FedDev Ontario Funding
Compared with the 242 other application forms we have read
- States real length limits, about 6,865 words in total. Only 64 tell you how long to write.
- What does not disqualify you: CRA number for Indigenous applicants. 119 record an exemption like this.
- Asks 16 written answers. The median programme we have read asks 5.
Do you qualify for this loan?
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Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
Program Description
FedDev Ontario delivers economic development funding across southern Ontario. Business applications are funded through Business Scale-up and Productivity or Community Economic Development and Diversification (FedDev determines which); the primary mechanism, Business Scale-up and Productivity, provides interest-free repayable contributions of $125,000 to $10,000,000 that must be repaid in full, not non-repayable grants. The Regional Tariff Response Initiative offers non-repayable liquidity assistance up to $2,000,000 and non-repayable pivot-project funding up to $1,000,000 (or repayable pivot funding over $1,000,000, up to 75% of costs) for tariff-impacted businesses; combined non-repayable funding is capped at $3,000,000 and total RTRI funding at $20,000,000.
Eligibility Requirements
- Incorporated business (sole proprietorships and unincorporated partnerships ineligible)
- Operating in Southern Ontario (37 census divisions south of the Canadian Shield)
- Funding for businesses (Business Scale-up and Productivity) requires incorporation and registration to do business in Canada or Ontario for at least the past 3 years. The Regional Tariff Response Initiative sets no 3-year minimum: businesses established after March 21, 2025 may be considered case by case where tariffs have hurt them. Other FedDev-delivered streams differ (Community Futures loans set no operating-history minimum)
- BSP stream: minimum 5 and maximum 500 full-time employees (stream-specific)
- For-profit business focus (non-profits may be eligible for specific streams)
- Confirmed cash co-funding for the applicant's share of project costs. It may include other government funding, subject to caps on total government assistance: 75% of eligible non-capital costs and 50% of eligible capital costs for funding for businesses, and normally 90% (up to 100% for projects led by Indigenous applicants) for RTRI pivot projects; in-kind contributions do not count
Quick Assessment
Funding Details
- Amount
- Varies
- Type
- Loan
- Level
- Federal
- Financing share
- Up to 50% of eligible costs
- Deadline
- Ongoing
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
Moderate — standard application process
Moderate competition — prepare a strong application
Complex — detailed documentation needed
How to qualify
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
Insider TipFedDev's BSP is a repayable contribution (0% interest loan up to 50% of eligible costs), not a grant, which surprises many applicants.
Rejection Pitfalls 11
- Located outside southern Ontario (northern Ontario served by FedNor)
Success Profile
Evaluation Criteria
How FedDev Ontario Funding judges your application
What the reviewer scores, what gets applications rejected, and what to write.
Distilled from 6+ source documents on feddev-ontario.canada.ca, condensed into one brief. Sources as of 2026-09-10.
6 of the sources
- Funding for southern Ontario
- Funding for businesses in southern Ontario: What we support
- Funding for businesses in southern Ontario: Who can apply
- Funding for businesses in southern Ontario: How funding works
- Funding for businesses in southern Ontario: How projects are assessed
- Funding for businesses in southern Ontario: How to apply
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What FedDev Ontario Funding favours
All values must be measurable and verifiable◦
“All values provided under this section must be measurable and verifiable.”
