Ontario Trade-Impacted Communities Program (TICP)
Compared with the 242 other application forms we have read
- What does not disqualify you: Municipalities need no audited statements. 119 record an exemption like this.
- This money can be reclaimed after it is paid. 37 carry that exposure.
Can you win this grant?
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Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
Program Description
Non-repayable provincial grant program providing up to $10 million for Ontario communities and industries adapting to U.S. trade disruptions and tariffs. Stream 1 offers $250,000–$2 million for community economic development projects; Stream 2 offers $2–$10 million for large-scale industrial transformation. Eligible lead applicants are municipal governments, economic development organizations, and sector associations — private-sector businesses participate as project partners.
Eligibility Requirements
- Lead applicants must be: municipal governments, Indigenous communities, economic development organizations, sector or industry associations (Stream 1 or 2), or business accelerators or incubators (Stream 2 only)
- Must have a minimum of 2 years of operational experience
- Must be operating in Ontario
- Must be compliant with applicable laws and Ontario accessibility requirements
- No outstanding fees or taxes owed to the Government of Ontario
- Private-sector for-profit businesses, non-profits without an economic development mandate, chambers of commerce, boards of trade, and labour unions are eligible as project partners in joint applications but NOT as lead applicants
- Projects must address the economic impacts of U.S. trade disruptions: supply-chain diversification, market diversification, industrial transformation, or trade partnership development
- Joint project applications are encouraged for Stream 1 and REQUIRED for Stream 2; the lead-partner relationship must be formalized in a memorandum of understanding between the parties.
- Projects must be less than 2 years in length from start to completion, and the project start date cannot be earlier than the date the application is submitted.
Quick Assessment
Funding Details
- Amount
- Stream 1: $250,000–$2,000,000 (up to 100% of eligible costs); Stream 2: $2,000,000–$10,000,000 (up to 100% of eligible costs)
- Type
- Grant
- Level
- Provincial
- Co-Funding
- Up to 100% of eligible costs
- Deadline
- Stream 1: Continuous intake while funding is available; Stream 2: closed September 11, 2025 (check ontario.ca for new round announcements)
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
Difficult — significant preparation needed
High competition — many applicants
Moderate — standard requirements
How to Win
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
Insider TipPrivate-sector businesses cannot be lead applicants but can be influential partners in a joint application — consider approaching your local economic development office or sector association to sponsor a joint application for a project that directly serves your industry.
Rejection Pitfalls 7
- Lead applicant is a private-sector business, non-profit without economic development mandate, charity, or labour union (must be lead by eligible organization type)
Success Profile
Evaluation Criteria
How the Government of Ontario judges your application
What the reviewer scores, what gets applications rejected, and what to write.
Distilled from 6+ source documents, condensed into one brief. Sources as of 2026-09-04.
6 of the sources
- Trade-Impacted Communities Program ontario.ca
- Trade-Impacted Communities Program Guidelines ontario.ca
- Trade-Impacted Communities Program eligibility self-screener ontario.ca
- Ontario Expanding Protections for Tariff-Impacted Workers news.ontario.ca
- Ontario Investing over $1.1 Million to Protect Workers in Waterloo… news.ontario.ca
- Archived TICP programme page, 2025-07-08 web.archive.org
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What the Government of Ontario favours
Clear significant need or market gap, incl. U.S. trade disruption◦
“Alignment with, and identification of, a clear and significant need or market gap, including impact of U.S. trade disruption on local and regional economy (for example, loss of a flagship employer, percentage of jobs in impacted sectors like steel)”
The form
The application form lives inside Transfer Payment Ontario: it is downloaded from the portal, completed offline, and re-uploaded with the supporting documents.◦
Judged against
- 1
How has trade disruption hit this community?
