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Federal Funding Opportunities

Aboriginal Business Canada

Tel: (416) 973-8800

Website

Aboriginal Business Canada provides registered Aboriginals with non-repayable funds to start or expand a business, develop new products or processes, and other needs.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Tel: 1-855-773-0241

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada provides a number of different funding opportunities geared towards supporting business development and innovation in the agricultural sector through assistance for farmers, food producers, and food processors. Examples of programs include the Advanced Payments Program, the Agricultural Innovation Fund, and the Community Pasture Program.

Automotive Innovation Fund

Tel: 613-960-7091

Website

The Automotive Innovation Fund (AIF) will provide $250 million over five years to support automotive firms’ strategic, large-scale research and development (R&D) projects to build innovative, greener, more fuel-efficient vehicles. Under the AIF, Industry Canada will consider funding proposals that provide for private sector investment in Canada of more than $75 million over five years. Eligible projects will include vehicle and powertrain assembly operations associated with significant automotive innovation and R&D initiatives. Other large-scale automotive innovation and R&D initiatives will also be considered, provided they meet the $75 million threshold.

Automotive Partnership Canada

Tel: 905-403-0600

Email

Website

Automotive Partnership Canada (APC) will provide $145 million in research funding over five years to support significant, collaborative R&D activities that will benefit the entire Canadian automotive industry. APC's mission is to support R&D that will help drive the Canadian automotive sector to a greater level of innovation. APC's emphasis will be on transformative, integrated projects or programs that will give Canadian industry and academia the resources required to further their automotive research and development ambitions. Smaller projects are also eligible for support through APC. However, the urgent requirement to boost automotive research will require big ideas and wide-ranging resources

Biotalent Headstart

Tel: 1-866-243-2472

Email

Website

This organization provides biotechnology companies with access to post-secondary students to assist your business in creating and updating your website, market research, product development, business proposals, and more at no cost to your business.

Business Development Bank of Canada

Tel: (705) 725-2533

The BDC is a crown corporation financial institution that provides financing, consulting and venture capital for small and medium-sized enterprises. Services include long-term financing, working capital, refinancing, change of ownership, patent capital and venture capital.

Canada Council for the Arts

Tel: 1-800-263-5588

Website

The Canada Council for the Arts offers a range of grants for professional Canadian writers, collectives and publishers. In addition to providing support for the creation, translation, publication and promotion of Canadian literature, the Writing and Publishing Section funds author residencies, literary readings and festivals, as well as new areas of activity such as rap poetry, storytelling and electronic literature.

Canada Feature Film Fund

Tel: 1-800-463-4607

Email

Website

The program is designed to support the production of Canadian feature films with the strongest box office potential. Telefilm, the managing organization, will encourage diversity in feature film production by supporting a range of genres, budgets, companies and regions. Telefilm’s offers financing for up to 49% of the eligible Canadian production costs.

Canada Media Fund

Tel: 1-877-975-0766

Email

Website

The Canada Media Fund disperses funds through both loans and investments in two funding streams. The convergent stream provides financing for the creation of new television programming and associated digital media projects. This stream caters specifically towards underrepresented genres such as drama, documentary, children’s and youth, and performing arts.

Canada Small Business Financing

Tel: 1-866-959-1699

Under this program, the Government of Canada makes it easier for small businesses to get loans from financial institutions by sharing the risk with lenders. The CSBF program promotes the availability of loans for establishing, expanding, modernizing and improving small businesses through Canadian financial institutions. Small businesses operating for profit in Canada with gross annual revenues of $5 million or less are eligible to receive a maximum of $500,000 in financing.

Loans can be used for financing up to 90% of the cost of:

Purchasing or improving land, real property or immovables
Purchasing leasehold improvements or improving leased property
Purchasing or improving new or used equipment

Canada Summer Jobs

Tel: 1-800-622-6232

Provides a wage subsidy of up to 50% of a full-time student’s salary for their employment over the summer, based on the adult minimum wage. The student must be between 15 and 30 and the business must have less than 50 employees. Businesses must apply by February 28 to be eligible.

Canadian Heritage

Tel: 1-866-811-0055

Provides support and funding for business development in the art and cultural industries including written, visual, and performing arts, and related organizations. Some funding opportunities are also related to digital media. Examples of funding opportunities include the Canada Book Fund, Canada Interactive Fund, and Canada Music Fund.

Canadian Institute of Health Research

Website

Supports research, collaboration and training broadly related to commercialization in the health sector. This includes a grant program for up to $250,000 annually for up to 5 years to partner with the academic community to carry out research and development activities.

Export Development Canada

Tel: 1-800-267-8510

Offers financing, assistance and events related to making your business export ready, and supporting your business' export activities.

Export Financing

Various financing solutions are available to help you hire international trade expertise, to help you market and sell abroad, to help boost your working capital and to reduce your financial risks.

FACTOR

Tel: 1-877-696-2215

Website

Funding assistance is available to artists for sound recordings, marketing and promotions, videos, touring, and showcasing. They also offer programs to support record labels, distributors, music publishers, artist managers, songwriters, music industry associations, music industry events, and collective digital initiatives.

Farm Credit Canada

Tel: 1-888-332-3301

Offers financing to support agricultural producers and agri-businesses, as well as providing other resources related to the agricultural industry.

Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario

Tel: 1-866-593-5505

FedDev Ontario supports competitiveness, innovation, and diversification in southern Ontario's economy. They offer a variety of funding programs to support start-up and existing businesses to grow and commercialize new products and services. Examples of funding programs include the Investing in Innovation Initiative and the Prosperity Initiative.

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada

Tel: 1-800-267-8376

This department provides funding, financing, and support for businesses seeking to enter and/or grow their export market. They also offer trade mission events to different countries and global industry meetings, which their website details. Funding opportunities include Going Global Innovation, the Investment Cooperation Program, and more.

Industrial Technologies Office

Tel: 1-800-266-7531

Website

The Industrial Technologies Office manages the Strategic Aerospace and Defence Initiative. This initiative, launched in April 2007, supports private sector industrial research and pre-competitive development (R&D) in Canada's aerospace, defence, security and space industries through repayable project contributions.

Milk Ingredients Fund

Tel: 1-866-366-0676

Website

Provides businesses that make milk products or manufacture processed products made from milk with up to $50,000 for consulting fees and up to $250,000 to develop their products. Specifically the business should be a registered Canadian company, have a milk processing license (dairy manufacturers only), make food drinks or other products using milk, put in 50% of the cost, and create a product that increases milk use.

MUSICACTION (website in French only)

Tel: 1-800-861-5561

Provides financing for French language recording businesses, songwriters, composers, and artists to pay for recordings and production, artistic development, marketing and promotion, and domestic and international business development.

National Research Centre (Includes the Industrial Research Assistance Program)

Tel: 1-877-672-2672

Website

The NRC assists the business community in finding solutions to complex R&D problems for both Canadian and global markets. Their scientists, engineers and business experts work closely with thousands of Canadian firms, helping them bring new technologies to market. They offer support, facilities for product development, and financial assistance. They provide funding to support commercialization activities, including those in the digital media field, as well as for the hiring of skilled graduates.

National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada

Tel: 1-877-767-1767

Website

NSERC works with companies to help you find high-qualified people, advance your R&D, and build relationships that benefit your business through our suite of targeted partnership offerings. They offer a number of grants that support research and development activities, particularly those in partnership with post-secondary institutions.

Opportunities Fund

Tel: 1-800-622-6232

Persons with a disability could receive financial assistance for training to start a business and for living expenses while they learn. To be eligible an individual must have a permanent physical or mental disability, be unemployed or work less than 20 hours a week, be a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant, and be unable to receive benefits.

Prince’s Operation Entrepreneur

Tel: 1-800-464-2923

This uniquely Canadian program offers the men and women who have bravely served our country the education, financing and mentoring needed to start and sustain their own successful business.

Participants may be eligible to receive up to $45,000 in start-up financing from the Canadian Youth Business Foundation and will be hand-matched with a mentor, whose expert advice will help to navigate the challenges of starting and running your own business.

Skills Link

Tel: 1-800-935-5555

Businesses can receive funding to hire and train young Canadians between the ages of 15 and 30 (inclusive) who are registered with the Skills Link program. The youth must be at risk of not finding work for one of the following reasons: they didn't finish high school, they live in a remote area, they have a disability, they are Aboriginal, they are from a visible minority, or they face other barriers.

Science and Technology Internship Program

Businesses in the geomatics, geology, mining, forestry or energy sector, can get up to $13,200 to hire recent university or college graduates in science, engineering or business for internships of up to 52 weeks. In order to qualify businesses must hire and train an intern under the age of 30, provide a work plan and budget (including the salary paid to the intern), plan a project with a duration of 6 to 12 months, and supply at least the same amount of money as you receive for the intern's salary.

Signature Experiences Collection

Tel: 604-638-8300

Provides tourism operators offering specialized and uniquely Canadian experiences the opportunity to participate in the Canadian Tourism Commission’s Signature Experiences Collection marketing effort at no cost.

SOFII

Tel: 519-383-1371

The Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) has made a $20-million contribution through its Prosperity Initiative. This investment will support two loan funds, known as the Southern Ontario Fund for Investment in Innovation (SOFII). SOFII is designed to support high-growth, innovative Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in rural and urban communities by offering loans of usually $150,000 to $500,000. The purpose of SOFII is to create jobs in our communities, by providing a source of financing for viable companies to implement innovative projects.

Sustainable Development Technology Canada

Tel: 613.234-6313

Website

Offers two funding programs designed to bridge the gap between research and development and commercialization in the sustainable technologies field. One fund is focused on supporting projects that produce or maintain clean air, water, and land, while the other is focused on the development of bio-fuels.

YMCA High Demand Youth Internship Opportunity

Tel: 416-928-3362 ext. 22621

Website

This program offers wage subsidies of up to $8/hour for hiring youth in an internship capacity in high-demand fields in Canada. Internships must begin by June 24 and/or September 3 in 2013.

Yves Landry Foundation

Tel: 1-866-232-4411

Provides funding to hire and train highly skilled workers for the purposes of advancing innovation in a business and to support the adaptation of new technology, new processes or procedures, or a change within the company to support innovation activities. The goal of this program is to prepare and better position existing businesses to enter or increase their share of the global marketplace.