Home -> Federal Budget -> COVID-19 Financial Relief -> Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program (HASCAP)
Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program (HASCAP) Guarantee
Apply at your financial institution: Starting February 1, 2021
Deadline for applications: June 30, 2021.
Loan amount:
 | From $25,000 to $1 million to qualifying businesses |
| 100% guaranteed by the federal government |
| To cover operational cash flow in response to COVID-19 |
Terms:
| Fixed 4% interest rate |
| Flexible repayment terms of up to 10 years |
| Up to a 12-month postponement on principal repayments at the start of the loan |
| Must be used to continue or resume operations |
| Loan cannot be used to pay or refinancing existing debt |
Qualifying Businesses:
Must have been financially stable and viable pre-COVID, and must have been in operation as of March 1, 2020, and | Qualified for and received Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) or Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS); or |
| If qualified to receive CEWS and/or CERS but you did not receive either, you must apply for CEWS and/or CERS; or |
| If not qualified for CEWS or CERS, must provide financial statements that reflect at least 3 separate months (not necessarily consecutive) of monthly year-over-year revenue decrease within the 8-month period prior to the date of a HASCAP Guarantee application. |
Process:
| Get your unique ID code from the BDC website. |
| Wait for an email from BDC with your Unique ID code. |
| Provide your financial institution with this unique ID code. |
The unique ID code is required by your financial institution. Receiving your unique ID code does not mean you've been approved for HASCAP.
Financial Relief for entrepreneurs on BDC website
One-page HASCAP Guarantee reference sheet
Other Relief Programs
Canada Enterprise Emergency Funding Corporation (CEEFC)
Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF)
BDC Information for Businesses
Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) partially forgivable loans - deadline March 31, 2021
Revised: May 26, 2025