Ontario Labour Market Partnerships (OLMP)

• The applicant must be an eligible organization such as a non-profit or social agency, industry or employer association, employee organization, health or education provider, local planning or community action group, charitable foundation, First Nation or Métis organization, municipal government, or a for-profit business.
• The organization must be directly impacted by the labour market issue the project aims to address.
• The project must address a clearly identified labour market issue related to local economic development, human resource planning and/or labour force adjustment.
• The project must be finite and project-specific, with defined start and end dates and not part of the applicant’s ongoing day-to-day operations.
• The project must involve a partnership of at least two organizations (the funding recipient plus at least one partner), with partners contributing financial or in-kind resources.

Who is eligible?

• Non-profit organizations and social agencies
• Industry associations and employer organizations
• Employee organizations
• Health and education providers (public and private)
• For-profit businesses, including individual employers impacted by a labour market issue

Who is not eligible

• Private consultants (they cannot be the funding recipient, but may participate only as partners or contractors).
• Provincial government ministries of Ontario (they may only be partners, not funding recipients).
• Federal government departments or agencies (they may only be partners, not funding recipients).
• Organizations that are not directly impacted by a specific labour market issue (they may participate as partners, but cannot be the main project recipient).

Eligible expenses

• Wages and employment‑related costs for staff working on the project.
• Professional services and consulting fees required to achieve project objectives (e.g. research, technical studies).
• Licences, permits and insurance directly related to the project.
• Materials, supplies and other operating expenses needed for project delivery.
• Travel costs necessary to carry out project activities.
• Rental or leasing of premises and equipment used for the project; interest portion of mortgage payments on facilities.
• Utilities and general administrative or overhead costs attributable to the project.
• Costs of audits, evaluations, follow‑up surveys and assessments requested by the Ministry, including production of the Final Report.
• Capital costs to acquire approved capital assets (e.g. equipment, software, other tangible or intangible assets to be used on a continuing basis for the project).

Eligible geographic areas

• Organizations and partnerships operating within the province of Ontario, Canada.

• Clarity and relevance of the labour market issue addressed, including evidence and description of the imbalance between labour supply and demand.
• Quality and feasibility of project objectives, activities and timelines, and their likelihood of having a positive impact on the labour market within a finite project period.
• Strength, appropriateness and level of contribution (financial or in-kind) of the partnership, as well as demonstrated community support and consultation.
• Reasonableness and transparency of the budget, including cost-effectiveness, alignment of costs with activities, and adequacy of partner contributions.
• Robustness of the evaluation strategy, including clear expected results, measurable indicators and a plan to demonstrate outcomes and value for money.

• Projects must be finite, with clearly defined start and end dates, and cannot form part of an organization’s ongoing day‑to‑day operations.
• Each agreement is time‑limited; while there is no minimum duration, projects can be funded for a maximum of three years.
• Projects are cost‑shared and all partners are expected to contribute financial or in‑kind resources that are identifiable and quantifiable.
• Recipients must provide progress and final reporting, including an evaluation of project outcomes and the completion of a Final Report before the agreement end date.