The form
Business eligibility
- 1Business stream - who can applycheckboxesno limit
Applicant information
- 2Applicant information - identity (Q1-Q7)short answerno limit
- 3Company description (Q8)written answer · 3,000 characters
8. Provide a brief description of your company, which must include:
- 4Incorporation date, fiscal year end, employees (Q9-Q13)short answerno limit
- 5FedDev contact, address, web presence, language (Q14-Q18)short answerno limit
- 6Authorized project and financial contacts (Q19-Q20)short answerno limit
Project overview
- 7Short project description (Q21)written answer · 200 characters
21. Provide a short project description (2-3 sentences), summarizing the project and outlining the project's results.
- 8Project dates, location, federal lands, official language (Q23-Q27)short answerno limit
Project plan and results
- 9Project plan (Q28)written answer · 3,000 characters
- 10Objectives and outcomes (Q29)written answer · 3,000 characters
- 11Clean growth outcomes (Q30)yes/no + written · 3,000 characters
- 12Diversity and inclusion (Q31, voluntary)checkboxes · 1,000 characters
- 13Project partners (Q32)written answer · 3,000 characters
- 14Market opportunity and competition (Q33)written answer · 3,000 characters
- 15Risks and mitigation (Q34)written answer · 3,000 characters
- 16Need for funding (Q35)written answer · 3,000 characters
- 17Project results (Q36)tableno limit
Budget and financials
- 18Project budget (Q37)spreadsheetno limit
- 19Amount requested (Q38)short answerno limit
- 20Government funding in the last five years (Q39)tableno limit
- 21Current financial performance (Q40)written answer · 3,000 characters
- 22Sustainability beyond the project (Q41)written answer · 3,000 characters
Attachments and certification
- 23Attachments (Q42)checkboxno limit
- 24Certificationcheckboxno limit
Organization stream eligibility
- 25Organization stream - who can applycheckboxesno limit
Regional Tariff Response Initiative
- 26RTRI - revenue and tariff impact (Q15-Q16)checkboxesno limit
- 27RTRI - tariff impact narrative (Q17)written answer · 2,000 characters
- 28RTRI - type of support (Q18)checkboxesno limit
- 29RTRI - liquidity assistance (Q19-Q25)written answer · 2,000 characters
- 30RTRI - pivot project plan (Q31)written answer · 2,000 characters
- 31RTRI - pivot project outcomes (Q32)written answer · 2,000 characters
- 32RTRI - pivot project risks (Q33)written answer · 2,000 characters
bar = length the funder allows, from its stated limits
Judged against
- 1
Can this business carry and repay the project?
Show them Show assets, liabilities and revenue streams, the confirmation status of every funding source, and evidence you can repay the contribution.◦
In the funder’s words · 2
- Ability to repay
- Applicant’s managerial, technical, operational and financial capacity
- 2
Is the project ready and aligned to funded activities?
What to show, and the funder’s 5 criteria behind it in Premium
- 3
Will it produce measurable, incremental results?
What to show, and the funder’s 2 criteria behind it in Premium
- 4
Are risks managed and does it last?
What to show, and the funder’s 3 criteria behind it in Premium
9 questions the reviewer answers about you, in Premium.
Where applicants fail
“Failure to do so may result in your application not being assessed.”
“Blank spaces count against character limits in the application form.”
“Eligible costs exclude costs of external (third-party) consultants paid to prepare an application.”
Premium · the rest of this brief
See all 16 rules that can reject you and every criterion you are judged on. Then we draft your application for you.
14 more rules that can reject you · 10 more criteria · 30 more prompts
Do you pass?
16 can rule you out; 1 is a preference. Tick the ones you meet.
Your business
For-profit in southern Ontario
Are for-profit entities located and operating in southern Ontario at the time of your application
5 to 500 full-time employees
Have a minimum of 5 full-time employees and no more than 500 FTEs
1 thing this funder says you do NOT need, in Premium.
Documents to attach
Ticks are kept on this device.
The money
Business streamNo-interest repayable $125,000 to $10 million
no-interest repayable $125,000 to $10 million
Organization streamNon-repayable $125,000 to $10 million
non-repayable $125,000 to $10 million
RTRI liquidityNon-repayable up to $2 million
liquidity assistance (non-repayable up to $2 million)
RTRI pivot projectNon-repayable up to $1 million
Pivot project (non-repayable up to $1 million)
RTRI combined maximumUp to $3 million combined
A business may receive up to a maximum of $3 million in combined non-repayable funding, consisting of up to $2 million in liquidity assistance and up to $1 million for a non-repayable pivot project.
EDI annual maximumUp to $500,000 per year
up to $500,000 per year
Your share50% of eligible project costs
Normally, the maximum rate of support from FedDev Ontario is 50% of eligible project costs.
