Current Opportunities
Ontario Tourism and Travel Small Business Support Grant
About: The Ontario Tourism and Travel Small Business Support Grant from the Ontario Provincial Government that provides one-time payments of $10,000 to $20,000 to eligible small businesses in the tourism and travel sector.
Deadline for Submission: June 25, 2021 at 11:59pm EDT
Eligibility: To be eligible for this grant, your business:
- did not receive the Ontario Small Business Support Grant
- operates a tourism or travel business in Ontario that:
- opened before 2021, and
- was still in operation on April 30, 2021.
- had 99 or fewer employees on April 30, 2021.
- has experienced a revenue decline of at least 20% if you began operating or acquired the business before July 2, 2019
- Businesses that began operating or were acquired on or after July 2, 2019 and before January 1, 2021, will receive the $10,000 minimum grant if they meet all the eligibility criteria.
- Businesses that began operating or were acquired in 2021 are not eligible for the grant.
The business is not eligible for the grant if it or any of its affiliated businesses received the Ontario Small Business Support Grant.
If your business was affiliated with one or more other businesses on April 30, 2021:
- the business applying on behalf of the group of affiliated businesses (the primary business), must be carrying out an eligible tourism or travel business activity in Ontario that began operating before 2021
- the primary business needs to provide a list of all affiliated businesses
- the employee count on April 30, 2021 and the calculation of the revenue decline are determined using the total number of employees and revenues of the business and all affiliated businesses.
A business is affiliated with another business if:
- one of the businesses controls the other business directly or indirectly, or
- each business is controlled directly or indirectly by the same business, individual, or group of individuals or businesses.
COVID-19 Development Stimulus Fund Application
About: Our colleagues at Indigenous Tourism Canada have put together a COVID-19 Development Stimulus Fund to support indigenous businesses. With the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic resulting in the collapse of the global economy and travel restrictions, the Canadian Indigenous tourism industry is experiencing an unprecedented contraction. The Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) will work collaboratively with Indigenous tourism businesses and Provincial, Territorial Indigenous Tourism Organizations (PTITO) to advocate for accelerated funding, tools and supports necessary to recover from COVID-19 and grow the Indigenous tourism industry again in our country.
ITAC recognizes that during these uncertain times, our shared singular focus in 2020-2021 must be on COVID-19 recovery and preparing for future tourism seasons. Therefore, the ITAC COVID-19 Development Stimulus Fund is dedicated to addressing the impact of COVID-19 on your business and the measures necessary to positively affect change.
Deadline for Submission: The deadline to apply is April 30, 2020.
Project eligibility: As part of the process to apply for this funding, this form will ask you to describe the project for which you need funding assistance. The project must be specific to helping your Indigenous tourism business recover from COVID-19. There are three primary areas of focus in 2020-2021. These include:
- Maintaining jobs
- Diversifying revenue streams
- Resiliency/strengthening business offerings
Organization eligibility: Eligibility for this program is restricted to Canadian Indigenous tourism businesses who are at least 51% owned by Indigenous entrepreneurs or Indigenous communities or economic development corporations.
Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund
About: Providing up front working capital directed towards the applicant’s marketing and promotional costs, with the investment taking the form of a partially repayable loan. It has three aims: (1) to increase cultural tourism by providing investments to assist Ontario organizations to develop, promote and present one- off or first time events, or a significant expansion of existing activity, which are designed to attract new tourists and visitors to cultural events; (2) increase the earned revenue capability of the applicant organization; and (3) support events that foster economic growth and contribute to job creation.
Deadline for Submission: No deadlines for Stage one of the application process. Stage two (once approves) runs through a series of specific dates from September 2019-May 2020. (Continuous)
Eligibility:
- The project must be distinct from ongoing programming or activity (this can be either a new event or a significant expansion or enhancement to existing programming)
- The project must represent the single largest new programming initiative in the applicant’s business plan for that year
- The project must run for a fixed or limited time period
- The project must have a marketing plan targeting new tourists to the community
- The project must anticipate that at least 10% of the project total revenues are secured from the private sector AND at least 40% of total revenues are achieved through the project’s earned revenue
- The project must demonstrate clearly the capability of repayment to OCAF and with an aim to generate a surplus for the applicant
- The Board typically considers projects with total attendance figures of at least 1,000 in rural areas and 10,000 in large urban centers. Special consideration will be given to projects with attendance between 7,500 and 10,000 in large urban centers or between 750 and 1,000 in rural and northern areas if there is a strong case for tourism potential.
