Business Funding Resources
AgPal helps farmers and agri-businesses find relevant resources by gathering agricultural information and presenting it all in one place. Search and navigation tools make it quick and easy to find exactly what you are looking for. Find programs, services, market intelligence, research and more.
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The Canadian Agricultural Partnership (the Partnership) provides cost-share funding support to farmers and other businesses (plant health). Funding is available for key priority areas, which include: research and innovation, economic development, environmental stewardship and protection and assurance.
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Production Insurance protects Ontario producers from losses caused by factors beyond their control. The bee health plan covers colony losses caused by insured perils that occur during the overwinter period.
Production Insurance is part of the suite of programs available under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. In most plans, producers pay 40 per cent of the total premium cost and none of the administration cost. Together, the federal and provincial governments contribute the other 60 per cent. Administrative costs are fully funded by both levels of government.
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Production Insurance protects Ontario producers from yield reductions and production losses caused by factors beyond their control, including adverse weather, disease, pests, wildlife or other uncontrollable natural perils.
When you enrol in the Production Insurance plan for honey, you are guaranteed a level of production based on your yield history and the level of coverage you choose. If an insured peril causes your actual yield or extracted honey to be below your guaranteed production, a production claim may be paid on the difference.
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The Fair Finance Fund is a non-profit social finance fund dedicated to providing loans and mentorship services to local food and farm enterprises that value strong local food systems, local economies, and a healthy planet.
Building on seed capital, the Fair Finance Fund implements an ongoing investment opportunity for community-minded investors, that is, individuals and institutions who want to invest their capital to build local food systems in Ontario to support food that is grown, raised, and processed in their backyards.
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If you’re starting, expanding or buying a small business, apply for training, mentoring and a grant through Starter Company Plus.
Through Starter Company Plus, you can:
get one-on-one guidance from a Small Business Enterprise Centre advisor, participate in business workshops, seminars or networking events, topics range from writing a business plan to budgeting to marketing campaigns, talk to a mentor with experience in starting, expanding or buying a small business
You can also apply for a grant of up to $5,000.
These supports are available if you want to start a new company, expand an existing company or buy a business in Ontario.
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Find grants, loans & more for your Ontario business. Search by topic, location, design, etc.
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ShopHERE provides independent small businesses and artists with a quick, easy and no-cost way to get selling online right away. Digital Main Street is collaborating with Google, Shopify, Mastercard and Microsoft to build and optimize online stores for small independent businesses and artists in just a matter of days.
Requirements:
- It is a registered business, or a registered non-profit organization.
It has a commercial location or is home-based.
- It has fewer than ten employees or fewer than 25 employees if a restaurant or bar.
It is not a corporate chain or franchise.
Or must be an artist.
*Eligible businesses and artists must be located in Ontario or a participating municipality.
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How Canadians do business has changed. To stay competitive and grow, small and medium-sized businesses need to adopt new digital tools.
In Budget 2021, the Government of Canada announced the $4 billion Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) to help get your business online, give your e-commerce presence a boost or help digitalize your business's operations.
CDAP provides funding and support to businesses, as well as training and work opportunities for young Canadians.
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The Boost Your Business Technology grant offers Canadian-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) support to adopt new technologies in order to increase competitiveness and resilience.
Boost Your Business Technology can help get your business online, give your e-commerce presence a boost, or digitalize your business's operations. These grants are designed to help Canadian businesses become more competitive.
In addition to helping your business scale up its technology and become more resilient and competitive, the program also offers wage subsidies to hire youth to support the implementation of new technology and strategies.
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Canada-Ontario Job Grant (COJG) provides opportunities for employers, individually or in groups, to invest in their workforce, with help from the government.
The Canada-Ontario Job Grant provides direct financial support to individual employers or employer consortia who wish to purchase training for their employees. It is available to small, medium and large businesses with a plan to deliver short-term training to existing and new employees.
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Hire a young person through Employment Service, Youth Job Connection or Youth Job Connection Summer – see how these programs can benefit you as an employer and learn more about new financial incentives for small businesses.
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Canada Summer Jobs provides wage subsidies to employers from not-for-profit organizations, the public sector, and private sector organizations with 50 or fewer full-time employees, to create quality summer work experiences for young people aged 15 to 30 years.
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The Youth Employment and Skills Program provides a wage subsidy to employers who hire youth for agricultural jobs. The program offers support for 50% of wages to a maximum of $14,000. Additionally, the program offers 100% of costs for relocation to a maximum of $5,000 if the employee must relocate for the position.