What we fund

We fund projects that enhance long-term climate resilience in communities in an equitable and inclusive manner. This funding is intended for communities who are already aware of their climate risks and know which projects will help them make the greatest strides in improving their climate resilience. 

Projects can involve measures such as improving infrastructure to withstand extreme weather, installing new measures to reduce impacts on the community, modifying the landscape to reduce wildfire risks, or bolstering municipal services to better support vulnerable community members.  They are intended to be smaller in nature, with maximum eligible expenses of $1 million and, upon completion, must have implemented on-the-ground solutions to respond to climate risk.

LLCA funding empowers local governments to implement equity-informed climate adaptation projects, with an emphasis on projects that provide low-carbon and nature-positive community benefits. 

What your project needs to achieve 

To qualify for funding, proposed activities must support eligible applicants to implement measures that reduce impacts from climate-related events and hazards. They should be:

• A new or subsequent phase of a climate adaptation project (retroactive funding is not available)
• Capable of completion within three years from the date of grant approval
• Eligible for required approvals, authorizations and permits (where applicable)
• Developed and constructed to ensure that hazard sensitivity is not increased, is not transferred to any parties or to the environment (e.g., transfer of flood risk downstream, destruction of habitat, introduction of pollutants to the environment), and is not maladapted (increasing sensitivity to other hazards)  
• Aligned with a priority climate hazard identified in your community’s climate risk assessment or aligned with an action item in your community’s climate adaptation plan (a regional risk assessment that includes your community’s climate hazard priority is also acceptable).
• A feasibility study or equivalent assessment (e.g. Indigenous Knowledge/Two-Eyed Seeing approach) that outlines objectives, costs, technical feasibility and expected outcomes
• For projects installing new infrastructure: Able to demonstrate resilience to flooding, particularly if infrastructure is in or near a 100-year floodplain. Designs must include mitigation measures to avoid flood-related damage.

Additional project considerations

Projects that demonstrate greater impact and alignment with LLCA priorities may be eligible for a higher funding share. In particular, projects that:

• Are led by or in partnership with Indigenous Communities. Applicants must provide a formal agreement or resolution confirming Indigenous community leadership or partnership.  
• Include a partnership between municipalities. Applicants must include a letter of support committing an in-kind or financial contribution, and detail how partnering communities will benefit from the project.
• Directly benefit equity-deserving or marginalized communities. Applicants must clearly identify how these groups will experience distinct or greater benefits than the general public.
• Excel at using nature-based solutions (eg. wetlands, shoreline restoration)to manage climate impacts.    

Eligibility requirements 

Eligible projects

Eligible climate adaptation implementation projects could include:  

• Installing, retrofitting or upgrading public cooling/warming infrastructure (including natural infrastructure) to reduce community vulnerability to extreme temperatures (e.g., designated cooling/warming centres, cooling corridors, naturalized areas)
• Incremental costs associated with improving the design of a capital project to incorporate climate-resilient elements
• Enhancing municipal service levels to respond to climate risks
• Relocating municipal infrastructure
• Installing, retrofitting or upgrading public structures or critical infrastructure for municipal service provision to reduce the risks associated with climate hazards
• FireSmart-aligned vegetative management or vegetation-based wildfire risk mitigation activities
• Installing, retrofitting or upgrading structural flood protection or stormwater collection works (e.g., sponge parks, flood conveyance works, pump stations, flood walls, flood boxes, debris catchment structures, jetties, detention ponds)
• Dam, dike or channel decommissioning and floodplain restoration
• Wetland restoration or construction
• Rehabilitating important aquifer recharge areas
• Installing, retrofitting or upgrading green infrastructure (e.g., rain gardens, bioswales, green roofs and/or permeable pavement)
• Shoreline rehabilitation, including restoring natural shoreline protection through natural infrastructure, beach nourishment and/or bank stabilization
• Slope stabilization projects that reduce the risk of debris flow, particularly in fire-impacted areas
• Operational Testing: Incremental operations of existing assets to reduce hazard exposure during severe events (e.g., running heating/cooling centres) over a period of up to 18 months

Eligible costs

Eligible costs are direct costs that are approved for funding, properly and reasonably incurred, and paid by the applicant to carry out eligible activities. Eligible costs can only be incurred from the date the full application is submitted until the date final reporting is submitted. 

Eligible activities

Risk-reduction activities under the Adaptation in Action initiative include constructing, modifying, or enhancing municipal or Indigenous infrastructure, services or lands to support municipal service delivery in a manner that reduces the risks of climate-related hazards. 

This funding is not intended to support greenfield development in known hazard areas. Projects should focus on reducing the risks of climate-related hazards in relation to existing community composition, land use and infrastructure. 

This funding is not intended for climate disaster or emergency response. Projects should proactively address the impacts of climate change. 

In addition to the criteria identified in the Eligible Projects section, applicants to Adaptation in Action must be able to articulate how their project:

• Aligns with the applicable results areas:
  • Climate resilient infrastructure and community spaces;
  • Nature-based solutions; and/or
  • Community well-being.
• Implications for equity-deserving and marginalized communities, if any;
• Has included nature-positive and low-carbon design elements, if any. 