FCM: Green Municipal Fund
About: Helps Canadian cities and communities of all sizes pilot environmental projects that reduce GHG emissions and protect the air, water or land. This funding is designed to accommodate transformative, best-in-class municipal projects, meaning they’re highly innovative and impactful.
Deadline for Submission: As of April 1, 2020, GMF will accept capital project applications on a continuous, year-round basis. Eligible applicants with an application form will be contacted after April 1, 2020.
- Grant: Up to $500,000 to cover up to 50% of eligible costs.
- Municipalities and municipal partners with a population of 20,000 or under may qualify for a grant of up to 80 per cent of eligible project costs under certain conditions. Contact us to find out if your municipality is eligible.
Eligibility: Funding is available to Canadian municipalities and their partners for highly innovative and impactful environmental projects that improve municipal service delivery while reducing GHG emissions and protecting the air, water or land.
Climate Action Incentive Fund: Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises Project stream
About: The Climate Action Incentive Fund (CAIF) SME Project stream provides support to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for retrofit projects in sectors such as Building, Transportation, Industry, Waste, Agriculture, and more.
Deadline for Submission: Open until October 21rst, 2019.
Eligibility:
- Small-sized incorporated enterprises of 1-99 employees
- Medium-sized incorporated enterprises of 100-499 employees
Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program: Community, Culture and Recreation Stream
About: The Community, Culture and Recreation stream will support community infrastructure priorities across the province, improving access to and / or quality of community, cultural, and recreation priority infrastructure projects.
Deadline for Submission: Applications are due by November 12, 2019.
Eligibility:
- Meets community and user needs or service gap
- Promotes good asset management planning
- Represents good value for money
- Fosters greater accessibility
Canadian Experiences Fund
About: As part of the $58.5 million Canadian Experiences Fund national initiative, FedDev Ontario will be administering $11 million to support Southern Ontario’s tourism sector.
Deadline for Submission: Continuous.
Eligibility:
- Non-profits
- For-profit businesses
- Local governments
- Local development agencies
- Or any other organizations, provided they are in line with the relevant RDA's contribution programs and related terms and conditions.
Tourism Development Fund
About: The Tourism Development Fund program provides non-capital, project-based funding to develop research-based innovative and emerging tourism sectors. To support tourism organizations’ capacity building. To encourage new private sector tourism investment attraction and to enhance Ontario’s overall economic competitiveness and opportunities for the Ontario tourism industry.
Deadline for Submission: Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis and should be submitted a minimum of four months prior to the start of the project.
Eligibility:
- Tourism associations (excluding Regional Tourism Organizations), economic development corporations, municipalities, not-for-profit organizations and businesses interested in undertaking tourism-related initiatives which support tourism product development, industry development and increased visitation.
- The Tourism Product Development stream and the Industry Capacity Building stream accept applications from tourism associations (excluding Regional Tourism Organizations), not-for-profit organizations, municipalities, and national and/or provincial industry sector associations.
- The Tourism Investment Attraction stream accepts applications from municipalities, economic development corporations and businesses.
Canada-Ontario Job Grant:
About: The Canada-Ontario Job Grant provides direct financial support to individual employers or employer consortia who wish to purchase training for their employees.
Deadline for Submission: Continuous.
Eligibility:
- You are licensed to operate your business in Ontario;
- You are applying to train an Ontario resident you employ or will employ;
- You are applying for training that will be delivered in Ontario and is related to a job that is also located in Ontario;
- You are in compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Employment Standards Act;
- You are in compliance with all applicable federal and provincial human rights legislation, regulations, and any other relevant standards;
- You have adequate third-party liability insurance as advised by your insurance broker;
- You have Workplace Safety Insurance coverage;
- You are not a federal, provincial, or municipal government or agency;
- You are not a designated broader public sector organization, as defined by the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act;
- You are not a district social services administration board established under the District Social Services Administration Boards Act, notwithstanding their exclusion under the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act;
- You are not an Employment Service or a Canada-Ontario Job Grant service provider;
- You are not in receipt of other government funds related to the same skills training for the same individual(s); and
- You must not use training participants to displace existing staff or replace staff currently on lay-off.
Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund
About: Providing up front working capital directed towards the applicant’s marketing and promotional costs, with the investment taking the form of a partially repayable loan. It has three aims: (1) to increase cultural tourism by providing investments to assist Ontario organizations to develop, promote and present one- off or first time events, or a significant expansion of existing activity, which are designed to attract new tourists and visitors to cultural events; (2) increase the earned revenue capability of the applicant organization; and (3) support events that foster economic growth and contribute to job creation.
