Sault Ste. Marie businesses have a massive Northern advantage: access to exclusive funding streams like NOHFC and FedNor that offer significantly higher grant-to-loan ratios than Southern Ontario programs. We are specifically targeting mandates for Industrial Decarbonization and Sovereign Supply Chains.
NOHFC: Invest North Program (Business Expansion)
The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) is the engine of the Sault’s economic diversification. We target the Invest North Program to fund up to 50% of eligible project costs (max $1M). Whether you are a steel fabricator on Wallace Terrace adopting robotic plate processing or an IT firm in the downtown core expanding your software engineering team, we help you secure the non-repayable cash that anchors your operations in the North.
FedNor: Regional Economic Growth through Innovation (REGI)
FedNor’s REGI fund is critical for Sault-based firms scaling their production for international markets. This program prioritizes Advanced Manufacturing and ICT. We help you secure repayable contributions for projects that integrate AI into manufacturing or develop new aerospace components for the local MRO cluster, reinforcing Sault Ste. Marie’s status as a high-tech industrial leader.
Trade Impacted Community Program
Launched to mitigate the impacts of trade volatility on Northern Ontario industries, this program is vital for the Sault’s manufacturing sector. We help firms access Stream 1 (Business Attraction) and Stream 2 (Port Development) funding. With the Sault’s new Deep Water Port Development plan in full swing, we secure capital for companies that are diversifying their export markets or integrating into the national shipbuilding and defence supply chains.
SR&ED Tax Credit (Green Tech & Lottery Innovation)
Innovation in Sault Ste. Marie is driven by the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre and the city’s unique Lottery & Gaming cluster. The SR&ED tax credit is your foundation for recovering R&D costs. Whether you are solving technological uncertainties in green steel metallurgy or developing secure, high-performance lottery algorithms, we help you recover up to 35% of qualified expenditures, turning your technical risks into predictable, reinvestable cash flow.
