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MONTREAL, Aug. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In a challenging economic environment, more than 100,000 Canadian entrepreneurs continued to grow with the Business Development Bank of Canada’s (BDC) support, as the bank delivered a record $11.6 billion in financing solutions, contributing up to $28 billion in GDP over the next five years.
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“Fiscal 2026 tested BDC on every front,” said Isabelle Hudon, President and CEO of BDC. “Despite a challenging environment, we advanced both sides of our mission: growing our core business while leaning further into our development bank role, backing entrepreneurs with record financing for SMEs and launching several new platforms to strengthen Canada’s economic sovereignty, like our Defence Platform. This meant more entrepreneurs could invest, grow and move forward with confidence in a more uncertain environment.”
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BDC also reported strong financial performance, with $1.04 billion in net income and declared a $75 million dividend, which was returned to the Government of Canada as BDC’s Shareholder. These dividends, totalling more than $1.5 billion since 2021, are a key benefit of BDC being financially self-sufficient, enabling it to deliver value to Canadian entrepreneurs while ensuring its performance directly benefits Canadians.
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Core business: Supporting entrepreneurs at record scale
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In a more demanding environment for entrepreneurs, BDC delivered at record scale while remaining financially sustainable — ensuring it can keep stepping forward when Canadian businesses need it most.
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- Record financing: $11.6 billion in new financing solutions for Canadian SMEs.
- Strong reach: 101,135 clients served through financing, investment, advisory services, and partnerships.
- Driving growth and innovation: nearly $550 million in venture capital equity investment authorizations for 70 companies and 18 funds.
- Economic impact: BDC’s fiscal 2026 activities are expected to contribute $28 billion to Canada’s GDP over the next five years.
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Development bank: Expanding impact where it matters most
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BDC expanded its impact in fiscal 2026 with the launch of its $6 billion Defence Platform—a major step to strengthen Canada’s economic sovereignty and resilience. Through financing, investment and advisory support, BDC is backing Canadian SMEs developing defence and dual-use technologies, helping them scale and strengthen Canada’s industrial capacity and supply chains.
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Additional highlights of the fiscal year include:
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- Pivot to Grow: launched to help businesses absorb trade shocks and preserve liquidity in a more uncertain environment, with $177M in loans.
- Softwood Lumber Guarantee Program: supporting a critical Canadian industry facing ongoing trade pressures, with $220M in loans and loan guarantees.
- Community Banking: expanded through partnerships such as Community Futures/SADC+CAE/CBDC to increase access to financing and advisory services for underserved entrepreneurs, including in rural and remote communities.
- Black and Indigenous entrepreneurs: expanding access to capital, with portfolios of $388M in loans and investments, and $1.5B in loans, investments and loan guarantees, respectively.
- Women entrepreneurs: supporting more than 21,000 businesses, with $8.2B in loans and investments from early stage to scale.
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