Amount: 50% cost-share funding up to a maximum of $25,000.

Under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, Honey Bee Health Initiative helps to support beekeepers in maintaining healthy honey bee colonies as well as grow their number of colonies to increase the sustainability of the beekeeping industry in Ontario.

Project Activities

Under the Initiative, projects will focus on:

  • Operational improvements that reduce biosecurity risks, overwintering loss, and to manage or prevent the introduction and spread of honey bee pests and disease
  • Purchase of or modification to equipment or facilities necessary to improve hive health management practices
  • Adoption or implementation of best management practices to prevent the introduction and spread of honey bee pests and diseases within a beekeeping operation
  • Sampling and analysis for pests and diseases
  • Purchase of new honey bee stock or queens to ensure healthy honey bees with genetic diversity and selection are integrated into Ontario’s honey bee population

Eligibility requirements

To apply, applicants must:

  • Have ten (10) or more colonies registered with the Provincial Apiarist for the current beekeeping season
  • Have completed a pest management course related to honey bees, specific to Ontario, from a recognized institution within the last two years (e.g., the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association’s Technology Transfer Program) or have completed a diploma or degree in beekeeping from a recognized institution within the last five years (e.g., University of Guelph, Niagara College).
  • Be in compliance with all requirements of the law and must remain in compliance for the duration of the project;
  • Applicants must be compliant with the Bees Act and Regulation 57 during the current and previous beekeeping season, including but not limited to, beekeeper and yard registration, reporting pests and disease, permits, location of honey bee colonies, no exposed honeycomb, or no referrals for further compliance action.

Timeline

Intake reopened on June 3, 2024. The intake will close when the available funding has been fully allocated.

About Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership

The Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) is a five-year (2023-2028), $3.5-billion investment by federal‐provincial and territorial governments to strengthen competitiveness, innovation, and resiliency of the agriculture, agri‐food and agri‐based products sector. This includes $1 billion in federal programs and activities and a $2.5 billion commitment that is cost-shared 60 per cent federally and 40 per cent provincially/territorially for programs that are designed and delivered by the provinces and territories.