Capital project: Signature initiative
ENERGY
Funding Snapshot
High-ranking project loans and grants: These qualify for a low-interest loan of up to $10 million and a grant worth up to 15% of the loan; cover up to 80% of your eligible costs.
Our signature initiative funding (combined loans and grants) helps Canadian cities and communities of all sizes implement bold environmental projects that reduce GHG emissions and protect the air, water or land. This funding is designed to accommodate transformative, best-in-class municipal projects, meaning they’re highly innovative and impactful.
Your capital project may involve any type of initiative, so long as it has the capacity to create transformative change in the energy, transportation, waste, water or land use sector (or a combination of those sectors). It must have the potential to address environmental challenges and change the way other municipalities operate and deliver municipal services. It must also have a solid business case and the ability to deliver strong environmental, financial and social benefits directly to your community or through replication in other municipalities.
Signature initiatives do not have pre-set environmental targets/thresholds because the projects are unique and evaluated on a case-by-case basis. We prefer projects that have built-in mechanisms to encourage replication and widespread adoption (e.g., innovative business models, partnership models, new financing mechanisms).
Examples of what you might implement include, but are not limited to:
- Advanced, emerging and adaptive technologies
- Innovative financing mechanisms and business models (e.g., property assessed clean energy programs, innovative utility charges)
- Capacity building programs that generate direct environmental benefits (e.g., green job skills training)
- Projects and programs that generate environmental, economic and other benefits for the broader community
- Enabling greater adoption of sustainable infrastructure (e.g., demonstrating new products such as shared electric autonomous vehicles, creating smart grid projects that enable more integration of renewable generation within the community)
Notes
We reserve the right to make changes to eligibility criteria and the types of projects funded through this offer. We will re-evaluate this offer’s criteria in March 2021. If you apply before then, your application will not be affected.
How to apply
- Download and review the application guide.
- Review the prerequisites and required supporting documents.
- Review eligible and ineligible costs.
- Confirm that you’re securing other funding sources for your project:
- Sample Letter Confirming Consultation with Provincial/Territorial Government (a prerequisite for all applicants, except municipal governments in Quebec)
- Sample Letter from Confirmed Funding Sources (required for each contributing organization, including the lead municipality)
- Visit the FCM funding portal to create your profile and request a PIN to access the system. Already have an FCM funding portal profile? Skip to Step 6.
- Complete the pre-application form available on the platform.
Quebec municipalities
FCM has an agreement with Quebec's Ministre des Affaires municipales et de l’Habitation (MAMH) that allows the ministry to review applications to GMF before they are submitted to FCM. Quebec municipalities applying for funding from GMF must follow the process below to submit their application to MAMH.
Once you have completed all the steps in the ‘How to apply’ section, submit your application by following the steps below. Note that the content of the links is available in French only.
1. Save your application form using the appropriate file name.
- Save the application form to your local device with the following filename: FMV_ "your municipality's name"_ "date" (YYMMDD). For example: FMV_TownofABC_180228.pdf
2. Log in to the Portail gouvernemental des affaires municipales et régionales using your username and password. Select the program, "MAMH - Fonds municipal vert".
3. Upload and submit the application form through the portal. Note this is an external site.
4. Receive confirmation from MAMH.
- MAMH assesses the applications to ensure that the projects submitted do not conflict with Quebec's government policies and directives. Once the assessment has been completed, MAMH informs the applicant of their decision and sends compliant applications to GMF for review.
- MAMH requires up to 15 working days to review the application and forward it to GMF.
5. Receive approval from GMF.
- GMF will inform the applicant once they receive the application from MAMH and review the submission. If the application is approved for funding, an agreement between FCM and the applicant is prepared.
Sign up for alerts whenever a new funding opportunity is added.
Get alerted anytime a new funding opportunity is added to see if you could be eligible for more funding on your projects.
Need help to see if this is the right funding for you?
Contact our Outreach team who can answer any questions you have relating to this funding opportunity.
Related Resources
See All
Energy
Webinar Recording: Enhance comfort and energy savings with municipal building envelopes
Watch this webinar to explore strategies for optimizing municipal building envelopes, enhancing both comfort and energy efficiency.
