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FedDev — Funding for southern Ontario
Supports business growth, technology adoption, and productivity
Funding available
$ 125,000 - $ 10,000,000
Deadline
Open continuously
Location
Ontario, Canada
Overview
Funding for businesses in southern Ontario offers repayable contributions from $125,000 to $10 million to for-profit businesses, co-operatives, and Indigenous businesses located or expanding in southern Ontario. Supported projects include late-stage product development, technology adoption, process improvements, commercialization, and market studies.
/100
Opportunity Score
Moderate potential, but conditions must align.
At a glance
Funding available
Financing goals
- Increase performance through digital transformation
- Increase production or service capacity
- Increase operational productivity
Eligible Funding
- Maximum amount : 10,000,000 $
- Minimum amount : 125,000 $
Eligible candidates
Eligible Industries
- All industries
Location
- Ontario
Legal structures
- For-profit business
Annual revenue
- All revenue ranges
Organisation size
- 5 employees minimum
Audience
- All groups
Next Steps
1
Determine your project
Availability timeline
2026
Periods: 1
Activities funded
- Late-stage development of a new product for sale, normally within technology readiness levels 7 to 9
- Process improvements that reduce the environmental impact of current operations through new technology
- Showcasing and demonstrating a new technology in an operational setting, and conducting market diagnostics and studies
- Acquiring, adapting, or adopting new technologies or processes, including digitization, clean technologies, automation, and related skills development
- Launching new products or services, integrating into value chains or supply chains, leveraging venture or angel capital, and reshoring or onshoring production, R&D mandates, or highly qualified personnel or expertise to southern Ontario
Documents Needed
- Financial statements for the last 2 completed fiscal years and the most recent interim financial statement
- Financial projections for the next 3 to 5 years
- Articles of incorporation or amendments or similar documents, plus a diagram of the company's structure
- Biographies of key management and technical staff, a work plan or project schedule, and a breakdown of the types and numbers of jobs to be created or maintained
- If applicable, an intellectual property strategy, the organization's by-law or constating documents, technical diagrams or photos, and diversity, equity and inclusion supporting documents
Sources and recorded changes
- Source change captured
- Change recorded
- Record updated
A captured source change or record update does not confirm eligibility. Check the funder’s current rules before applying.
Application guide now visible
The southern Ontario funding page now shows a detailed application guide with section-by-section instructions, required attachments, and applicant criteria.
The funding for businesses in southern Ontario content now shows the Application Guide rather than only a brief program overview. It adds detailed instructions for completing the application, including applicant information, project information, financial information, certification, confidentiality and reporting requirements, and annexes on Technology Readiness Levels, project indicators, and cost categories. The guide also makes the applicant profile more specific by stating that for-profit applicants need at least 5 FTEs located in southern Ontario and fewer than 500 FTEs overall, and it explains what information and supporting documents should be provided in multiple question sections. The guidance for project description, clean growth, equity and diversity, partnerships, market opportunity, risks, and financial need is now much more explicit than before.
Program guide
Application form
Eligibility
Who is eligible?
- Growing and established businesses
- Co-operatives
- Indigenous (First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples) businesses
- For-profit entities located and operating in southern Ontario at the time of application
- Businesses incorporated and registered to do business in Canada or Ontario for at least the past 3 years
Eligible expenses
- Machinery, equipment, and software directly related to or necessary for the project
- Project facilities and infrastructure costs, including renovations, site improvements, or leasehold improvements tied to specialized project equipment or assets
- Incremental salaries and benefits for employees directly completing project activities
- Incremental fees for professional and technical expertise, including consultants, engineers, contractors, and other contracted personnel
- Marketing and outreach, training and talent, and direct materials used for the project, including translation, course material, prototypes, and production-system testing materials
Ineligible Costs and Activities
- Activities that support basic research
- Land and buildings, including the purchase of land or buildings
- Basic and applied research and development, and refinancing of existing debts
- Regularly scheduled capital expenditures, asset replacement, and the purchase, lease, or operation of personal motorized vehicles and off-site equipment
- External consultants paid to prepare an application, hospitality and entertainment costs, and ongoing production or operating costs such as raw materials and inventory materials
Eligible geographic areas
- Southern Ontario
Selection criteria
- Alignment with the program's funding activities
- Expected project results and the degree to which the project represents a new or expanded initiative for the company
- Quality of the project plan and budget, including project readiness and ability to repay
- The applicant's managerial, technical, operational, and financial capacity, plus project risks, mitigation measures, and intellectual property strategy quality for IP-intensive projects
- Funding decisions may also consider the breadth, representation, and diversity of projects, as well as compliance with applicable legislation and regulatory requirements
How to apply
- Gather the mandatory and supporting documents required for a complete application.
