MTRIC — Critical and Strategic Minerals

• Letter of intent, maximum 6 pages
• Formulaire_MCS03_CRITM
• Budget_MCS03_CRITM
• Appui_Entreprise_MCS03_CRITM and Appui_Organisme_MCS03_CRITM
• CVs, letters of support, and financial statements dated less than 6 months old or, failing that, the last completed fiscal year financial report

Who is eligible?

• Regular CRITM-member CCTTs constituted as OBNLs or integrated into a college.
• Regular CRITM-member Quebec OBNLs active in research and innovation.
• Groupings of more than one CCTT or more than one OBNL, or a CCTT or OBNL in collaboration with a university.
• Enterprises or groups of enterprises legally constituted under Quebec or Canadian laws with an establishment in operation in Quebec for production of goods and services or R&D.

Who is not eligible

• Government of Quebec organizations, federal public organizations, SOCADCs, state corporations, and entities controlled directly or indirectly by a government or municipal entity.
• Organizations or subcontractors registered in the RENA.
• Applicants or subcontractors that failed to meet obligations after formal notice linked to a previous government subvention.
• Applicants or subcontractors that do not meet the high integrity standards expected of public-funds recipients.
• Applicants or subcontractors that are insolvent, bankrupt, have filed a proposal, or benefit from bankruptcy or insolvency laws.

Eligible expenses

• Salaries, treatments or social benefits; student scholarships; materials and supplies.
• Equipment purchase or rental; for Volet 1, equipment purchases are eligible up to 25% of eligible expenses and each equipment must be $25,000 or less before tax.
• External service fees, subcontracting fees, travel and stay, knowledge dissemination fees, platform fees, and intellectual property management fees.
• Indirect research costs for CCTT at 27% of MRNF-supported direct project costs.
• For Volet 2, specialized service fees; enterprise salaries, treatments or social benefits, with benefits limited to 20%; direct materials and inventory; direct equipment costs; equipment rental; and participation in exhibitions and trade shows.

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• Salaries of university teachers assigned to the project.
• Loan repayments, capital losses, capital replacement, and capital payments.
• Operating costs for routine activities unrelated to the project, recurring fees such as annual subscriptions and software updates, and, for Volet 2, intellectual property maintenance costs.
• Land acquisition or development; building acquisition, construction, expansion, or code upgrades; transactions between related companies or partners.
• The refundable portion of TVQ and GST/HST; costs for preparing a commercialization plan or a technology showcase.

• Applications are assessed by an independent expert selection committee.
• Relevance counts for 30%, project quality for 40%, and project impacts for 30%.
• Relevance considers alignment with program objectives, end-user needs, expertise in extraction, transformation and recycling of MCS, partner complementarity, and in-kind or cash contributions.
• Projects focused on MCS useful to the energy transition are prioritized and receive an advantage in relevance scoring.
• Projects must achieve at least 70% to be eligible for funding, subject to available funds.

• Submit a letter of intent by 11 September 2026, maximum 6 pages.
• If the project is retained, complete the funding application using the prescribed forms by the call deadlines.
• Partners must complete an engagement form for the project, including mission, company size, cash and in-kind contributions, and expected benefits.

• Admissible project presentations are reviewed by an independent expert selection committee.
• The CRITM board of directors may adopt projects based on the committee's recommendations.
• Projects that meet the 70% passing mark may be eligible for funding, subject to available funds.
• The CRITM does not claim IP rights, but a partner agreement covering IP and research results is required.
• Applicants grant a free licence allowing MRNF or CRITM to communicate certain accountability-report information to the public, excluding applications, technical reports, and process, know-how, or trade secrets.