Last week the new provincial government published its first budget. Here are the most important initiatives for the business.

1. Introduction of Ontario Job Creation Investment Incentive. This is not a direct government funding program but an immediate write-off for eligible manufacturing and processing machinery and equipment and clean energy equipment. It is coupled with the Accelerated Investment Incentive for most other assets.

The purpose of these incentives is to facilitate capital investments. The immediate or accelerated write-off will help Ontario businesses reduce provincial tax. Talk to your accountant about these initiatives.

2. Launch of the Ontario Automotive Modernization Program (OAMP) to assist automotive parts suppliers adopt technology and become more productive, innovative and export-focused

3. Enhancing Ontario’s Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Network (AVIN) and launch of a “wintertech” stream to test mobility products and services in severe winter weather conditions.

4. Northern Ontario funding program will remove the requirement that applicants must be looking for recent university or college graduates. Program candidates will now include new entrants into the workforce, those transitioning to a new career, the unemployed and underemployed.

5. The budget confirmed the commitment to the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

6. The Ontario Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit. Companies under the Digital Games stream can apply for tax credit certification annually, rather than having to apply separately for each product they complete.

This spring, the Province will also be launching a micro-credentials pilot, which will create new, responsive training programs to help people develop the kind of in-demand skills that employers are seeking.

All other provincial funding programs will be reviewed during this fiscal year, and we expect more information later in 2019.

Interested in applying for Provincial or Federal funding? Fill out eligibility check form on our website – http://www.fgwinc.ca/eligibility.

CHECK ELIGIBILITY NOW

Join Us for Canadian Government Grants & Loans for Ontario-based Businesses Seminar on April 10, 2019 in Richmond Hill, ON! Brought to you by Royal Bank of Canada.

Sign up now to RSVP for our special event where you’ll learn:

• What government funding programs are available for your business
• What government-backed loans your business may qualify for
• How to leverage government grants and SR&ED more effectively
• How to select the right project for government funding application
• What’s coming in the Federal and Provincial budgets

Seminar Speakers:

• Samuel Lai, Royal Bank of Canada
• Igor Chigrin, Fair Grant Writing

Date and Time: April 10, 2019 at 6 p.m.

Venue: RBC High Tech and Bayview Branch, 365 High Tech Road, Richmond Hill, ON

2. Canadian Government Grants & Loans for Ontario-based Businesses Seminar on April 10, 2019 in Richmond Hill, ON! Brought to you by Royal Bank of Canada.

Date and Time: April 10, 2019 at 6 p.m.

Venue: RBC High Tech and Bayview Branch, 365 High Tech Road, Richmond Hill, ON

Learn More & Reserve My Spot!

I must admit I am surprised. Neither the Federal nor the provincial budgets have been announced yet, but there is a new government funding program to share with you. The FedDev Ontario launched Steel and Aluminum Initiative, a new non-repayable funding program to support steel & aluminum manufacturers hit by the tariff war. But hurry, this is the limited-time opportunity with April 8, 2019 deadline.

Eligibility requirements:

• For-profit firm located in southern Ontario
• Must employ between 10 to 499 full-time employees
• Steel and/or aluminum expenditures must equal to or be greater than 20% of the total cost of goods sold (input cost)
• Must demonstrate plans for projects to enhance productivity or to increase competitiveness by adopting new innovative technologies.

Eligible projects:

• Acquiring, adapting, adopting new technologies (e.g. Equipment & Software)
• Adopting best management practices (e.g. Lean)
• Market development/expansion
• Process re-engineering
• Improving manufacturing capacity
• Technology showcasing and technology demonstration

Reimbursement:

45% of eligible cost up to a maximum of $1 million (minimum request must be $150,000) in non-repayable funding.

Interested in Steel and Aluminum Initiative funding? Here are 3 easy steps to follow.

1. Check the breakdown of the cost of goods sold as per your most recent financial statement or income statement reported to CRA (T2 Schedule 125).

2. Calculate % of steel and/or aluminum cost of the cost of goods sold. Is it over 20%?

3. If so, Check eligibility of your company and your project by submitting eligibility check form at http://www.fgwinc.ca/eligibility.

Once again, this is a very short 4-week opportunity and the deadline is April 8, 2019. Don’t miss the boat!

I just got off the webinar held by Jason Mayers, a CEO of Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster (NGen). He announced that the supercluster will start accepting applications for funding from the industry applicants in the end of March, 2019. The supercluster is finalizing funding conditions with the Federal government but this is what is already known.

1. NGen will reimburse up to 44.4% of a project’s eligible costs.
2. The projects should have a total cost between $1 million and $20 million.
3. Applications for Supercluster projects must have at least three private sector companies. Partnerships with educational institutions is encouraged but is not mandatory.
4. Full requirements and application procedure will be published in a few weeks.
5. Eligible projects must focus on:

• Developing advanced technology solutions that give Canadian manufacturers global competitive advantage
• Adoption of game-changing technology transforming existing manufacturing processes
• Developing new manufacturing capabilities based on the application of advanced technology
• Developing new training programs and tools that support advanced manufacturing

Interested in Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster funding? Here are three easy steps to follow.

1. Check eligibility of your company and your project idea by submitting eligibility check form.

2. Become a member of Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster. There is no membership fee.

3. Stay tuned for the updates from us or the Supercluster on the terms and conditions of funding and the start date of the intake.

We are happy to share with you that the Federal and provincial agri-food ministries reached the agreement to run the next intake of applications for the Canadian Agricultural Partnership program between March 22nd and May 6th, 2019.