Show them Document the local damage in the funder's own shapes — a lost flagship employer, the share of jobs in impacted sectors like steel — and tie the project to a strategic priority sector and to Ontario's existing programming.◦
In the funder’s words · 5
- Alignment with broader provincial economic objectives, including support for strategic priority sectors; reshoring supply chains; processing of critical minerals; and enhancing inter-provincial trade
- Alignment with, and identification of, a clear and significant need or market gap, including impact of U.S. trade disruption on local and regional economy (for example, loss of a flagship employer, percentage of jobs in impacted sectors like steel)
- Alignment with existing programming of the Ontario government.
- Alignment with the overall program objectives of building community resilience and/or diversification, including:
- Alignment with the overall program objectives of:
- 2
Will this create measurable results, fast?
What to show, and the funder’s 5 criteria behind it in Premium
- 3
Is the plan, budget and risk case credible?
What to show, and the funder’s 3 criteria behind it in Premium
- 4
Who is behind this, and who decides?
What to show, and the funder’s 3 criteria behind it in Premium
Where applicants fail
“If an application that is not eligible is submitted, it will not be considered for assessment”
“Please enter the data accurately to avoid unnecessary delays.”
Premium · the rest of this brief
See all 10 rules that can reject you and every criterion you are judged on. Then we draft your application for you.
7 more rules that can reject you · 11 more criteria · 2 more pitfalls
Do you pass?
10 can rule you out; 2 are preferences. Tick the ones you meet.
You
Municipality, EDO, association or accelerator
To be eligible for funding, applicants must meet all the following requirements: be one of the following: a municipal government; an economic development organization; sector or industry association; a business accelerator or incubator (Stream 2 only); lead applicants must have at least two years of substantive operational experience; be operating within Ontario
Two years of audited or reviewed statements
All applicants (except for municipalities) must have a minimum 2 years of financial statements audited in accordance with International and Canadian Audit Standards ( IAS / CAS ) (preferred) or review engagement prepared in accordance with the Canadian Standard on Review Engagements ( CSRE ) 2400.
The project
No project start before you apply
The project start date cannot be earlier than the date the application is submitted.
Preference for leveraged funding preferred, not required
Priority will be given to projects that leverage funding from other sources.
1 thing this funder says you do NOT need, in Premium.
Documents to attach
Ticks are kept on this device.
The money
Stream 1 award$250,000 to $2 million
Stream 1 projects will be eligible for up to 100% of eligible costs ranging from $250,000 to $2 million per project, depending on project and community size.
Stream 2 award$2 million to $10 million
Stream 2 projects will be eligible for up to 100% of eligible costs from $2 million to $10 million per project, depending on project size and complexity.
Advance paymentUp to 30% upfront
At our sole discretion, an initial payment of up to 30% of the support may be made once conditions of disbursement have been met.
Your share100% only with exceptional Ontario benefits
Projects seeking the maximum 100% level must clearly demonstrate exceptional benefits to Ontario. Priority will be given to projects that leverage funding from other sources.
StackingFederal up to 100%; no provincial stacking
Projects are not allowed to combine (or “stack”) with other provincial programs. Funding may be stacked with federal programs up to 100% of project costs.
Costs before approvalStart date no earlier than application
The project start date cannot be earlier than the date the application is submitted.
What it pays for · 10
- Salaries, benefits, and consultant/contractor fees directly related to the project only. Including but not limited to specialized expertise to facilitate trade shows, forums and workshops, software or web design, conduct needs analysis, investment attraction studies, market analysis, feasibility assessments, and due diligence related to the project.
- Marketing
- the ministry will support the development of marketing material but not platform media buys associated with the acquisition of paid media space and paid advertising time (unless approved by the ministry)
- travel within the Province of Ontario directly related to the operation of the program(s)/initiative(s).
- travel expenses must be modest and appropriate, and strike a balance among economy, health & safety, and efficiency of operations and incurred in accordance with the Broader Public Sector Expenses Directive.
