Ontario government grants, loans and incentives for municipalities and local governments

Ranked programs

31 open, ongoing or intake-based programs, best score first.

1. Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF)

   Ministry of Infrastructure

   Formula-based funding for small, rural and northern municipalities for core infrastructure; $400 million to 423 communities in 2026.

   OngoingOntarioGrantsUp to $10M
   50

   Top pick

2. Save on Energy Retrofit Program

   IESO (Save on Energy)

   Incentives for Ontario businesses, institutions, multi-residential and agricultural facilities that cut electricity use. Prescriptive (fixed per measure) and Custom...

   OngoingOntarioOther incentives
   46

   Strong

3. Northern Ontario Resource Development Support (NORDS) Fund

   Ministry of Northern Economic Development and Growth

   Provides each of Northern Ontario's 144 municipalities an annual capital allocation to offset the impacts of resource development (forestry, mining, aggregates...

   OpenOntarioGrantsUp to $400K
   43

   Strong

4. Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund (CSRIF)

   Ministry of Sport

   $500 million cost-shared program to repair/upgrade existing sport and recreation facilities (Stream 1) and build new or signature facilities (Stream 2).

   OpenOntarioGrantsUp to $10M
   41

   Strong

5. First Nations Community Building Retrofit Program

   IESO (Save on Energy)

   Energy-efficiency retrofits for community buildings in on-reserve First Nations.

   OngoingOntarioOther incentivesUp to $330K
   41

   Strong

6. NOHFC Enhance Your Community Program

   Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC)

   Funds community infrastructure projects in Northern Ontario.

   OngoingOntarioGrantsUp to $2M
   39

   Strong

7. NOHFC Rural Enhancement Program

   Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC)

   Funds quality-of-life projects in rural Northern Ontario communities.

   OngoingOntarioGrantsUp to $500K
   39

   Strong

8. Great Lakes Local Action Fund

   Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks

   Project funding for community-based action that increases climate resilience and protects or improves water quality in the Great Lakes, including wetland, shoreline and...

   OpenOntarioGrantsUp to $100K
   38

   Strong

9. Municipal Energy Plan Program

   Ministry of Energy and Mines

   Funds Ontario municipalities to develop a new community energy plan (Stream 1) or update an existing energy plan (Stream 2). It does not fund implementing existing plans.

   OpenOntarioGrantsUp to $90K
   38

   Strong

10. Ontario Trillium Foundation: Grow Grant

    Ontario Trillium Foundation

    Multi-year funding for established non-profits to scale proven community programs.

    OpenOntarioGrantsUp to $200K
    34

    Worth a look

11. Site Readiness Program

    Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade

    Funding assistance to prepare eligible industrial properties for investment and business expansion opportunities.

    OpenOntarioOther incentivesUp to $25K
    34

    Worth a look

12. Building Faster Fund

    Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing

    Rewards municipalities that meet at least 80% of their provincially assigned housing targets with funding for housing-enabling infrastructure.

    OngoingOntarioGrants
    32

    Worth a look

13. Investment Ready: Certified Site Designation

    Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade

    A designation for industrial properties that complete program requirements proving they are primed for development, with partial reimbursement of eligible expenses.

    OpenOntarioOther incentivesUp to $50K
    32

    Worth a look

14. NOHFC Community Events Program

    Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC)

    Funds events that promote economic development in Northern Ontario.

    OngoingOntarioGrantsUp to $15K
    32

    Worth a look

15. Fire Protection Services Reimbursement: Unincorporated Ontario

    Ministry of the Solicitor General

    Reimburses municipalities for providing emergency response services (collisions, hazmat, structure fires, rescue and more) in unincorporated areas of Ontario between...

    OpenOntarioGrants
    30

    Worth a look

16. NOHFC Workforce Development Program (internships)

    Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC)

    Funds internship salaries for Northern Ontario employers.

    OngoingOntarioOther incentivesUp to $35K
    30

    Worth a look

17. Save on Energy XLerate

    IESO (Save on Energy)

    Large-scale energy-efficiency incentive for industrial, municipal, institutional and healthcare projects, replacing the Industrial Energy Efficiency Program.

    OngoingOntarioOther incentivesUp to $15M
    29

    Worth a look

18. Connecting Links Program

    Ministry of Transportation

    Dedicated provincial funding for capital road and bridge projects on designated connecting link highways that carry provincial traffic through municipalities.

    Intake-basedOntarioGrantsUp to $7M
    28

    Worth a look

19. Indigenous Transportation Initiatives Fund for Indigenous Communities and Organizations

    Ministry of Transportation

    The Indigenous Transportation Initiatives Fund (ITIF) is an application-based funding program for Indigenous communities and organizations pursuing...

