--- title: The Canadian Chamber and Google.org Just Put $2.7M Behind AI Training for Small Businesses — What BC Owners Should Know Before January description: Google.org and the Canadian Chamber are funding AI training for 10,000+ small businesses, opening January 2027. Only 24% of tiny firms train staff on AI. What BC owners should do now. image: https://go.daova.ai/hubfs/blog-images/chamber-ai-training-1105.jpeg --- [Skip to content](https://go.daova.ai/blog/canadian-chamber-google-org-2-7m-ai-training-small-businesses-before-january#main-content) [![DAOVALOGO-0929-60pct-blog](https://go.daova.ai/hs-fs/hubfs/DAOVALOGO-0929-60pct-blog.png?width=1303&height=434&name=DAOVALOGO-0929-60pct-blog.png)Homepage](https://daova.ai) - [Services](https://daova.ai/#what) - [Framework](https://daova.ai/#path) - [Blog](https://go.daova.ai/blog) - [About](https://daova.ai/#trust) [Book a Session](https://daova.ai/contact) - [Services](https://daova.ai/#what) - [Framework](https://daova.ai/#path) - [Blog](https://go.daova.ai/blog) - [About](https://daova.ai/#trust) [Book a Session](https://daova.ai/contact) ![Small business owners learning together around a table](https://go.daova.ai/hs-fs/hubfs/blog-images/chamber-ai-training-1105.jpeg?width=960&height=640&name=chamber-ai-training-1105.jpeg) AI Strategy & Getting Started ROI & Transformation # The Canadian Chamber and Google.org Just Put $2.7M Behind AI Training for Small Businesses — What BC Owners Should Know Before January ![Victor Sh](https://go.daova.ai/hs-fs/hubfs/head%20photo.png?width=48&height=48&name=head%20photo.png) Victor Sh November 5, 2026 The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, with support from Google.org, has launched an initiative to help small businesses adopt AI — more than $2.7 million in funding, delivered through a network of 400-plus chambers and boards of trade, with a target of reaching more than 10,000 businesses ([Canadian Chamber of Commerce](https://www.chamber.ca/news/canadian-chamber-of-commerce-with-support-from-google-org-launches-initiative-to-unlock-ai-opportunities-for-small-businesses/)). Participation opens in **January 2027**, and the program runs for two years. The numbers behind it are the interesting part. Only **19.2% of Canadian businesses** use AI to produce goods or deliver services in 2026. And the training gap is wider than the adoption gap: **24% of businesses with 1 to 4 employees** provided AI training to staff, compared with **68.1% of businesses with 100 or more**. That last figure is the one to sit with. Small firms are not slower because they lack tools. They are slower because nobody on the team was taught to use them. ## What the Program Actually Offers - **Self-paced learning** for owners and staff who need the basics. - **Practical workshops**, with curriculum designed by Nrth and delivered by local facilitators. - **Peer learning** — other owners in the same position, which is often the part that makes it stick. - **Intensive implementation cohorts** for businesses ready to move from identifying opportunities to testing real applications. Delivered through local chambers, so it will be tied to your region rather than a generic national course. ## Five Things to Do Before January 1. **Express interest now.** The program is invitation-adjacent: chambers are identifying business needs and connecting members. Being on the list early matters. 2. **Name one person.** Training that goes to "whoever is interested" evaporates. Pick the person who will own AI after the course ends. 3. **Pick one workflow to train on.** Quoting, invoice follow-up, review replies, meeting notes. A course attached to a real task beats a course about ideas. 4. **Block the time in the calendar.** Most training fails on hours, not on content. 5. **Check the ETG for the formal piece.** If you are buying structured training rather than using free workshops, BC's Employer Training Grant reimburses eligible training up to 80%, to $10,000 per participant. ### Quick Test: Are You Ready to Benefit? - Can you name the person who will own AI in your business after the training? - Do you have one specific task you want the training applied to? - Do you know how many hours a week you can realistically free up for it? Two "no" answers means the program would be wasted on you in January — fix those first, then enrol. The value is already visible where training has happened. In the Chamber's Business Data Lab research, 69% of businesses using or planning to use generative AI saw value in accelerating content creation, 46% in automating tasks without reducing employment, and 30% in supporting data-driven decisions. ## Training Beats Tool-Buying Most small businesses that stall on AI do not stall because they chose the wrong software. They stall because a tool arrived without anyone changing how the work gets done. A two-year program with workshops and peer support addresses exactly that, which is why it is worth more than another subscription. This is also how DAOVA works with BC small and mid-sized businesses: we start with one workflow, train the person who owns it, and only then expand — alongside practical [AI governance](https://go.daova.ai/blog) and deployment. ## The Bottom Line Free, regionally delivered AI training for small businesses is arriving in January. The businesses that get value from it will be the ones that show up with a task, an owner and a calendar slot — not the ones that sign up and hope. **Your action this week:** email your local chamber and ask to be added to the list for this program, then write down the one workflow you want to train on. ## Share this post [mailto:https%3A%2F%2Fgo.daova.ai%2Fblog%2Fcanadian-chamber-google-org-2-7m-ai-training-small-businesses-before-january](mailto:https%3A%2F%2Fgo.daova.ai%2Fblog%2Fcanadian-chamber-google-org-2-7m-ai-training-small-businesses-before-january) ## Keep reading ### [![A business owner reviewing documents at a laptop](https://go.daova.ai/hs-fs/hubfs/blog-images/invoice-fraud-1103.jpeg?width=960&height=640&name=invoice-fraud-1103.jpeg) Privacy & Governance AI Automation & Deployment AI Can Now Forge a Convincing Invoice — Five Checks Before Your Business Pays](https://go.daova.ai/blog/ai-can-now-forge-a-convincing-invoice-five-checks-before-your-business-pays) ### [![Paper-cut illustration of a team combining AI project planning and staff training beside the Richmond Olympic Oval.](https://go.daova.ai/hs-fs/hubfs/399292365801-project-training-richmond-oval.png?width=1774&height=887&name=399292365801-project-training-richmond-oval.png) AI Strategy & Getting Started AI Investment Canada Just Added $500M for Businesses to Adopt AI — How BC Companies Can Line It Up With the ETG](https://go.daova.ai/blog/canada-just-added-500m-for-businesses-to-adopt-ai-how-bc-companies-can-line-it-up) [![DAOVA.ai](https://go.daova.ai/hs-fs/hubfs/DAOVALOGO-0929-1.png?width=2172&height=724&name=DAOVALOGO-0929-1.png "DAOVA.ai")](http://daova.ai) - [Services](https://daova.ai/#what) - [Framework](https://daova.ai/#path) - [Blog](https://go.daova.ai/blog) - [About](https://daova.ai/#trust) --- Privacy Policy · Legal · © 2026 DAOVA SOLUTIONS INC.. 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