- Audit expenses
- Training of new or existing staff that are reasonable and necessary to carry out the project
- Coordination, development and delivery of training programs to support the project (excluding costs supported by another ministry program)
- Delivery of events related to the project, including presentations and consultation materials, showcasing of local suppliers, business workshops, sector or regional supply chain needs/opportunity analysis, follow up outreach, networking opportunities, and trade shows.
- Other one-time costs that, in the opinion of the Province, are considered necessary for the successful implementation of the project/initiative(s) and have been approved in writing prior to being incurred
What it does not pay for · 15
- Costs covered by other provincial government funding sources or fully funded by federal government funding sources
- The cost of preparing the grant application
- Costs not directly associated with meeting project milestones and deliverables
- Ongoing operating expenses
- Capital costs (for example, purchasing equipment or furniture)
- The acquisition of paid media space and paid advertising time for advertisements that promote the Recipient or project (unless approved by the ministry)
- Direct financial support to an individual
- Public or private infrastructure
- Downtown revitalization and tourism promotion costs
- Entertainment expenses and alcoholic beverages.
- Expenses associated with lobbying or government relations activities.
- Costs associated with travel, activities or operations performed outside of Ontario
- Fines and penalties.
- Costs, including taxes, for which the recipient has received, will receive, or is eligible to receive, a rebate, credit or refund.
- Any costs incurred in the U.S. or for U.S. based businesses
From application to money
- Self-screener and webinarEligibility self-screener, then webinar
- Register on TPONRegister on TPON, complete Part 1
- Submit through TPONSubmit Part 2 through TPON
- Ministry decidesMinistry decides at sole discretion
- Annual reportingAnnual reporting with audited statements
- Intake now closedIntake now closed
In the funder’s words · 6
- Self-screener and webinar
- Complete the eligibility self-screener, then register for a Stream 1 or Stream 2 webinar.
- Register on TPON
- Register the organisation on Transfer Payment Ontario, then download the two-part application form and complete Part 1 first.
- Submit through TPON
- Complete Part 2 only if Part 1 shows the applicant is eligible, and submit through Transfer Payment Ontario with the attachments.
- Ministry decides
- Successful applications and funding amounts are decided entirely at the ministry's sole discretion.
- Annual reporting
- All annual reporting requirements including providing audited financial statements.
- Intake now closed
- Program intake is now closed.
Quoted lines are word for word from the source documents; lines marked ◦ are our reading of them.
Everything you need to win TICP
Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.
- 7 rejection pitfalls reviewers flag — so you catch them first
- 9-document checklist with what each reviewer is actually checking
- Your Application Game Plan — the print-ready PDF the preview below describes
- 5-step application timeline with prep hours per step
- Insider tip from program officers on what separates winners
- 2-program stacking strategy to combine with compatible funding
- Success profile + evaluation criteria — exactly what reviewers score on
Application Playbook
Step-by-step process, required documents, and expenses
Application Steps
Required Documents 9
Eligible Expenses 8
Ineligible Expenses 12
Intake Periods
Deadline Notes
Ineligible Organizations
- 4 more application steps
- 7 more required documents
- 8 eligible expenses
- 12 ineligible expenses
- Intake periods
- Deadline notes
- Ineligible organizations
Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
Compatible Programs
Clawback Risk
Medium RiskHow TICP Compares
Side-by-side with similar programs
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario Trade-Impacted Communities Pr... | Stream 1: $250,000–$2,000,000 | Moderate | Milestone-Based | Stream 1: Continuous... |
| Strategic Response Fund (formerly Str... | Minimum $10 million contribution | Hard | Mixed (Advance + Reimb.) | Ongoing — continuous... |
| CanExport SMEs | Up to $50,000 | Moderate | Mixed (Advance + Reimb.) | Between intakes — the... |
| Innovative Solutions Canada | up to $150,000 | Hard | Milestone-Based | Challenge-specific — new... |
| Ocean Supercluster | Up to $5 million | Hard | Reimbursement | Continuous intake (Core... |
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Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions founders most often ask about TICP