 3,433 | $1.13 billion | 63.9% |
| Equipment | 1,350 | $333.1 million | 18.8% |
| Real property | 579 | $249.0 million | 14.1% |
| Working capital costs | 542 | $35.1 million | 2.0% |
| Intangible assets | 175 | $21.7 million | 1.2% |
What these numbers mean for a Canadian borrower
The program is a loan guarantee, not a government loan: a bank or credit union makes the loan, decides whether to approve it and sets the terms within the program limits. Those limits include a 2% registration fee, a variable-rate cap of the lender's prime rate plus 3%, and eligibility for businesses with gross revenues of $10 million or less.
Two things stand out in 2025–26. Fewer loans were made, and claims rose sharply, mostly in restaurants. Lenders that see more losses in a sector usually look harder at new applications from it, so a complete file matters more: a lease, quotes for the improvements or equipment, a cash-flow forecast and the owner's own contribution.
- Ask your own bank or credit union first; the program only works through lenders.
- Bring quotes for the equipment, renovations or property you want to finance.
- Plan for the 2% registration fee in the amount you borrow or pay.
- If you need working capital only, compare a CSBFP line of credit with other credit lines.
Methodology and how to cite these figures
Source: ISED, Canada Small Business Financing Program open data on open.canada.ca (summary of financial activities, and loans and claims by province and territory, industry sector, size of loan, age of business, asset type and financing type), last updated July 20, 2026, published under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Program limits come from ISED's CSBFP pages for small businesses.
Every category table adds up to the same 6,079 loans for 2025–26. ISED's earlier "Overview and Highlights 2024-25" report gave 6,409 loans and 758 claims for 2024–25; the open-data tables, updated later, show 6,486 loans and 723 claims for that year because loans can be registered and claims settled after a report is written. This page uses the open-data tables for every year so all years are measured the same way. Averages are value divided by number of loans.
You are welcome to quote or chart these figures. Please credit AIDBIZ and link to this page so readers can see the source tables.