Energy
Webinar recording: Energy Efficiency for Reaching Net-Zero
Learn how municipalities can advance energy efficiency initiatives to reach net-zero targets.
Energy
Webinar recording: Planning for net-zero emissions
Municipal leaders and experts discuss strategies for achieving net-zero emissions targets and scaling up climate action efforts at the local level.
Waste
Webinar recording: Net-Zero Circularity: Procurement
Watch this webinar recording to see how circular procurement can help put the principles of a circular economy into action.
Water
Webinar Recording: Sustainable municipal water management
Watch the webinar recording to discover current trends and research on the importance of sustainable municipal water management.
Energy
Video: Durham Region, ON launches novel financing model
A video showcasing innovative and accessible financing options for home-energy upgrades.
Land Use
Learning Journey: Brownfields Redevelopment in your community
Find out how to rehabilitate and redevelop brownfields
Transportation
Webinar recording: Removing funding and policy barriers to municipal fleet electrification
Watch this recording to learn how to electrify your municipal fleet of vehicles, reduce GHG emissions and build a healthier community.
Waste
Resources: Strengthening your municipality’s circular economy initiatives
Find case studies, exercises and worksheets to help your municipality reduce waste and strengthen its circular economy initiatives.
Energy
Video: Retrofitting community buildings for maximum GHG reduction impact
A short video explaining the pathway approach of retrofitting a building - using an outcomes-oriented approach - to achieve (near) net zero carbon buildings over time.
Energy
Community Buildings Retrofit Advisory Service
The CBR Advisory Service is a new service that is intended to help smaller municipalities by matching them to industry leaders who understand best practices in the CBR field and can help provide personalized coaching and advice, including clarified goals, insights, and replicable results.
Transportation
Webinar recording: Expert advice on electric vehicles for municipalities
Watch this webinar recording to hear from industry experts and municipal staff who have already embraced electrification on lessons learned and how to overcome common challenges.
Energy
Community Efficiency Financing market guide
Guide to help Canadian municipalities assess potential home energy upgrade programs
Energy
Webinar recording: An introduction to district energy
Learn how a centralized heating and cooling system can help your municipality reduce GHG emissions and save money.
Transportation
Article series: How communities across Canada are electrifying their municipal fleets
This article series features inspiring ideas and projects being implemented in Canadian cities and towns of all sizes. Each article explores an innovative approach to electrifying municipal fleets.
Transportation
Kingston overcomes fleet electrification barriers by adopting a leasing model
Confronted with financial, technological and policy barriers to electrification, the city developed a proactive strategy around a leasing policy to build their EV fleets. Discover how leasing can ease supply chain issues and support electrification until advanced EV technology becomes available in the market. This article is part of a series called Electrifying municipal vehicles.
Transportation
West Vancouver overcomes fleet charging barriers by upgrading the electrical capacity of municipal facilities
Facing common roadblocks related to lack of charging infrastructure? Learn how the city overcame these barriers by conducting a full electrical system update of two key municipal facilities and installing chargers for existing and future EVs. This article is part of a series called Electrifying municipal vehicles.
Transportation
Calgary scales its electric fleets to reduce transportation emissions
When municipal staff was tasked with incorporating hybrid and fully electric vehicles into the municipal fleet, they encountered a variety of procurement, operational and process barriers. Learn how they broke through these barriers and acquired more than 30 EVs in 3 years to create one of the fastest growing EV fleets in western Canada. This article is part of a series called Electrifying municipal vehicles.
Energy
Webinar recording: Supporting small and medium municipalities through the Community Buildings Retrofit initiative
Watch this webinar recording to learn about successful examples of completed retrofits, how municipalities can choose the right funding options and to answer any questions about the funding process.
Transportation
Webinar recording: How to electrify your municipal fleet
Learn how to electrify your municipal fleet of vehicles, leading to reduced GHG emissions and healthier communities.
Energy
Guide: Taking your indoor ice rink to net zero
A practical guide to get you started on your own net zero retrofit plan and to help you develop an actionable roadmap to net zero ice rinks.