- Download the Application for Funding form to your computer and save it.
- Open the form using Adobe Acrobat Reader 10 or later, not in a web browser.
- Complete the form using the Application Guide and leave question 22 blank.
- Use the Add Attachments button to attach all required documents.
- Submit the application and attachments; the submitter must be authorized to bind the company, and a confirmation message will be issued.
Processing and Agreement
- Complete applications undergo review and assessment, and missing mandatory attachments may result in the application not being assessed.
- FedDev Ontario may contact applicants about outstanding questions or issues and may consult external experts, including other government departments and agencies.
- If approved, applicants must confirm all matching funding sources and sign a legally binding contribution agreement within 30 calendar days of being notified.
- Funding is reimbursed based on approved costs incurred and claimed throughout the project's duration.
- Approved recipients must submit reports and other statements on project performance and comply with official languages, visibility, and funding acknowledgement requirements.
Additional information
- If your business has an active project with FedDev Ontario, any new application must be distinct and separate, and your business can only submit one application at a time.
- Confidential or proprietary information should be marked as such, and application information is subject to the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act.
- FedDev Ontario reserves the right to modify these guidelines at any time without notice and may waive certain requirements on an exceptional basis.
- If approved, recipient names, amounts awarded, and project descriptions will be publicly disclosed.
Contacts
Frequently Asked Questions about the FedDev — Funding for southern Ontario Program
What is the FedDev — Funding for southern Ontario?
Funding for businesses in southern Ontario offers repayable contributions from $125,000 to $10 million to for-profit businesses, co-operatives, and Indigenous businesses located or expanding in southern Ontario. Supported projects include late-stage product development, technology adoption, process improvements, commercialization, and market studies.
How much funding can be received?
FedDev — Funding for southern Ontario Funds up to $10,000,000 of admissible expenses.
What is the deadline to apply?
The program is accepting continuous intake
Who is eligible for the FedDev — Funding for southern Ontario program?
To be eligible for the FedDev — Funding for southern Ontario program, you must:
The applicant must be a for-profit entity located and operating in southern Ontario at the time of application.
The applicant must have at least 5 full-time employees in southern Ontario and no more than 500 FTEs overall.
The applicant must be incorporated and registered to do business in Canada or Ontario for at least the past 3 years.
What expenses are eligible under FedDev — Funding for southern Ontario?
Machinery, equipment, and software directly related to or necessary for the project
Project facilities and infrastructure costs, including renovations, site improvements, or leasehold improvements tied to specialized project equipment or assets
Incremental salaries and benefits for employees directly completing project activities
Incremental fees for professional and technical expertise, including consultants, engineers, contractors, and other contracted personnel
Marketing and outreach, training and talent, and direct materials used for the project, including translation, course material, prototypes, and production-system testing materials
Who can I contact for more information about the FedDev — Funding for southern Ontario?
You can contact Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev) by email at info@feddevontario.gc.ca or by phone at 1-866-593-5505.
Where is the FedDev — Funding for southern Ontario available?
The FedDev — Funding for southern Ontario program is available the province of Ontario.