Deadline: 30-Apr-25
Submissions are now open for the Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund Program.
Objectives
- The primary program objectives of the CMIF are to:
- enable the production and expansion of priority critical minerals resources in Canada, and drive economic growth by addressing gaps in clean energy and transportation infrastructure
- drive emission reductions in operations that produce critical minerals by increasing access to and integration of renewable and non-emitting energy sources and existing electrical grids
- advance reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples by supporting Indigenous partnerships, participation, and benefits from infrastructure projects that enable critical minerals development
Funding Information
- The maximum funding available per project under this CFP is $50 million, unless the applicant is a provincial or territorial government, in which case the maximum is $100 million.
Funding Streams
- Clean energy and transportation infrastructure projects require significant preparatory work to ensure adequate understanding of technical feasibility, environmental and community impacts, and potential economic benefits. By supporting both preconstruction and shovel-ready projects, the CMIF will target short-term results from deployable infrastructure projects while also supporting a robust pipeline of projects that can be deployed in the coming years.
- Stream 1 – Preconstruction
- This stream supports preconstruction activities necessary to advance clean energy and transportation infrastructure projects towards a shovel-ready state. Funding for this stream will be targeted to advance infrastructure-specific engagement with local stakeholders as well as engagement and/or consultation with Indigenous communities and organizations; energy modelling and feasibility studies; engineering, planning and design work; and climate change / environmental reviews or assessments. Demonstration projects may be eligible if they are appropriately scoped as a means of testing commercially available technologies to verify deployment in a site-specific context (i.e., to allow for future scaling to meaningfully support mining activities). These activities will support regulatory and permitting decisions required for the procurement and construction stages. Projects in this stream should be designed to meaningfully advance infrastructure towards a shovel-ready state.
- Stream 2 – Shovel ready
- This stream supports shovel-ready clean energy and transportation infrastructure projects. Funding for this stream will support activities such as site preparation, construction, deployment of technologies, and improvement of energy and transportation infrastructure that enables or expands critical minerals development projects. Shovel ready, for this stream, is defined as being able to proceed with project construction or implementation, including by having already obtained all necessary regulatory approvals, permits, and land-access rights. Projects with minimum development thresholds that are outstanding may be considered for funding if applicants can demonstrate that they are forthcoming within 12 months of application submission.
- Stream 1 – Preconstruction
Funding Timeline
- The CMIF is looking for clean energy and transportation infrastructure projects that will achieve timely progress to advance the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy. Time-to-impact will be considered as part of the overall project assessment, and all CMIF-funded projects must end no later than March 31, 2030.
Eligible Activities
- Eligible activities are limited to activities that are directly attributable to and required to achieve a project’s objectives. They fall under the following parameters:
- Stream 1 – Preconstruction
- Infrastructure-specific prefeasibility and feasibility studies; engineering, planning and design work; energy and resource modelling; and climate change and/or environmental reviews and assessments:
- demonstration activities may be eligible, provided they are appropriately scoped as a means of testing commercially available technologies to verify deployment in a site-specific context, allowing for scaling at the shovel ready stage
- Infrastructure-specific engagement activities, such as knowledge sharing, capacity building, job training, and/or consultation with local and Indigenous communities and organizations
- Inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) plans that support participation in the critical minerals sector
- Infrastructure-specific prefeasibility and feasibility studies; engineering, planning and design work; energy and resource modelling; and climate change and/or environmental reviews and assessments:
- Stream 2 – Shovel ready
- Site preparation, construction, rehabilitation, and improvement (e.g., upgrade or enhancement) of energy or transportation infrastructure assets that enable or expand critical minerals development projects as follows:
- Transportation infrastructure projects
- Creation or enhancement of fixed transportation infrastructure (e.g., road, bridge, rail, and marine) that enables the development or expansion of critical minerals resource production and connects resources to critical minerals value chains
- Upgrades/enhancements of transportation infrastructure are eligible only if the applicant can demonstrate they are necessary to enable critical minerals production and connect resources to value chains (i.e., existing infrastructure is insufficient)
- Where transportation infrastructure already exists, alternative transportation routes that significantly increase efficiency to the extent that they are necessary to enable critical minerals production and connect resources to value chains may also be considered if duly corroborated
- Non-permanent structures such as ice or winter roads are not eligible.
- Stream 1 – Preconstruction
Eligibility Criteria
- To be eligible, a recipient must be in good standing with NRCan and must have effective control of all constituent elements of the project, such that they can meet the obligations of any eventual funding agreement. Eligible recipients are limited to:
- legal entities validly incorporated or registered in Canada including for-profit organizations and not-for-profit organizations (e.g., businesses, industry associations, universities and research institutions)
- provincial, territorial, and municipal governments and their departments and agencies
- Indigenous recipients, including:
- Indigenous communities or governments (e.g., Indian Act bands; self-governing First Nations; Métis community organizations; modern treaty implementation organizations, including economic development corporations constituted under a modern treaty; and others)
- tribal councils or entities that fulfill a similar function (e.g., general council)
- national and regional Indigenous councils, and tribal organizations
- Indigenous not-for-profit (51% or greater control by Indigenous Peoples) and for-profit (51% or greater control by an Indigenous community / by Indigenous communities) corporations, businesses, joint ventures, partnerships, associations, co-operatives and institutions
For more information, visit Government of Canada.