Transportation
Priority Municipal Actions to Enable Zero Emission Vehicle Adoption
GMF and Low Carbon Cities Canada (LC3) collaborated to create six priority municipal actions to accelerate zero emission vehicle adoption.
Energy
Understanding energy efficiency: A guide for affordable housing providers
This guide is for affordable housing providers, such as municipalities or housing cooperatives, interested in improving energy efficiency in their buildings.
Land Use
Webinar recording: Benefits of integrated intensification for sustainable community development
This webinar teaches participants how land use decisions are tied to the fiscal health of a municipality and its ability to achieve climate targets.
Waste
Webinar recording: How to start the conversation about circular economies in your municipality
Energy
Webinar: Transitioning ice rinks to net-zero
Learn the basics of building retrofits for facility buildings
Energy
Resource library: Community Buildings Retrofit
Find practical case studies and guidance for planning your local community building retrofit.
Energy
Webinar recording: Introduction to local home-energy financing programs
Learn the basics on delivering local financing programs for home-energy upgrades.
Energy
Video: Saskatoon delivers Saskatchewan’s first local home-energy financing program
Learn how the City of Saskatoon designed its Home Energy Loan Program (HELP) to help residents retrofit their homes and reduce GHG emissions.
Energy
Resources: Community Efficiency Financing
Read guidebooks and case studies to see how municipalities are designing home upgrade financing programs.
Energy
Video: Kingston supports homeowners with financing program for energy upgrades
Hear from Julie Salter-Keane, Manager of Climate Leadership at the City of Kingston, as she discusses the City’s program implementation and their approach to designing a strong local program.
Energy
Webinar recording: Recommissioning community buildings
Watch our webinar recording to learn more about existing building recommissioning (EBCx). Hear about lessons learned from experts in recommissioning local facilities and learn the steps to help ensure your community’s building systems are working together at optimal levels for comfort and efficiency.
Energy
Factsheet: Governance components for deep decarbonization
This factsheet introduces senior municipal leaders to key components of a good governance structure for deep emissions reductions and implementation actions.
Energy
Factsheet: Governance strategies for deep decarbonization
This factsheet provides senior municipal leaders with governance strategies for achieving deep emissions reductions in each decarbonization pathway.
Energy
Factsheet: Municipal governance for deep decarbonization
This factsheet provides senior municipal leaders with the pathways and steps for achieving deep decarbonization and net-zero emissions by 2050.
Energy
Climate Action Accelerator for Community Buildings
Is your municipality looking to drive climate action by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in municipally-owned buildings, but is unsure how to maximize time and impact, secure funding and partnerships, or how to get started? FCM’s Climate Action Accelerator for Community Buildings will help up to 20 small and mid-sized municipalities take climate action within their building portfolios.
Water
Video: Yorkton meets their feasibility study goals by valuing community involvement
Glenda Holmes, Water Works Manager, explains how a feasibility study helped the City of Yorkton ramp up the environmental benefits of its new water treatment plant by treating the wastewater it produced.
Transportation
Video: The ongoing story of Banff’s hybrid bus fleet project
Listen to Michael Hay, Manager of Environment & Sustainability telling the story of Banff’s hybrid bus fleet
Land Use
Video: new purpose for a 20-year-old brownfield site
Tara Tran, Senior planner, shares tips on how to sustain your efforts and progress in brownfield (or others) projects.
Transportation
Video: New electric vehicle-sharing system reduces emissions and generates revenue
Six municipalities in Quebec have added electric vehicles to their fleets and made them available to residents through a car-sharing system.
Energy
Video: Tips from Iqualuit’s LEED Silver aquatic centre
In this video, you will learn the key elements and lessons learned that helped Iqaluit succeed on building its energy efficient aquatic centre.
Energy
Video: New municipal financing program removes barriers to energy-efficiency upgrades for homeowners
Marie-Pierre Paquette discusses how the municipalities of Plessisville, Varennes and Verchères banded together to launch a joint pilot project that would bring energy-efficient home renovations within reach for more homeowners.
