The Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) provides financial contributions (interest-free loans) to help support fixed operating costs of SMEs, where business revenues have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The Fund, valued at more than $962 million nationally, is delivered by Canada’s six regional development agencies.

In southern Ontario, $252.4 million is available as follows:

• $213 million for SMEs facing financial pressure; and
• $39.4 million to provide rural businesses with access to capital and technical support, delivered by southern Ontario’s Community Futures Development Corporations.

Funding available through your local CFDC

In order to provide targeted assistance to the small towns and communities they serve, CFDCs will focus on assisting “main street” businesses, such as retail shops, restaurants, corner stores, and businesses of strategic importance to their communities.

• Maximum assistance will be $40,000
• 0% interest and no principal payments until December 31, 2022
• Principal repayments can be voluntarily made at any time
• 25% (not to exceed $10,000) of any loan can be forgiven provided the client has paid 75% of the original loan amount prior to December 31, 2022
• If the client is unable to repay the loan by December 31, 2022, the loan will be converted to a three-year term loan with interest rates up to 5%, effective January 1, 2023.  The full balance must be repaid no later than December 31, 2025

• Eligible CFDC applicants must also meet the following criteria:
  • established prior to March 1, 2020;
  • impacted adversely by the COVID-19 pandemic;
  • viable and not experiencing other financial difficulties prior to March 1, 2020;
  • have attempted to access other federal relief supports and were ineligible, rejected, or require funding for expenses that have not been supported, with priority given to applicants who were ineligible or rejected from other federal relief supports.

Applications can be submitted for:

• Loans of up to $40,000 to help address working capital needs.

Next steps:

• Complete the application and contact our office should you have any questions at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (613)332-5564 extension (203)
• *Please be aware that our office is currently closed due to COVID-19 pandemic, however, staff are working remotely and will return emails and phone calls. We appreciate your patience.

Funding available through FedDev Ontario

FedDev Ontario is delivering $213 million in funding support to SMEs impacted by COVID-19 that do not qualify for, or have been declined for, current Government of Canada COVID-19 relief measures.

*Should you be interested in a loan of $40,000 or more and meet the following eligibility criteria, you may wish to apply to FedDev Ontario for direct funding.

Eligible applicants must:

• Be a Canadian or provincially incorporated business, co-operative or an Indigenous-owned business located in southern Ontario with 1 to 499 full-time equivalent employees;
• Be facing funding pressures with fixed operating costs as a result of COVID-19;
• Have been a viable business before the COVID-19 pandemic and plan to continue to operate their business or resume operations.

• Have already applied to other Government of Canada emergency credit relief measures for which they are eligible, as outlined in the program guidelines.

For the RRRF funding provided directly by FedDev Ontario, priority may be given to SMEs that fall within the manufacturing, technology, tourism and other sectors key to the region, that are major employers in small communities, or that support the government’s commitment to underrepresented groups.

For more information, please visit the FedDev Ontario website and consult the Applicant Toolkit.

Please note: Applicants will not receive RRRF assistance from both their local CFDC and FedDev Ontario. Review the program guidelines to see which stream is right for you and contact us if you have any questions before applying.