Connecting local businesses with funding opportunities
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The City’s Economic Development team is here to help!
There are many ways businesses can engage with the City of Vaughan for guidance and support. The City’s Economic Development team helps companies access federal, provincial and regional government supports and incentives, including small business loans and programs to help maintain their workforce. Your business may be eligible for government funding to help expand or modernize.
There are many ways businesses can engage with the City of Vaughan for guidance and support. The City’s Economic Development team helps companies access federal, provincial and regional government supports and incentives, including small business loans and programs to help maintain their workforce. Your business may be eligible for government funding to help expand or modernize.
The following are some available programs:
Business Scale-up and Productivity (BSP) Program: (Large-Scale Business Expansion Projects): No-interest, repayable contributions from $500,000 up to $10 million per project.
- The BSP program helps businesses adopt/adapt innovative technologies that support productivity, grow Southern Ontario operations and increase exports to global markets. It is targeted toward large-scale expansion projects where new innovative technologies will be used to develop globally competitive products, services or processes.
Canada-Ontario Job Grant (COJG): Employers can get up to $10,000 in government support per person for training costs.
- The COJG provides direct financial support to individual employers or employer groups 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.
CanExport: Provides up to $50,000 to small- and medium-sized enterprises registered in Canada for international business development activities.
- The program offers grants and contributions to Canadian companies to help them prepare for and establish a presence in international markets where they currently have little or no sales.
Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP): Funding threshold of up to $10 million for larger research and development projects.
- The IRAP provides a grant (typically 80 per cent for direct labour, 50 per cent for subcontractor costs) for either internal or third-party collaboration on technical feasibility studies, technology adoption, product development or process development projects, or production design projects.
- As administered by Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen), the program taps into the Innovation Superclusters Initiative funding to support groups of businesses that develop potential technologies, create groundbreaking process transformation and de-risk the adoption of technology to help manufacturers compete globally.
Ontario Automotive Modernization Program: Provides up to $150,000 to help cover up to 50 per cent of eligible project costs.
- The OAMP helps automotive businesses improve productivity through technology adoption projects. It builds off the success of the former Automotive Supplier Competitiveness Improvement Program and focuses on integrating innovative equipment that reduces costs and expands manufacturing capabilities.
Scientific Research and Experimental Development Tax Incentive (SR&ED): Provides more than $3 billion in tax incentives to more than 20,000 applicants annually, making it the single largest federal program that supports business research and development in Canada. The program is administered by the Canada Revenue Agency.
- The SR&ED program is a federal tax incentive program that encourages Canadian businesses of all sizes, in all sectors, to do research and development in Canada.
Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF): Provides a minimum contribution of $10 million in grants/repayable funding for proposals with total costs of at least $20 million.
- As part of the Innovation and Skills Plan, the SIF plays a key role in the continuum of innovation funding, providing support for projects through simplified application processes, accelerated processing and assistance that is more responsive and focused on results.
- York Region offers a variety of financial incentives for businesses participating in water protection and efficiency programs. The programs are offered to owners and managers of businesses, institutional facilities, farms and multi-unit residences in York Region.
Business community members can visit the Fundings Programs page at vaughanbusiness.ca for more information on these programs or contact the City’s Economic Development team for guidance with application processes.
In addition to funding support, Vaughan’s Economic Development team provides other services to the business community, including the following:
Advisory consultations
The Economic Development team continues to offer advisory consultations to entrepreneurs and businesses of all stages and sizes via tele- or video-conference, email and phone. For information, additional resources or to book a consultation, visit vaughanbusiness.ca.
Training and education
Businesses and entrepreneurs can use the City as a resource to find ongoing training and education to move their business online, pivot their strategy or start anew. The Economic Development department also promotes virtual webinars, seminars and classes from different organizations. There is something for everyone. To learn more about upcoming events, visit vaughanbusiness.ca/events.
Summer Company
The Summer Company program, in association with the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, prepares young entrepreneurs with a pipeline of tools, skills, connections and resources required to succeed in their business ventures. Applications for this year’s Summer Company program are open at vaughanbusiness.ca/Summer-Company and will close on Tuesday, May 31. This annual program provides students aged 15 to 29 years old with mentorship from Vaughan’s business community and access to business advisory services and workshops to help them develop important skills. Participants also have the opportunity to receive up to $3,000 in provincial grant funding to start their own businesses.
Interested participants can join one of two information sessions that are being hosted in partnership with Vaughan Public Libraries to learn more:
- Wednesday, April 20 at 7 p.m. (virtual)
- Wednesday, April 27 at 7 p.m. (virtual and in-person at Pierre Berton Resource Library)
Talent City Vaughan
Community and social service organizations are invited to apply for Talent City Vaughan – the City’s latest economic development program created to offer financial support to external organizations that provide opportunities for residents to enhance their skillsets. Micro-grants of up to $10,000 will be available to regional not-for-profit community and social service organizations delivering training to Vaughan talent. Applications will be accepted until Friday, April 29. For more information or to complete a registration form, visit vaughanbusiness.ca/TalentCityVaughan.
Advantage Vaughan
On Feb. 15, 2022, Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua and Members of Council took the next step in supporting the business community by endorsing Advantage Vaughan, Phase 3 of the City’s economic development response to COVID-19.
Advantage Vaughan proposes a series of programs to support four strategic pillars of the economy, including:
- local small business owners and entrepreneurs.
- Vaughan’s residents who make up the city’s talent base.
- Vaughan’s local organizations that animate the community and foster local destination development opportunities.
- community branding and marketing to demonstrate the advantages of doing business in Vaughan.
Advantage Vaughan fosters economic prosperity, investment and social capital through funding opportunities for the business community and training opportunities for local talent development – key priorities outlined in the City’s 2018-2022 Term of Council Service Excellence Strategic Plan. The plan builds off the momentum of the Vaughan Business Action Plan, approved in March 2020 as the first phase in the response efforts, and the Vaughan Business Resilience Plan, which began in June 2020.
To keep up with the City’s newest business resources and initiatives, sign up for the Economic Development department’s eNewsletter at vaughanbusiness.ca/enewsletters. For City of Vaughan updates and news as they happen, subscribe to Vaughan News and follow the official corporate channels on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.