Energy
Video: Introduction to home energy upgrade programs
Watch this video to learn more about home energy upgrade programs and how they can help municipalities to tackle climate change, save money, and invest in the local economy.
Energy
Video: New municipal financing program removes barriers to energy-efficiency upgrades for homeowners
Marie-Pierre Paquette discusses how the municipalities of Plessisville, Varennes and Verchères banded together to launch a joint pilot project that would bring energy-efficient home renovations within reach for more homeowners.
Energy
Webinar recording: How to adapt green municipal projects to stand the test of time
Watch this webinar recording and explore how to build and adapt projects to make them truly sustainable in the long term.
Energy | Housing
Webinar recording: Take your project from study to capital
Watch this webinar recording and discover how others have successfully converted studies into a capital project that provides social, economic and environmental benefits.
Energy
Webinar recording: The 5 keys to a green municipal project business case
Watch this webinar recording and discover the five critical focus areas you need to address to get your project started, from financing and partnerships to integrating a triple-bottom-line approach.
Energy
Introducing GMF’s Community Buildings Retrofit initiative
Discover how GMF can support your community building retrofits, from funding for energy monitoring, building commissioning, studies and capital projects to capacity-building activities and resources.
Energy
Article series: Meet LC3’s climate leaders
Read our article series to get to know the leaders of the Low Carbon Cities Canada (LC3) network, and learn how they are advancing effective ways to address climate change in big cities.
Waste
Circular Cities & Regions Initiative
Interested in learning more about how the circular economy can come to life in cities and regions? Review the CCRI webinar recordings featuring speakers from leading organizations and global cities.
Energy
GMF’s Municipal Energy Roadmap
Solutions for Canadian communities to achieve significant GHG emissions reductions in buildings and meet long-term sustainability objectives.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmaps
GMF's Brownfield Roadmaps provide a detailed overview of the process of bringing contaminated or abandoned sites back into productive use in your province or territory.
Energy
Primer for elected officials: Municipal Energy Roadmap
This primer for elected officials outlines how the Municipal Energy Roadmap can help choose the right energy-related solutions for your buildings.
Energy
Regional Energy Coaches
Regional Energy Coaches help affordable housing providers plan energy efficiency retrofits and new builds.
Energy
Factsheets: Municipal Energy Roadmap
These factsheets offer specific guidance around building-level solutions, community-level solutions, and long-term strategies to help you drill down and meet your objectives.
Energy
Webinar recording: How to create an efficiency financing program for your community
An overview of the funding options, eligibility and application details of GMF’s Community Efficiency Financing program.
Energy
Factsheets: Community Efficiency Financing
Learn how to design, deliver and market a home upgrade financing program for your community.
Energy | Housing
Webinar recordings: Best practices in municipal sustainability
How are cities and communities of all sizes tackling their environmental challenges? Find out from our five-part webinar series on innovations and opportunities in municipal energy, waste, water, transportation and land use initiatives.
Waste
Report: Solid waste management in Canadian municipalities
Expanding responsibility for producers to include the post-consumer stage of their products is a key solution for financial and environmental sustainability in the waste sector.
Land Use
Report: Sustainable land use practices in Canadian municipalities
A snapshot of emerging trends, key issues and best practices in sustainable land use.
Water
Report: Water management trends in Canadian municipalities
A snapshot of existing and emerging water management trends, best practices and opportunities for innovation.
Land Use
Email series: Fostering brownfield redevelopment in your community
Are you interested in learning more about brownfields? Are you starting a brownfield initiative or program, and want more information on what other communities across the country are doing? Sign up for our Fostering brownfield redevelopment email series
Energy
Tool for municipal clean energy program development: Use the Energy Poverty and Equity Explorer to reduce energy poverty and greenhouse gases
The Energy Poverty and Equity Explorer tool, developed by Canadian Urban Sustainability Practitioners (CUSP), offers municipalities access to relevant data so they can better understand energy poverty, and other equity and affordability challenges in their communities.
Land Use
Guide: LiBRe best practices framework
The LiBRe program is structured around a best practices framework for becoming a municipal leader in brownfield renewal.