StackingGovernment assistance max 75% non-capital, 50% capital
Total government assistance (including federal, provincial and municipal) for a project cannot exceed 75% of eligible non-capital costs and 50% of eligible capital costs.
Costs before approvalNo costs before application submitted
Proposed activities and related costs cannot begin before the date the application is submitted.
What it pays for · 4
- Labour: incremental salaries and benefits for individual employees directly related to completing the activities of the project, other than those covered under Expertise (contracted services) or Project Management costs.
- Machinery and equipment: the purchase and/or installation of equipment, machinery or software directly related to, or necessary for, the completion of the project.
- If labour is an eligible and supported cost, FedDev Ontario will reimburse benefits up to a maximum of 20% of the approved eligible and supported labour costs claimed per employee.
- If travel is an eligible and supported cost, FedDev Ontario reimburses according to the principles, guidelines and rates defined by the National Joint Council Travel Directive in effect on the date of travel.
What it does not pay for · 4
- The purchase of land, or building(s) is not eligible.
- Eligible project costs do not include ongoing costs of production or operations.
- Eligible costs exclude hospitality and entertainment costs.
- Eligible costs exclude costs of external (third-party) consultants paid to prepare an application.
From application to money
- Submit the PDF formSubmit PDF application form
- Receipt acknowledgedwithin two (2) business daysReceipt acknowledged within two business days
- Due diligence reviewComplete applications undergo due diligence
- Sign contribution agreementwithin 30 calendar daysSign contribution agreement within 30 days
- Claim reimbursementReimbursed for approved costs claimed
- Report resultsReport results over project duration
In the funder’s words · 6
- Submit the PDF form
- Download the Application for Funding PDF, open it in Adobe Acrobat Reader 10 or later, attach documents with Add Attachments and press Submit.
- Receipt acknowledged
- FedDev Ontario will acknowledge receipt of an application within two (2) business days of receiving a signed funding application.
- Due diligence review
- Complete Applications for Funding will undergo a due diligence review.
- Sign contribution agreement
- If a project is approved, you will be expected to confirm all sources of the matching funding (e.g., bank statements, term sheets, letters of conditional funding, and other government funding) and sign a contribution agreement within 30 calendar days of being notified.
- Claim reimbursement
- Funding will be reimbursed based on approved costs incurred and claimed throughout the project's duration.
- Report results
- Applicants will be required to quantify and substantiate their expected results, and if approved, later report on these results.
Quoted lines are word for word from the source documents; lines marked ◦ are our reading of them.
Everything you need to secure FedDev Ontario Funding
Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.
- 11 rejection pitfalls reviewers flag — so you catch them first
- 12-document checklist with what each reviewer is actually checking
- Your Application Game Plan — the print-ready PDF the preview below describes
- 9-step application timeline with prep hours per step
- Insider tip from program officers on what separates winners
- 6-program stacking strategy to combine with compatible funding
- Success profile + evaluation criteria — exactly what lenders look for
Application Playbook
Step-by-step process, required documents, and expenses
Application Steps
Required Documents 12
Eligible Expenses 14
Ineligible Expenses 13
Deadline Notes
Ineligible Organizations
Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
Compatible Programs
Clawback Risk
Medium RiskHow FedDev Ontario Funding Compares
Side-by-side with similar programs
| Program | Amount | Difficulty | Payment | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FedDev Ontario Funding | Varies | Hard | Reimbursement | Ongoing |
| NRC IRAP Clean Technology Program | $100,000–$500,000 | Hard | Mixed (Advance + Reimb.) | Ongoing |
| CanExport SMEs | Up to $50,000 | Moderate | Mixed (Advance + Reimb.) | Between intakes — the... |
| Hamilton Starter Company Plus | Up to $5,000, | Moderate | Milestone-Based | The Winter 2027... |
| Ontario Job Grant (formerly Canada-On... | Up to $10,000 per employee | Easy | Varies | Ongoing — year-round... |
Related Programs
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Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions founders most often ask about FedDev Ontario Funding