Required documents

To apply for GMF funding, you must submit:

• a pre-application form
• an application form
• a project workbook
• all required supporting documents, including a community climate hazard risk assessment or climate adaptation plan

A GMF project officer will be your point of contact throughout the process. They will review your file and provide feedback. You may be asked to revisit some steps to help you submit a complete and high-quality application.  

What we fund

GMF’s Growing Canada’s Community Canopies (GCCC) initiative funds planting the right type of trees in the right places so that communities across Canada can grow, manage and protect their tree canopies.

When communities plant trees they benefit from carbon sequestration, enhanced biodiversity, and better climate resilience and well-being.  

To qualify for tree planting funding, your project must contribute to the planting of new trees with municipal government involvement and accountability. 

As tree planting benefits communities in diverse ways, projects with planting that supports environmental, economic and social objectives will be more likely to receive funding.

To meet your local needs, GMF will fund a combination of tree planting, including: 

• Community-wide urban planting
• Forest restoration in naturalized areas
• Localized planting projects

Eligibility requirements 

Eligible costs

Eligible costs are direct costs that are approved for funding, properly and reasonably incurred, and paid by the applicant to carry out eligible activities. Please see eligible cost table for details.

Eligible activities

Funding for tree planting projects has been designed to support communities in making permanent additions to their forests.  

This funding aims to maximize the benefits of urban forestry through strategic tree-planting activities. That’s why we emphasize planting the right trees in the right areas—the trees are more likely to survive, and your project is more likely to meet its objectives. 

GCCC supports a variety of tree planting activities such as: 

• Street tree planting, which is the thoughtful placement of trees along public streets, enhancing aesthetics, providing shade, improving air quality and reducing noise
• Urban planting in areas with low canopy cover, which lowers temperatures to lessen the urban heat island effect
• Park tree planting, which focuses on establishing new groves and revitalizing existing tree stands in public parks, keeping green spaces healthy and biodiverse
• Riparian planting in flood-prone areas, which can increase the infiltration and stability of soils
• Forest restoration and reforestation, which can rehabilitate areas that have experienced die-offs caused by pests or wildfires  

We emphasize diversifying tree species because it increases biodiversity, resilience and ecological sustainability.  

Community engagement is a key priority. We award evaluation points to projects that demonstrate inclusive engagement, fostering a sense of ownership and understanding of the vital roles that trees play in urban environments.  

Through these targeted tree planting activities, we seek to fund thriving, resilient community canopies that make municipalities across Canada more livable. 

Eligible sites

GCCC does not provide funding for tree planting projects on federally owned land. Please visit the Government of Canada's 2 Billion Trees program and its Our Action webpages for the status of trees planted on federal lands and the Indigenous funding stream.

What your project needs to achieve 

Forestry requirements

Applications for tree planting funding should demonstrate the following: 

• How the project is supported by municipal or regional policies, plans, programs and/or guidelines (e.g., urban forest management plans, urban forest best management practices, tree protection bylaws, urban master plans, and/or other laws or policies dealing with canopy cover)
• A planting plan that includes information on site selection, site analysis, soil-preparation techniques, tree selection, planting design, and planting techniques.
• Engagement with professionals (e.g., registered forestry professionals, arborists, ecologists, biologists, etc.) during project planning
• Inputs have been secured, or plans have been made to secure these inputs (i.e., tree stock availability, connection with nurseries, land/labour, project partners)
• Community engagement where the project is taking place 

Applicants must submit a planting plan demonstrating knowledge of site conditions (or plans to assess them) and showing that they are selecting the best tree species for the site(s) to fulfil the project’s objectives. A professional with urban tree or forest health training (e.g., arborist, forester, biologist, ecologist, landscape architect or horticulturalist) must prepare or review this document.  

Maintenance and monitoring plan

Applicants must have a plan for short and long-term maintenance and monitoring of the trees they plant, including how maintenance will promote tree establishment and long-term survival.

Our ⁠tree maintenance and monitoring plan template can help organize your plan

Site location

We prefer projects planted on civic lands because they are more likely to be permanent. However, we will accept applications for planting on non-municipal lands where the lead applicant is accountable for ongoing tree maintenance and survivability during the first year.

Letters of support from landowners, including an acknowledgement of long-term tree ownership and responsibility, will be required for all planting sites on non-municipal land. 

Council support

All projects, regardless of the lead applicant or planting location, will require a resolution or letter of support from the council of the municipality in whose jurisdiction the planting is to occur.

Survivability

We’ve designed tree planting funding submission requirements and evaluation processes to increase tree survival rates. Applicants will need to describe their approach to tree mortality and replanting and describe their plan for maintaining the trees over the long-term. There will be a 10% hold-back (up to $100,000) for a maintenance and monitoring report that will need to be submitted one year after the planting is completed and will include tree survival rates. Project sites may also be audited to assess project success. 

Required documents

To apply for GMF funding, you must submit:

• a pre-application form
• an application form  
• a project workbook  
• a detailed planting plan (See our Tree planting plan template for guidance)  
• all required supporting documents specified in the application guide.

A GMF project officer will be your point of contact throughout the process. They will review your file and provide feedback. You may be asked to revisit some steps to help you submit a complete and high-quality application.