Wood Construction Innovation Program

• The applicant must be a legally constituted business, group of businesses, non-profit organization, cooperative, social economy enterprise, municipal organization, or recognized Indigenous community, with an establishment located in Quebec.
• The applicant must demonstrate financial and technical capacity to successfully complete the project.
• The project must involve innovative use of wood in construction or major renovation of non-residential or multifamily buildings, or civil engineering works, and be carried out in Quebec.
• The project must include at least 25% private funding (or 20% for social economy enterprises).
• The project must show a potential for greenhouse gas emission reduction and be commercially viable and reproducible in Quebec.

Who is eligible?

• Legally constituted for-profit companies or groups of companies
• Legally constituted organizations, including non-profit organizations
• Cooperatives
• Social economy enterprises
• Municipal organizations
• Indigenous communities

Who is not eligible

• Provincial government ministries or budgetary organizations.
• Federal public organizations.
• Companies or contractors listed on the Register of Enterprises Ineligible for Public Contracts (RENA), including their subcontractors.
• Entities that have defaulted on obligations related to previous financial aid from a Quebec government ministry or organization.
• Businesses that do not meet integrity standards expected for recipients of public funds.
• Companies that are insolvent, bankrupt, or under bankruptcy protection or arrangement.

Eligible expenses

• Professional fees for design services (architects, engineers, manufacturers) directly related to the innovation.
• Internal labor costs, including mandatory benefits, for staff directly involved in the project, up to the rates established by the Ministry.
• Consulting and expert study fees, excluding geotechnical studies.
• Costs associated with preparing applications for alternative or equivalent measures to authorities (e.g., Régie du bâtiment du Québec).
• Building modeling fees.
• Costs for acquiring necessary documents for project development.
• Consultant fees for laboratory tests or modeling related to the innovation.
• Direct material costs for testing and use of laboratory equipment.
• Purchase of software and small equipment essential to project execution (e.g., data acquisition devices for building monitoring).
• Production costs for prototypes and systems.
• Cost of construction materials directly linked to the wood innovation, including essential materials for wood use and fire protection.
• Additional costs directly attributable to the innovation, such as weather or fire protection and extra insurance associated with wood usage.
• Labor or professional fees (within Ministry-set rates) for producing technical and monitoring reports.
• Costs of on-site testing and third-party monitoring related to the project.
• Purchase of materials, software, and small equipment for project monitoring and measurement.
• Costs related to evaluating greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions (using ISO 14064 standard).
• Fees for supervision and GHG declaration verification as per ISO 14064.
• Visibility and communication expenses for the project, pre-approved by the Ministry.

Eligible geographic areas

• Quebec

• Relevance and coherence of the project, including alignment with needs and optimization of material use.
• Credibility and feasibility, demonstrating technical capacity, risk management, and a realistic timeline.
• Level of innovation, specifically the novelty and technological advancement for Quebec.
• Potential impacts, such as greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction, commercial and replicability potential in Quebec, knowledge transfer, and export opportunities.

• The program is aligned with the Plan for a Green Economy 2030.
• A web-based information session is available for interested parties.
• The maximum grant for certain projects may reach up to $2.5 million.
• The program ends on March 31, 2027.
• The program aims to reduce GHG emissions by at least 50% for certain projects.
• Applications must be complete, as incomplete submissions will be returned to the applicant.
• There is a process for reporting project emissions in line with ISO 14064 standards.
• The project must demonstrate a potential reduction in GHG emissions and have commercial and replicable potential in Quebec.
• Applicants are encouraged to contact the MRNF for information after reviewing the Requester's Guide.