Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association

Current Funding & Grants

Please see below for a list of current funding or grant opportunities that may be of interest to you:

Infrastructure:

1. The deadline for implementation of projects approved under Intake 3 of the Municipal Modernization Program has been extended to December 1, 2023.
2. The Streamline Development Approval Fund deadline has been extended from February 28 to November 1, 2023. Contact municipal.programs@ontario.ca with any questions.
3. National Housing Co-Investment Fund (NHCF): A federal program supporting the construction and renovation of affordable housing, including grants for municipalities to create housing supply.
4. Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund: The OCIF is a provincial funding program specifically designed to support the maintenance and improvement of critical community infrastructure. It provides financial assistance to eligible municipalities to help them address infrastructure needs, including roads, bridges, water and waste water systems, and other vital community assets.
5. The COVID-19 Resilience Stream program provides up to 80% of costs for municipal infrastructure projects up to $10 million that start by September 30, 2023 and are completed by the end of 2023.
6. The Government of Canada believes that electrification is crucial to decarbonising the transportation sector and transitioning to a low-carbon future. In efforts to tackle this initiative, Natural Resources Canada has administered a new program called Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Funding.The program is designed to increase a network of zero-emission vehicle charging and refuelling stations in more localized areas where Canadians live, work, and play and in multi-unit residential buildings, workplaces, or light-duty vehicle fleets.
7. The Zero Emission Transit Fund: delivers on the federal government’s commitment to help purchase 5,000 zero emission buses over the next five years and build supporting infrastructure, including charging infrastructure and facility upgrades.
8. Rural Transit Solution Funding - applications are accepted on an ongoing basis

Workforce: 

1. The Skills Development Fund - Applications open June 30, 2023 - deadline is September 25, 2023 has a new Capital Stream that supports Ontario workforce development partners to build new training centres, upgrade existing training centres or convert an existing building into a training centre.

2. Funding: Canada Summer Jobs – Overview - Canada.ca  is a Canadian government grant that offers support for employers providing supervised career-related work experience for youth employees. The experiences gained through funded placements should further develop their skills and knowledge, preparing them to make a transition into employment.

3.  Students can apply for the newly-expanded Learn and Stay Grant. The grant provides full, upfront funding for tuition, books and other costs for students who enrol in an eligible nursing, paramedic or medical laboratory technologist program and agree to stay in under serviced communities to work after graduation. The program is designed to encourage students to learn and stay locally, helping to bring in-demand health care workers to communities that need them most across the province. Ontario.ca/learnandstay.

Community Safety: 

1. The Ontario Anti-Hate Security and Prevention Grant is a one-time grants of up to $10,000 to ensure community spaces remain safe and secure from hate-motivated incidents. Applications are open for 2023-2024. Deadline is September 12, 2023.
2. Advancing Accessibility Standard funding - Expressions of Interest must be received by August 18, 2023.
3. The Community Support, Multiculturalism, and Anti-Racism Initiatives Program: helps Canadian communities confront discrimination by providing funding for new opportunities, discussions, and research which builds a collective understanding of Canada’s diverse cultures and religions. This program operates through three streams: (1) an Events stream, (2) a Projects stream, and (3) a Community Capacity Building stream.
4.  A free assessment of disability management programs is available until June 2024. The assessment involves an interview and produces a report. For details, visit the National Institute of Disability Management and Research website. 

And More:

1.  Ontario's current funding opportunities
2. Natural Resources Canada launched a call for proposals for the Codes Acceleration Fund. The call for proposals will remain open until March 27, 2023. Applications from Indigenous governments and organizations will be accepted on an ongoing basis until March 31, 2025.
3. The Celebrate Ontario Blockbuster (COB) program supports Ontario municipalities and organizations by relieving some of the financial stress of hosting large events that meet the ministry’s definition of a Blockbuster.
4. IRAP Youth Employment Program (YEP) was designed to assist funding of hiring young Canadian post-secondary graduates. Graduate can be applied to most areas from business development to technical to customer service/administration.
5. Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities (CERRC) Program: A federal initiative supporting renewable energy projects in off-grid and remote communities.

6. The Canadian International Innovation Program (CIIP): supports collaborative research and development projects that lead to commercialization of new products, services, or processes. CIIP seeks to match Canadian businesses with international partners in Brazil, China, India, Israel, and South Korea to achieve synergistic benefits.

7. Here is a quick link to more funding opportunities from CMHC.
8. ECO Canada provides great opportunities in funding for the environmental workforce, here are a couple which municipalities are eligible and are still open: Environmental Employability Pathways Program, Environmental Jobs Growth Program, Foreign Talent Development, Science Horizons Youth Internship and Youth in Natural Resources. 

OTHER RESOURCES:

AMO has designed its training to support members in your leadership roles. Our training offers skills to navigate the many relationships you encounter as an elected official. Navigating Conflict Relationships for Elected Officials is a top-rated course you shouldn’t miss. Register for the June 27-28 training.

Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Grants: FCM offers various grants for municipal sustainability, including the Green Municipal Fund, Community Economic Development Initiative, and Municipal Asset Management Program.

To help municipalities reach their net zero goals, capture a range of energy and non-energy benefits, and lay the foundation to reach net zero emissions, Efficiency Canada has also published a guide for municipalities detailing the steps they can take. 

The Ministry of Transportaion has published a Transit Technology Toolkit for small and medium sized municipalities, indigenous communities, and transit systems. The kit helps communities to navigate new transit technologies. For more information, contact: mto.smart.mobility@ontario.ca.

Municipalities can now access de-identified smart meter data through the IESO. Learn about how to obtain data of residential and small general service <50kW consumers. For questions contact smartmeterdata@ieso.ca.

What Municipalities Need to Know About Net Zero Emissions Building Codes Report