Deadline for Submission: No deadlines for Stage one of the application process. Stage two (once approves) runs through a series of specific dates from September 2019-May 2020. (Continuous)
Eligibility:
- The project must be distinct from ongoing programming or activity (this can be either a new event or a significant expansion or enhancement to existing programming)
- The project must represent the single largest new programming initiative in the applicant’s business plan for that year
- The project must run for a fixed or limited time period
- The project must have a marketing plan targeting new tourists to the community
- The project must anticipate that at least 10% of the project total revenues are secured from the private sector AND at least 40% of total revenues are achieved through the project’s earned revenue
- The project must demonstrate clearly the capability of repayment to OCAF and with an aim to generate a surplus for the applicant
- The Board typically considers projects with total attendance figures of at least 1,000 in rural areas and 10,000 in large urban centers. Special consideration will be given to projects with attendance between 7,500 and 10,000 in large urban centers or between 750 and 1,000 in rural and northern areas if there is a strong case for tourism potential.
FCM: Green Municipal Fund
About: Helps Canadian cities and communities of all sizes pilot environmental projects that reduce GHG emissions and protect the air, water or land. This funding is designed to accommodate transformative, best-in-class municipal projects, meaning they’re highly innovative and impactful.
Deadline for Submission: As of April 1, 2020, GMF will accept capital project applications on a continuous, year-round basis. Eligible applicants with an application form will be contacted after April 1, 2020.
- Grant: Up to $500,000 to cover up to 50% of eligible costs.
- Municipalities and municipal partners with a population of 20,000 or under may qualify for a grant of up to 80 per cent of eligible project costs under certain conditions. Contact us to find out if your municipality is eligible.
Eligibility: Funding is available to Canadian municipalities and their partners for highly innovative and impactful environmental projects that improve municipal service delivery while reducing GHG emissions and protecting the air, water or land.
Climate Action Incentive Fund: Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises Project stream
About: The Climate Action Incentive Fund (CAIF) SME Project stream provides support to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for retrofit projects in sectors such as Building, Transportation, Industry, Waste, Agriculture, and more.
Deadline for Submission: Open until October 21rst, 2019.
Eligibility:
- Small-sized incorporated enterprises of 1-99 employees
- Medium-sized incorporated enterprises of 100-499 employees
Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program: Community, Culture and Recreation Stream
About: The Community, Culture and Recreation stream will support community infrastructure priorities across the province, improving access to and / or quality of community, cultural, and recreation priority infrastructure projects.
Deadline for Submission: Applications are due by November 12, 2019.
Eligibility:
- Meets community and user needs or service gap
- Promotes good asset management planning
- Represents good value for money
- Fosters greater accessibility
Canadian Experiences Fund
About: As part of the $58.5 million Canadian Experiences Fund national initiative, FedDev Ontario will be administering $11 million to support Southern Ontario’s tourism sector.
Deadline for Submission: Continuous.
Eligibility:
- Non-profits
- For-profit businesses
- Local governments
- Local development agencies
- Or any other organizations, provided they are in line with the relevant RDA's contribution programs and related terms and conditions.
Tourism Development Fund
About: The Tourism Development Fund program provides non-capital, project-based funding to develop research-based innovative and emerging tourism sectors. To support tourism organizations’ capacity building. To encourage new private sector tourism investment attraction and to enhance Ontario’s overall economic competitiveness and opportunities for the Ontario tourism industry.
Deadline for Submission: Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis and should be submitted a minimum of four months prior to the start of the project.
Eligibility:
- Tourism associations (excluding Regional Tourism Organizations), economic development corporations, municipalities, not-for-profit organizations and businesses interested in undertaking tourism-related initiatives which support tourism product development, industry development and increased visitation.
- The Tourism Product Development stream and the Industry Capacity Building stream accept applications from tourism associations (excluding Regional Tourism Organizations), not-for-profit organizations, municipalities, and national and/or provincial industry sector associations.
- The Tourism Investment Attraction stream accepts applications from municipalities, economic development corporations and businesses.
Stay Tuned
Celebrate Ontario:
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Celebrate Ontario supports programming improvements at new and existing festivals and events that attract tourists for longer stays, create great experiences for visitors and support communities across Ontario.
Summer Experience Program:
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