2025 marked one of the most consequential years for SR&ED in over a decade, particularly for Alberta-based innovators. Against a backdrop of economic resilience, major federal program changes, and rapid adoption of AI and clean technologies, Alberta companies faced both new opportunities and new complexities in how they plan, document, and defend SR&ED claims.
Rather than recap every trend, here are the three SR&ED insights that defined 2025 in Alberta, followed by what innovators should watch for heading into 2026.
Insight #1: SR&ED Policy Finally Caught Up to How Alberta Innovates
Why it mattered in 2025
The federal government’s 2025 SR&ED enhancements were the most significant since 2013 - and Alberta companies felt the impact immediately.
Key changes that reshaped claims:
- Expenditure limit doubled from $3M to $6M for CCPCs
- Capital expenditures reinstated, including equipment and infrastructure focused on R&D efforts
- Increased Taxable Capital Thresholds from $10M & $50M to $15M & $75M
- New Eligibility for Public Companies to received Enhanced SR&ED returns
- Improved cash flow potential for capital-intensive experimentation
For Alberta, this was especially impactful because:
- Many SR&ED projects here are capital-heavy (energy, manufacturing, cleantech, AI infrastructure)
- Prior rules often excluded costs that were central to experimental development
- Companies that previously “aged out” of SR&ED eligibility re-entered the program
What we saw on the ground
- Increased claim sizes, especially for scale-ups
- Renewed interest in SR&ED from companies that had previously disengaged
- More scrutiny needed around project boundaries and capital use
Insight #2: Alberta’s Economic Resilience Sustained SR&ED Investment, Even Amid Uncertainty
Why it mattered in 2025
Despite trade uncertainty and U.S. tariff pressure, Alberta’s economy outperformed the national average, with GDP growth around 2% versus ~1% nationally.
That stability mattered for SR&ED because:
- Companies continued funding longer-term experimental development
- R&D wasn’t paused - it was used strategically to improve margins and efficiency
- Innovation remained a defensive tool, not a discretionary spend
In Alberta specifically:
- Energy companies invested in process optimization, emissions reduction, and digitalization
- Manufacturing firms focused on automation and materials innovation
- Tech companies scaled development rather than shelving it
SR&ED takeaway:
2025 reinforced that SR&ED is most valuable when treated as a proactive planning tool, not just a year-end tax credit. Alberta companies that embedded SR&ED thinking early were better positioned to weather uncertainty.
Insight #3: AI, Advanced Computing, and Clean Tech Redefined What “Eligible SR&ED” Looks Like
Why it mattered in 2025
AI and automation weren’t just hot topics - they materially changed SR&ED claims in Alberta.
Key Alberta-specific drivers:
- Bill 8 and data center incentives accelerated advanced computing projects
- AI was increasingly embedded in non-tech sectors (energy, agri-food, logistics)
- Clean tech innovation moved from concept to applied experimental development
From an SR&ED perspective, this meant:
- More claims involving software uncertainty, model training, and system integration
- Increased CRA focus on technological uncertainty vs. routine implementation
- Greater need for contemporaneous documentation, especially when leveraging AI
Many companies assumed AI automatically qualified. In practice, 2025 showed that how you frame the experimentation mattered more than the buzzword.
What Alberta Innovators Should Watch in 2026
1. CRA Scrutiny on AI & Software Claims
2. Capital Expenditures Will Attract Attention
3. SR&ED as a Strategic Planning Tool (Not Retroactive)
In Closing: Alberta’s SR&ED Moment
2025 showed that SR&ED is once again aligned with how Alberta companies innovate. The policy tailwinds are real, but so are the expectations around documentation, technical rigor, and strategic use.
For Alberta’s innovators, the question heading into 2026 isn’t “Do we qualify?”
It’s “Are we proactively planning our innovation to fully capture the value?”
At Copoint, we help Alberta companies do exactly that, through planning, strategy, filing, and audit defense, so that SR&ED becomes a growth lever, not an afterthought.
