Program Supports Companies Involved in Steel/Aluminum Supply Chains

The Regional Economic Growth through Innovation Steel and Aluminum Initiative (ISAI) offers grants of up to 45% to a maximum of $1 million to companies whose steel and/or aluminum expenditures are equal to or greater than 20% of total input costs. Applicants must have between 10-499 employees and be requesting at least $150,000 from the program to participate. Eligible activities may include:

• Productivity Improvements: acquiring, adapting, adopting new technologies, and/or processes; process re-engineering; improving manufacturing capacity.
• Business Scale-Up: market development/expansion; diagnostics; adopting best management practices, processes, and systems; business opportunity development.
• Technology Commercialization: late stage product development geared toward market diversification and growth, such as technology showcasing and technology demonstration.

All costs must be reasonable and directly related to eligible project activities. Eligible costs include, but are not limited to:

• Cost of labour (e.g. wages and benefits);
• Capital costs (e.g. purchase of machinery, equipment);
• Operating costs that are directly related to the project (e.g. management fees)- up to 20 percent of the total project cost;
• Professional, advisory and technical services;
• Costs related to intellectual property;
• Technological development and commercial demonstrations;
• Subcontracting costs;
• Production and distribution of promotional material and management tools; and
• Maintenance costs.

Ineligible costs include, but are not limited to:

• Costs incurred prior to application submission date;
• Basic and applied research;
• Land and buildings acquisition;
• Goodwill;
• Entertainment expenses;
• Salary bonuses and dividend payments;
• Allowance for interest on invested capital, bonds, debentures, and other debts;
• Losses on investments, bad debts and associated expenses, other projects and contracts;
• Refinancing of existing debts;
• Amortization or depreciation of assets;
• Federal and provincial income taxes, GST (recoverable portion), taxes or surtaxes on excess profit;
• Provisions for contingencies;
• Lobbying activities or commissions paid to consultants to secure funding.

All project activities must be completed by March 31, 2020. Only one application per firm is permitted under the Initiative. Total government assistance, from all sources (federal, provincial, municipal including SR&ED), will be limited to 75 percent of eligible costs. Total program budget is $100 million. Priority will be given to applications received from March 11, 2019, to April 8, 2019.

Program Accepting Applications Soon!

The Canadian Agricultural Partnership offers grants of up to 50% (25% to a maximum of $200,000 for equipment) towards increasing the sustainability, competitiveness and prosperity of Ontario’s agriculture processing sector. Eligible companies include equipment/technology manufacturers, food/pet food processors, agricultural-based pharmaceuticals/nutraceuticals, ornamentals (flowers, shrubs) and bio-products manufacturers, as well as other entities involved in the transformation of agricultural commodities and products. Funding is provided for projects that support plant/animal health, food safety/traceability, increased productivity, and market/economic development. Eligible expenditures include*:

1. Productivity Improvement: 25% up to $200,000 to purchase technology to increase labour productivity
2. Business Assessment: 50% up to $15,000 for any start-up or scaling-up processing business that wants to identify or determine feasibility of growth and opportunities by analyzing trends, access to capital and business structure.
3. Business Plans: 35% up to $15,000 for established and new businesses for plans to increase or improve financial sustainability, address growth needs and opportunities, and define concrete next steps.
4. Marketing Plans: 35% up to $25,000 for established processors
5. New Process or Product Development: 35% up to $75,000 for consultants and equipment to satisfy a new demand
6. ERP systems implementation: 35% up to $100,000
7. Food Safety and Traceability Pre-Audit, Gap Assessment and Planning: 45% up to $3,000 for companies with 100 or less employees
8. Food Safety and Traceability System Improvements: 50% up to $75,000. For processors with 100 or less employees
9. Food Safety and Traceability Training: 45% up to $1,500 for companies with 100 or less employees.
10. Food Safety and Traceability Equipment: 35% up to $10,000 for companies with 100 or less employees
11. Ingredient Efficiency and Waste Reduction: 25% up to $75,000 for technology that has been adopted by less than 20% of the Ontario sector
12. Labour productivity Plans: 50% up to $25,000
13. Domestic Market Development: 35% up to $50,000 for increasing Canadian market
14. International Market Development: 35% up to $75,000
15. Plant Pest Monitoring and Management Tools and Equipment: 35% up to $100,000
16. Preventing Introduction and Spread of Pests through Isolation, Sanitation and Controlling Work Flow: 35% up to $50,000

Costs incurred before receiving approval are ineligible for reimbursement (note: it typically takes roughly 3 months for a decision to be made). Applicants must have no more than 200 employees, be based or establishing operations in Ontario, be able to demonstrate potential income of at least $30,000 within three years of applying, plus cannot use awarded funding to undermine other Canadian companies. A maximum of two applications may be submitted per intake. Only expenses incurred after approval (i.e. July 15, 2019) are eligible for funding . Next deadline for applications is May 5, 2019 . 

