The Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, or FedNor, has pledged $20 million in funding for a series of growth and development programs.
$16 million will go towards operational funding for FedNor’s Community Futures Program, which runs not-for-profit organizations in communities across northern Ontario supporting business development and community planning.
In Northwestern Ontario, the funding will be distributed as follows:
- Dryden – Patricia Area Community Endeavours Inc. – Five-year operational funding $1,600,000
- Kenora – Lake of the Woods Business Incentive Corporation – Five-year operational funding $1,500,000
- Red Lake – Chukuni Communities Development Corporation – Five-year operational funding $1,500,000
- Atikokan – Atikokan Economic Development Corporation – Five-year operational funding $1,500,000
The remaining operational funding will go to Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDCs) in other parts of the province.
FedNor is also pledging funding for business development organizations in the Northwest:
- Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund: $1,154,400 to support full-time paid positions responsible for assisting Indigenous entrepreneurs. The roles will be focused on bookkeeping and policy writing and development.
- Lake of the Woods Business Incentive Corporation: $543,000 to coordinate with the region’s CFDCs.
- Atikokan Economic Development Corporation: $171,108 to help the corporation create a booking system for tourism outfits in the region such as hotels and lodges. Once rolled out in Atikokan, the booking system may be used elsewhere in Northern Ontario.
- Patricia Area Community Endeavours Inc. (PACE): $293,501 for a business incubation and mentorship program. The funding will also support the hiring of a program coordinator and acquiring an office in a region spanning Sioux Lookout and Pickle Lake. This venture is focused on supporting Indigenous and female entrepreneurs.
- Chukuni Communities Development Corporation: $200,000 to fund a study of Community Capacity and a Business Gap analysis. The project will chart possible growth opportunities in a region including Red Lake, Ear Falls, and the Highway 105 economic corridor.
- Thunder Bay Ventures: $150,000 for the organization to run the Northwestern Ontario Investment Pool for three years. The pool allows CFDCs in the region to give loans of up to $600,000 for area businesses. The investment pool allows CFDCs from across the region to pool their risk.
- Rainy River Future Development Corporation: $37,800 for the CFDC to create a strategy for attracting businesses, looking at assets in the region that have been overlooked such as the former Fort Frances Woodyard.