    OpenOntarioGrants
    28

    Worth a look

20. Ontario Transit Investment Fund (OTIF)

    Ministry of Transportation

    Time-limited, application-based funding for up to 5 years to support the start-up and growth of transit services, especially in smaller and rural communities.

    OpenOntarioGrants
    28

    Worth a look

21. Southwestern Ontario Development Fund (SWODF)

    Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade

    Provincial funding for business expansion and community economic development projects in southwestern Ontario.

    Intake-basedOntarioGrantsUp to $5M
    28

    Worth a look

22. Rural Ontario Development (ROD) Program

    Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA)

    Cost-share for rural economic development: plans, diversification, workforce, events, community infrastructure and rural small business.

    Intake-basedOntarioGrantsUp to $250K
    26

    Worth a look

23. NOHFC Indigenous Workforce Development Program

    Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC)

    Funds salaries for Indigenous interns hired by Northern Ontario organizations.

    OngoingOntarioOther incentivesUp to $53K
    25

    Worth a look

24. Ontario Trillium Foundation: Capital Grant

    Ontario Trillium Foundation

    Funding for equipment, renovation and capital projects of non-profits.

    Intake-basedOntarioGrantsUp to $200K
    24

    Long shot

25. Bail Compliance and Warrant Apprehension (BCWA) Grant

    Ministry of the Solicitor General

    One-year 2026-27 grant to help police services strengthen bail compliance monitoring and warrant apprehension, with a focus on high-risk individuals. Funds dedicated...

    OpenOntarioGrants
    23

    Long shot

26. Road Safety Initiatives Fund (RSIF)

    Ministry of Transportation

    Funding for municipalities that used automated speed enforcement to adopt other safety measures in school zones and community safety zones: traffic calming, signage and...

    OpenOntarioGrants
    22

    Long shot

27. Skills Development Fund (SDF) Capital Stream

    Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development

    Funds capital technical planning and construction or upgrading of skills training centres through two pathways: SEED (planning project taking a design to 40% design...

    OngoingOntarioGrants
    22

    Long shot

28. Winter Roads Program: Bridges and Culverts Stream

    Ministry of Transportation

    Funding to remote Northern Ontario communities for new pre-engineered bridges and culverts and repairs to existing water crossings on the winter roads network.

    OpenOntarioGrants
    22

    Long shot

29. Eastern Ontario Development Fund (EODF)

    Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade

    Provincial funding for business expansion and community economic development projects in eastern Ontario (the program asked about as 'Eastern Ontario Development...

    Intake-basedOntarioGrantsUp to $5M
    21

    Long shot

30. Community Wildland Fire Protection Planning Grant (formerly Ontario FireSmart Communities Grant)

    Ministry of Natural Resources

    Invitational, limited grant supporting hazard forest mapping and Community Wildland Fire Protection Plans for organized municipalities in Ontario's legislated fire...

    OpenOntarioGrants
    20

    Long shot

31. Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program (MHIP)

    Ministry of Infrastructure

    Ontario's Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program funds core municipal infrastructure (roads, bridges, water, wastewater, irrigation) through five streams. Four have...

    Intake-basedOntarioGrantsUp to $8M
    20

    Long shot

Questions

How many Ontario programs for municipalities and local governments are open right now?

Of the 55 Ontario programs for municipalities and local governments in our database, 25 are open or ongoing and 6 take applications only in intake windows. The rest are closed, paused or of unknown status, so they are not ranked on this page. Counts reflect our last check on Oct 28, 2026; programs can change without notice.

What is the largest published amount among these programs?

Save on Energy XLerate publishes the largest figure on this page, shown as "Up to $15M". Published figures are program maximums, caps or limits, not what an applicant should expect to receive; many programs pay a share of eligible costs and amounts depend on your project and eligibility.

Which Ontario programs for municipalities and local governments rank highest?

Right now the top three by our score are Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (50, Top pick), Save on Energy Retrofit Program (46, Strong), Northern Ontario Resource Development Support Fund (43, Strong). The score combines the size of the published amount, how much work an application takes, how likely an eligible applicant is to succeed and how many people qualify.

Do I have to pay this money back?

It depends on the program. Grants and incentives are generally not repaid, loans always are, and some contribution agreements are partly or fully repayable, so read the terms of each program. Among the 25 open or ongoing programs here, 18 are in our Grants category, 0 are loans and 7 are other incentives such as tax credits and rebates.

Are these federal or Ontario programs?

0 of the 25 open or ongoing programs here come from the federal government and 25 from the Ontario government. Both levels can usually be combined, but many programs have stacking rules that cap total government funding for the same costs, so check them before you apply.

Is this an official government website?

No. Grants & Loans Finder is an independent research tool. Each program page links to the official source, and applications are always made with the government agency or lender that runs the program.