The province of Alberta has proposed to make its province more attractive for small- and medium-sized technology businesses through the launch of its new Innovation Employment Grant (IEG). The program is currently under development and is expected to launch January 1, 2021, as part of Alberta’s Recovery Plan.
The IEG will offer reimbursement of 8% on base levels of R&D spending, and 20% reimbursement for increments above the base R&D level. A firm’s base level of spending will be determined by calculating its average qualifying R&D spending over the previous 2 years. The Alberta government has proposed that eligible expenditures will be the same as those that qualify for the federal SR&ED program.