Land Use
Guide: Getting started on your brownfield sites
Discover how to raise awareness and secure a formal commitment to support brownfield redevelopment in your municipality. Read the guide.
Land Use
Guide: Developing a municipal brownfield inventory
Free guidebook. 10 steps to creating your brownfield inventory. Libre Guidebook series.
Transportation
Webinar recording: Engaging students to increase public transit ridership
Watch our webinar recording and discover tools, resources and inspiration your municipality can use to develop an initiative that gets more students riding public transit.
Transportation
Guide: Engaging students to increase public transit ridership
This guide provides step-by-step information and tools for building a partnership between your municipality and school boards, engaging stakeholders and implementing a student transit pass program.
Waste
Webinar recordings: Plastic waste management solutions for Canadian municipalities
Watch our webinar recordings to see how your Canadian municipality can reduce and better manage your plastic waste through innovative solutions and approaches.
Transportation
Guide: 2018 Sustainable Communities Awards project guide: Transportation – Kingston
Learn how to apply the best practices and strategies used by Kingston, ON, one of our 2018 Sustainable Communities Awards transportation co-winners.
Transportation
Guide: 2018 Sustainable Communities Awards project guide: Transportation – Montreal
Learn how to apply the best practices and strategies used by Montreal, QC, one of our 2018 Sustainable Communities Awards transportation co-winners.
Water
Guide: 2018 Sustainable Communities Awards project guide: Water
Learn how to implement the best practices and strategies used by Okotoks, AB, our 2018 Sustainable Communities Awards water winner.
Waste
Guide: 2018 Sustainable Communities Awards project guide: Waste
Learn how to implement the best practices and strategies used by Kitimat-Stikine, BC, our 2018 Sustainable Communities Awards waste winner.
Energy | Housing
Webinar recording: How to prepare a GMF capital project application
Need advice for preparing your GMF capital project funding application? Watch our webinar recording to hear tips from our staff and find out what reviewers are looking for.
Land Use
Guide: Evaluate and improve your municipal brownfield programs
See how two communities benefit from evaluating their brownfield programs and find tips you can use in your municipality to enhance your offering.
Land Use
Tool: Benefits of Sustainable Brownfield Activities
Cleaning up contaminants and redeveloping a brownfield site can bring communities a number of environmental, economic and social benefits. You can achieve even greater benefits by incorporating sustainable approaches throughout the site remediation and risk management activities.
Land Use
Tool: Sustainable Remediation and Risk Management Options
Any technique that remediates or manages the risk of contamination at a site has an environmental benefit as it eliminates or reduces exposure to contaminants. Some techniques, however, are more sustainable than others.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Alberta
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the process, learn about the legislative framework and find funding for redeveloping brownfields in Alberta.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Newfoundland and Labrador
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the processes, legislative framework and funding for redeveloping brownfields in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Ontario
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the process, learn about the legislative framework and find funding for redeveloping brownfields in Ontario.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: British Columbia
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the process, learn about the legislative framework and find funding for redeveloping brownfields in BC.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Manitoba
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the process, learn about the legislative framework and find funding for redeveloping brownfields in Manitoba.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Nova Scotia
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the processes, legislative framework and funding for redeveloping brownfields in Nova Scotia.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Nunavut
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the process, learn about the legislative framework and find funding for redeveloping brownfields in Nunavut.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Prince Edward Island
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the processes, legislative framework and funding for redeveloping brownfields in Prince Edward Island.
Land Use
Tool: Finding Remediation Service Providers
Get a sense of the services required at different project stages and find providers using various directories.
Land Use
Tool: Sustainable Site Assessments
You can use various techniques to find out whether a suspected brownfield site contains contaminated soil or groundwater.
Land Use
Case study: Ladysmith Waterfront Brownfield Study
The Town of Ladysmith commissioned three studies of contamination at a former industrial site on its waterfront, to review options for remediation.