The Canadian Agricultural Partnership will be open for applications only for farming and food & beverage manufacturing sector. Eligible sub-sectors include wineries, breweries and licensed cannabis operations. Depending on the goals the Ontario agri-, food and beverage businesses can get up to $250,000 in non-repayable government funding. The following projects are eligible.

• Equipment purchasing or upgrade to improve productivity
• ERP or Supply Chain Management software implementation
• Labour productivity planning
• Ingredient efficiency and waste reduction
• Marketing agri-food product in Canada and abroad
• New product or process development
• Food safety improvements, and more

If you are in the agri-food sector, check the eligibility of your business for government funding now. If you are not in the agri-food sector, forward this email to anyone you know in the agri-food industry.

I wanted to share the exciting news for the Ontario automotive sector that went public just before the holiday. Ontario government allocated $40 million to transform the provincial automotive industry. The Future of Ontario’s Automotive Sector Initiative will include the following streams.

The Ontario Automotive Modernization Program (O-AMP) to assist automotive parts suppliers to become more productive, innovative and export-focused through the adoption of technology. O-AMP builds off the Automotive Supplier Competitiveness Improvement Program (ASCIP) that currently provides up to $100,000 in non-repayable government funding to the Ontario, automotive industry suppliers.

Other streams include the funding for skills training, learning, internships and apprenticeship. Last but not least, the funding is allocated for industry-driven autonomous vehicle research & development.

Stay tuned for further updates as the details of the programs will unfold in the next few weeks. In the meantime, check the eligibility of your business for government funding now. Even if you are not in the automotive sector, there are many funding programs your business may qualify for.

This is a quick update to let you know that the intake of applications for Yves Landry Foundation’s AIME program is now complete. The next intake is anticipated in the late summer of 2019.

The program pays 50% of skills training cost including trainer’s fees, labour cost, travel to the location of training and even meals on training days. Haven’t had a chance to apply? No problem. Fill out the eligibility check form, and we will notify you when the program is back again, or if there is an alternative funding program to cover your upcoming training cost.

Today we open up a series of tips that we will be sharing with you. They will help you to understand the hidden nuances of the government funding programs better, select the right project to apply and get funded.

So, today we will look into the nuances of eligible costs. Those costs may include capital, labour or others depending on the program rules.

What is common for all programs is that in order to be eligible the costs must be incurred after the start date of the approved project. What does incurred mean?

1. You can’t pay the cost, partially or fully, prior to the start date set by the government in approval letter or contribution agreement.

2. You must not sign the lease or advance financing towards eligible cost prior to the start date. Securing a line of credit or commercial mortgage is acceptable as long as the money is not advanced.

3. You can’t start the approved project activities prior to the start date. For example, the training can’t start, the equipment can’t be delivered to the production facility, or the person can’t be hired before the start date.

4. Some exceptions apply. Some export development and business expansion funds allow incurring some costs before the project start date or approval date.

If you are still not sure whether your project costs are eligible for government funding, fill out eligibility check form, and one of our funding specialists will get back to you within 2 business days.

This week we expected the launch of the next intake of the provincial stream of Canadian Agricultural Partnership program. The program was supposed to contribute government funding to the capital and non-capital projects of Ontario-based farms and food & beverage manufacturers. However, the program hasn’t opened its doors in the end of January as it had originally promised. We proactively called Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and were told the program was audited and no date of intake was set.

We all in Ontario know how bad the provincial budget deficit is. Should we start worrying about the provincial grants?

The answer is definitely yes. But for now, most of the provincial funding programs still accept the applications. Also, for the most of the provincial programs there is a duplicate Federal one which may be funded better.

What else can you do? Reach out to your local MPP and tell him or her how important the funding is for your business and request the provincial funding programs to be renewed in the next fiscal year. The provincial programs include Canada-Ontario Job Grant, Export Market Access, regional development funds in Western, Eastern and Northern Ontario to name a few.

In the meantime, check eligibility of your business now and start applying for funding. This may be your last opportunity as nobody will know until late March what happens to the provincial funding in the upcoming Ontario budget.

The Federal government announced changes in CanExport program, and I can’t wait to share them with you. Just to remind you, the program pays 50% of the export marketing costs including trade shows, trade mission, travel, export market entry planning, legal fees & more, up to a maximum of $99,999. Here is the summary of the changes in Before & After format.

1. More medium-to-large businesses are now eligible.

Before: Must employ between 1 and 250 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees;

After: Must employ less than 500 employees

2. More small businesses are now eligible too.

Before: Must have between $200,000 and $50 million in annual revenue declared in Canada;

After: Must have between $100,000 and $100 million in annual revenue declared in Canada;

3. The definition of “new export market” is now more flexible. And the applicant can target up to 5 export markets in one application.

Before: Must target export market where the applicant hasn’t exported for the last 24 months;

After: Must target up to 5 export markets where the applicant hasn’t exported or hasn’t substantially exported within the last 24 months. Substantially exported means that during the past 24 months the applicant made less than $20,000 in annual sales in the target market(s) or the annual sales in this market represent less than 10% of its total international sales for the same period.

4. Sub-national markets count as new export markets

New: Large emerging markets (Brazil, India, China) are segmented into sub-national markets. If you, for example, have a client in Shanghai you can still apply for CanExport program to go to the trade show in Beijing even though both cities are in the same export market.

Does your business qualify?

CHECK ELIGIBILITY NOW