Government programs

Find programs and understand the next step

Search benefits and business funding, check published eligibility conditions, and read the official application instructions.

Search the catalog

Use GET /v1/programs with jurisdiction, category, audience, status, or q. A provincial search also includes national programs. The pilot covers federal programs, British Columbia, and Ontario. A missing intake status means the status is unknown.

GET /v1/programs?jurisdiction=CA/BC&category=child_family
X-API-Key: YOUR_HILLBASE_KEY

Open GET /v1/programs/{program_id} to read the current benefit period, conditions with citations, application steps, required documents, and related programs.

Screen eligibility conditions

Send known facts to POST /v1/programs/screen. Omit facts you do not know, or send null. Ages and income refer to the period specified in each result. Provincial residence can be supplied directly, or resolved from a point or a structured address where location coverage exists.

{
  "facts_version": "program_facts.v1",
  "facts": {
    "province": "BC",
    "children": [{"age": 3}, {"age": 7}],
    "adjusted_family_net_income": 55000,
    "renter": true
  }
}

Results distinguish likely_eligible, possibly_eligible, and not_eligible. Missing-fact questions are ranked by how many results they could resolve. A program with partial rule coverage stays possibly eligible until its remaining conditions are confirmed. Closed or paused intake is identified separately from individual conditions.

Estimate an amount

Send facts to POST /v1/programs/{program_id}/estimate. Each result identifies its benefit year and citations. Supported calculators cover the Canada child benefit, Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (formerly GST/HST credit), Old Age Security, Guaranteed Income Supplement, B.C. family benefit, and Ontario Child Benefit.

Provide each child’s custody share for child-benefit estimates. The pilot supports full custody. GIS estimates use published tables for a full OAS pension and require assessable income after the applicable exclusions. Unsupported situations and missing inputs return no amount. Historical estimates require a captured version covering the requested date.

Read the evidence

Catalog answers use quality.basis: published, screening uses derived, and amounts use estimated. Every rule, parameter, and application step cites official text. A changed program page marks affected entries for review and withholds their estimates.

You may be eligible; confirm with the program administrator. Screening and estimates are not benefit determinations, and program rules may change.

Use with an assistant

The MCP tools search_programs, screen_programs, and explain_program provide the same cited information. Ask the assistant to follow up with the most useful missing fact and confirm the result with the named administrator.

See the endpoint reference for request fields and authentication.