Land Use
Phase II Environmental Site Assessment and Remedial Action Plan, Cooper Site
As part of a plan to build a University of Waterloo satellite campus next to its downtown core, the City of Stratford completed a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment and Remedial Action Plan for the Cooper Site, a 7-hectare former industrial site.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Northwest Territories
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the process, learn about the legislative framework and find funding for redeveloping brownfields in Northwest Territories.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Quebec
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the process, learn about the legislative framework and find funding for redeveloping brownfields in Quebec.
Land Use
Tool: Sustainable remediation
Almost every Canadian municipality is home to a brownfield site.
Land Use
Webinar recording: How to build partnerships to help revitalize your brownfields
Waterfronts were once bustling engines of a past industrial economy; some now sit vacant — void of the productivity that once supported their communities.
Water
Guide: Best practices for scoping a wastewater upgrade project
Get your wastewater project off to a successful start with these best practices in defining project scope and engaging stakeholders. Part one in a three-part article series.
Water
Guide: Lessons in planning and designing a wastewater plant upgrade
Learn how to avoid one of the most common mistakes in wastewater plant upgrade projects: insufficient planning and analysis. Part two in a three-part article series.
Water
Guide: Tips for the building phase of a wastewater plant upgrade
Discover four practices that will help make the procurement, construction and start-up phase of your project a success. Part three in a three-part article series.
Waste
Six sustainability ideas that have gone mainstream in Canada: Article series
In a series of six articles, we explore inspiring projects and sustainability solutions being implemented in cities and towns of all sizes across Canada.
Land Use
Webinar recording: Fostering brownfield redevelopment
Learn best practices in brownfield revitalization you can apply in your municipality, and understand FCM's brownfield funding opportunities and resources.
Water
Tool: Checklist for a successful wastewater treatment plant upgrade
Follow this checklist based on best practices to help ensure success and address key issues during each phase of your project.
Water
Article series: Tips for a successful wastewater treatment plant upgrade
Implement a successful wastewater treatment plant upgrade with help from this series of three articles packed with best practices from GMF-funded projects. Read the articles.
Land Use
Tool: Evaluation tools for sustainable remediation and risk management
Browse through a range of tools to help you evaluate your options and compare potential benefits.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: New Brunswick
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the processes, legislative framework and funding for redeveloping brownfields in New Brunswick.
Land Use
Report: Leadership in Brownfield Renewal Program Annual Review
Discover brownfield redevelopment initiatives and advancements in Canadian municipalities made during the Leadership in Brownfield Renewal program's inaugural year.
Land Use
Webinar recording: Ideas to move brownfield projects forward
Join this webinar to get practical ideas for working with partners and community groups to bring abandoned properties back into productive use.
Water
Webinar recording: Wastewater best practices, strategies and solutions
Watch the webinar recordings from our three-part, online workshop series on wastewater best practices, strategies and solutions for Canadian municipalities.
Waste
Guide: Sustainable Neighbourhood Development
This guide, Sustainable Neighbourhood Development: Practical Solutions to Common Challenges, is designed to help you re-imagine your municipality's approach to planning, development and regulation.
Land Use
Guide: Promoting brownfield programs and opportunities in Canada
Read this step-by-step guide to marketing brownfield redevelopment opportunities to local developers and property owners.
Water
Webinar recording: Optimizing your wastewater treatment plant
Join our webinar to learn proven practices to help you identify ways to optimize your existing wastewater treatment resources. Speakers from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change and the Grand River Conservation Authority will share lessons learned that you can apply in your municipality.
Transportation
Webinar recording: Solutions to municipal sustainability challenges
Watch our webinar recordings to learn how you can address sustainability challenges in waste management, transportation and asset management in your municipality.
Land Use
Webinar recording: Introduction to the brownfield redevelopment process
Watch this webinar recording for an introduction to the process of developing a brownfield site in your community, from the environmental assessment to site remediation.
Land Use
Guide: Tendering a municipal brownfield project
Conducting an efficient tendering process is a key step in managing a successful brownfield redevelopment project.
Water
Webinar recording: Managing stormwater through low impact development
Learn how to use green stormwater infrastructure, or low impact development, as an affordable alternative to grey stormwater infrastructure in your community.