Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund – Preconstruction Stream

Who is eligible?

• Legal entities validly incorporated or registered in Canada, including for-profit and not-for-profit organizations such as companies, industry associations, universities, and research institutions.
• Provincial, territorial, and municipal governments, and their departments and agencies.
• Indigenous recipients, including Indigenous communities or governments, tribal councils or similar entities, national and regional Indigenous councils and tribal organizations, and Indigenous for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.

Eligible expenses

• Materials and equipment.
• Most professional services, including research and engineering.
• Salaries and benefits.
• Administrative expenditures directly attributable and essential to the conduct of the project, including office expenses and project signage.
• Other direct expenditures such as printing services and translation, data collection services, construction insurance, accreditation, licence fees and permits, and engagement, capacity building and training.

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• Land acquisition.
• Litigation fees.
• General operating and maintenance expenses.
• Infrastructure that would only support the movement of people and/or equipment, such as airstrips.
• Non-permanent structures such as ice or winter roads.

• Stream 1 applications are assessed and ranked as a cohort, and the highest-ranked applications are prioritized for offers of funding.
• Stream 2 applications are assessed on a rolling basis, and funding is awarded based on individual merits and overall strength of the application as determined by project assessments.
• Time-to-impact is considered as part of the overall project assessment.
• For regional infrastructure projects, assessment considers the number of projects potentially supported, the number expressing intent to use the infrastructure, the stage of development of supported mining projects, the mineral potential of the region, and the region’s infrastructure needs assessment.

• Submit an Expression of Interest through the secure NRCan funding portal; applicants are strongly encouraged to submit it as early as possible, and Stream 2 EOIs are accepted until January 5, 2026 at 8 p.m. PST.
• The program will advise potential applicants whether their proposed project fits within the scope of the CMIF call for proposals.
• Submit the full application through the secure NRCan funding portal; Stream 2 full applications are accepted until March 4, 2026 through a continuous intake process on a first-come, first-assessed basis.

• EOIs are used to establish the applicant’s profile and advise whether the proposed project fits within the scope of the CMIF call for proposals.
• The program will aim to provide feedback on a submitted EOI according to a 10-business day service standard.
• Applications received under the CMIF will be shared with the Canada Infrastructure Bank for an assessment of potential investment.
• Where financing would be offered by the Canada Infrastructure Bank, the potential CMIF contribution to a project will be scaled accordingly.

• The program aims to provide feedback on a submitted Expression of Interest according to a 10-business day service standard and will provide an opportunity to discuss any potential issues with CMIF staff.
• Applications received under the CMIF will be shared with the Canada Infrastructure Bank for an assessment of potential investment.
• Where financing would be offered by the Canada Infrastructure Bank, the potential CMIF contribution to a project will be scaled accordingly.
• Projects that were unsuccessful under the first CMIF call for proposals may reapply to the current call.