Federally Funded Programs under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership

The Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) is a $3.5 billion, 5-year agreement (April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2028) between the federal, provincial and territorial governments. The initiative seeks to boost competitiveness, drive innovation, and build greater resilience across the agriculture, agri‑food, and agri‑based products sector.

The Sustainable CAP is centered on five key priority areas, including:
– Building sector capacity, growth and competitiveness
– Climate change and environment
– Science, research and innovation
– Market development and trade
– Resiliency and public trust

To learn more about available federally funded programs, please see here.

Funding Opportunities under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership

Replacing the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) is a $3.5 billion, 5-year agreement (April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2028) between the federal, provincial and territorial governments.

The funding opportunities under the Sustainable CAP are cost-share intakes. Cost-share funding is where the governments of Ontario and Canada contribute a portion of the total project cost, and the applicant contributes the remaining amount. Available opportunities include:

Promoting Agriculture and Food Careers Initiative: This initiative is aimed at helping agricultural societies to promote careers in the agriculture and food industry.

Ontario Agri-Food Research Initiative (OAFRI): OAFRI provides funding for agri-food research and innovation projects in Ontario, which is a key pillar of the Grow Ontario Strategy. OAFRI includes various funding streams to support research and innovation projects aimed at providing solutions for Ontario’s agri-food sector. OAFRI is currently accepting applications for the following stream(s): Grow Ontario Accelerator Hub (continuous intake).

Resilient Agricultural Landscape Program (RALP): As part of the Ontario Agricultural Sustainability Initiative, the Resilient Agricultural Landscape Program (RALP), provides funding to support Ontario farmers in making their agricultural lands more productive and resilient. The program provides funding to support projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, store carbon, and enhance other ecological goods and services.

Special Provisions for Financial Difficulties: Under the Sustainable CAP, Ontario farmers who are experiencing financial difficulty may qualify to access financial advisory services to complete a Farm Financial Analysis.

Market Diversification and Trade Resiliency Initiative: The initiative provides funding to primary producers and processors to help diversify markets and strengthen resiliency, focusing on new and emerging domestic and international opportunities. It supports business investment that drives job creation in Ontario’s agriculture sector.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada supports the Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector through initiatives that promote innovation and competitiveness. Various programs and services aimed at supporting innovation, sustainable farming, business development, risk management as well as trade and market development are available.

BioEnterprise Canada

BioEnterprise Canada offers various funding programs, primarily provincial in scope. Ontario-focused initiatives delivered by BioEnterprise include the Ontario Agri-Food Research Initiative (OAFRI) Commercialization Stream and the Sustainable Growth and Adoption Program (SGAP). In addition to direct funding, BioEnterprise provides coaching, mentorship, and networking opportunities to support agri-food innovators.

AgPal Program and Service Finder

AgPal gathers agricultural information and intelligence to help farmers and agri-businesses find relevant resources all in one place, including information on finances, funding and grants as well as business practices and human resources.

Ontario Centre of Innovation

The Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI) offers a range of funding programs designed to support innovation, commercialization, and collaboration across various sectors in Ontario. 

Collaborate 2 Commercialize: This program fosters collaboration between academia and industry to address real-world industry challenges and accelerate the commercialization of intellectual property (IP).

Critical Industrial Technologies (CIT) Initiative: CIT supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ontario to develop new IP faster and at a greater scale. It is designed to drive critical technology adoption across Ontario industries with a focus on: Mining, Advanced Manufacturing (non-auto), Agri-Food, Construction. The CIT initiative is offered by the Government of Ontario, powered by OCI, and consists of five program streams.

Digitalization Competence Centre (DCC): Supported by the Ontario Government, the DCC aims to accelerate the digital transformation of SMEs across Ontario. It helps companies to transition and find made-in-Ontario digital solutions with expert guidance, training and targeted grants. DCC has three program streams listed below to support SMEs in the adoption and implementation of digital technology. Please note, applicants can apply to either DMAP or RMPG, but not both.

• Digital Modernization and Adoption Plan (DMAP)
• Technology Demonstration Program (TDP)
• Retail Modernization Project Grant (RMPG)

Innovating Digital Health Solutions (IDHS) Program: IDHS aims to foster partnerships between Ontario Health Teams and local tech vendors to evaluate and adopt market-ready innovative digital health and/or virtual care solutions that align with provincial health system priorities, improve patient outcomes, and support scalable health innovation. IDHS is a program of the Government of Ontario’s Ministry of Health, administered by the OCI.

Life Sciences Innovation Fund (LSIF): LSIF is an early-stage co-investment fund supporting companies in Life Sciences and Healthcare Technologies in moving innovative and capital-intensive investments related to human health from a conceptual stage through to commercialization. Through the fund, OCI co-invests with angel and other investors to help reduce risk, assisting start-ups in becoming investor and customer ready and helping them to attract follow-on investment.

Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN): OVIN is designed to accelerate the commercialization and adoption of the next generation electric, connected and autonomous vehicle and mobility technologies that contribute to a lower environmental and carbon footprint. OVIN is a Government of Ontario initiative led by OCI. OVIN offers various program streams each of which supports the development and demonstration of automotive technologies and mobility solutions such as connected, autonomous, electric, and smart mobility technologies. Successful applicants can have up to one-third of their project’s funding covered by OVIN, and SMEs must work with an industry partner, or a client, to help bring their technology closer to commercialization.

Ready 4 Market Fund (R4M): R4M functions as a pre-seed investment fund. Through this fund, OCI co-invests alongside angel and other investors in early-stage, Ontario-based start-ups with strong IP, focused on commercializing transformative technologies to support their growth into scalable businesses. These investments reduce risk, strengthen the start-up’s readiness for customers and investors, and help attract private sector co-investment and follow-on funding.