*note the followings URL’s are not currently active, but will be available March 22

Program Accepting Applications Until April 5

The Canadian Agriculture Partnership (CAP): Organizations and Collaborations program offers up to 75% in grant funding to a maximum of $1 million (typically less than $100,000) towards initiatives focused on:

• Environmental Stewardship (Soil health and water quality improvements)
• Economic Development (Market development, business analysis, technological solutions)
• Protection and Assurance (Food safety and traceability, animal/plant health)

Eligible organizations include Ontario-based associations, marketing boards, municipalities, economic development offices, aboriginal groups, and other legally recognized, not-for-profit organizations related to the agriculture, agri-food and agri-products sector. Eligible collaborations are combinations of two or more Ontario-based legally recognized businesses, not-for-profit associations/organizations, and/or academic/research institutions in the agriculture, agri-food and agri-products sector. Funding is provided for the following:

• Communication/education/training materials (design, printing, translation, etc)
• Land and facility rentals
• Supplies, including shipping and transportation
• Equipment, construction, software, and retrofits
• Travel and accommodation
• Audits and assessments
• R&D, pilots, and demonstrations
• Skills development and training
• Salaries, contracted services, and consultants

Expenditures must be directly related to the project and incurred after receiving approval. Projects funded under this program are ineligible to receive additional support from other CAP programs.

*Please note that the next deadline to submit an application is April 5, 2019. Applicants wishing to receive feedback/suggestions on project ideas before submitting an application are encouraged to submit a pre-proposal by March 22 (although submission of a pre-proposal is not required to receive funding).

Up to $50,000 for Export Market Development!

The CanExport program offers funding of up to 50% to a maximum of $50,000 for projects related to export market development. CanExport supported activities include, but are not limited to:

• Travel to target markets
• Tradeshow attendance and product promotion
• Market research
• Development of new marketing tools for international markets (e.g. translation of brochures into another language)
• Legal/advisory fees, such as for securing a distribution agreement or IP protection

Eligible applicants are incorporated/Limited Liability Partnership businesses* that have less than 500 full time employees and generate $100,000 to $100 million in annual sales revenue. Project expenses must be at least $20,000 to be considered for funding. Companies can submit more than one application, but must complete their initial export project before being eligible for a second contribution from CanExport.  

* Please note that food processors and agricultural businesses are not eligible for the CanExport program, but may apply for funding through the AgriMarketing Small and Medium Enterprises program.

Canada Summer Jobs Program Re-Opens for 2019

The Canada Summer Jobs program offers government funding for businesses with less than 50 employees, as well as for not-for-profit and public sector organizations, to hire new employees. For businesses, the subsidy is 50% of the adult minimum wage per hire. For organizations, funding is up to 100% of the adult minimum wage per hire. Positions may last from 6 to 16 weeks, and must be full-time (ie, 30 to 40 hours/week). Eligible summer workers are Canadian citizens, permanent residents or protected refugees (as defined under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act), aged 15 to 30 years. Supported work terms may begin April 23, 2019, ending no later than September 1, 2019. An additional $3000 in government funding may be provided to businesses to offset any “accommodation” costs related to hiring an employee with a disability. All work placements are to be in Canada. Deadline to apply is January 25, 2019.  

Program Supports Innovation and Economic Growth in Southern Ontario

The Business Scale-Up and Productivity Stream (BSPS) offers interest-free loans of up to 35% to a maximum of $10 million for businesses to adopt/adapt innovative technologies, processes and/or services, as well as for investments that lead to business growth. Eligible activities include but are not limited to:

• Developing foreign markets and securing new customers;
• Producing/commercializing innovative products, processes and services;
• Purchasing and integrating leading-edge technologies;
• Employee training and skills development;
• Introducing industries and creating jobs in Southern Ontario communities;
• Facility expansion and modernization.

Funding is available to Southern Ontario companies that have 5-1000 employees and have been in operation for at least 2 years.  Eligible expenditures include equipment purchases and installation, facility retrofits, consulting fees, marketing and promotion, as well as project-related employee wages and other expenses. Funding will not be provided for building/land purchases, debt refinancing, or for projects that aim to increase sales to individual consumers.  Repayment will begin within one year of project completion; terms/periods will be determined on a case-by-case basis. To be considered for a loan, applicants must request at least $500,000 from BSPS (ie, invest approximately $1.5 million or more) for projects ending no later than December 31, 2023.