AFO · Grants & refundable tax credits
Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF)
Federal funding for large-scale industrial R&D, expansion, and innovation projects.
Program status and primary actions
Coming soon — book a consultationBook a consultationTry the screenerQuick facts.
- Size range
- $10,000,000 — No ceiling
- Cost / pricing
- Mix of non-repayable contributions and conditionally repayable amounts depending on stream and project. Typically funds 25–50% of eligible costs.
- Typical speed to close
- Months
- Capital type
- Government grant
Eligibility
Who this program is for.
Canadian incorporated firm with a multi-year industrial project (typically $10M+ total project cost). Five program streams cover R&D, firm expansion, investment attraction, ecosystem, and collaboration.
Use of proceeds
What this capital can fund.
Outside these categories the program either isn’t a fit or requires a non-standard structuring conversation. The screener cross-references your specific use of proceeds against the full catalog before recommending an instrument.
What Capital Toolkit does
CPA-led engagement, not lead generation.
Whether the answer is Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF)or something else in the catalog, the engagement starts the same way: a CPA reviews the use of proceeds, the balance sheet, and the projections to confirm the right structure. Only then do we build the package and approach providers. The catalog page's screener exists to triage cleanly; this page exists so you can read the program in detail before that conversation.
If Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF)is the right fit, you’ll get a normalized financial package, a coverage or eligibility analysis appropriate to the program category, and provider / program outreach handled by a CPA with the engagement still under one roof.
Sources & verification.
- Program details (external)
- Open program page (opens in a new tab)
- Catalog entry last verified
Program criteria, rates, and ceilings change. Capital Toolkit verifies the catalog entry against the provider periodically, but the linked program page is always the authoritative source at the point of application.
Where this program shows up
The hubs that feature Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF).
This program is curated into the hubs below — industry verticals where it’s a typical fit, business stages where it’s the right answer, and funding stacks where it combines with others.
Head-to-head
Compare Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) against another option.
The comparisons below answer the “should I do this or that?” question with a side-by-side matrix plus the scenarios where each option wins.
vs.
Regional Development Agency Programs
Federal regional programs (ACOA, FedDev Ontario, PrairiesCan, PacifiCan, CED-Q, CanNor).
Open the comparison
vs.
NRC IRAP — Industrial Research Assistance Program
Federal funding plus advisory for technical innovation projects in Canadian SMEs.
Open the comparison
Related programs in the same family
Also in Grants & refundable tax credits.
NRC IRAP — Industrial Research Assistance Program
Federal funding plus advisory for technical innovation projects in Canadian SMEs.
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Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC)
Federal funding for the development and demonstration of clean technologies.
Status: Coming soon
Regional Development Agency Programs
Federal regional programs (ACOA, FedDev Ontario, PrairiesCan, PacifiCan, CED-Q, CanNor).
Status: Coming soon
See every option side by side.
The full catalog groups debt, grants, equity, and alternative structures by family so you can compare like with like before booking a conversation.