CFI Northern Fund

CFI Northern Fund

Supports the CFI Northern Fund continuous grants for northern Canadian institutions creating research infrastructure led by local communities.

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) Northern Fund is a continuous-intake infrastructure grant designed exclusively for research institutions headquartered in Canada's North — defined as Yukon, the Northwest Territories, the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Nunavut, Nunavik, and Nunatsiavut. The fund's mandate is to build research infrastructure that addresses Northern priorities and must be conceived, developed, led, and managed by Northern institutions, researchers, and communities. As of the CFP issued January 31, 2024, only three institutions are currently eligible: Yukon University, Aurora College, and Qaujigiartiit Health Research Centre.

The Northern Fund carries a total envelope of $25 million CAD over five years, with $5 million of that envelope reserved for eligible not-for-profit organizations during the first three years of the intake window. Individual proposals must request between $250,000 and $2.5 million CAD from CFI. Unusually, CFI covers 50% of eligible costs under this program — compared to the standard 40% contribution rate across other CFI programs. Eligible costs are retroactive to January 1, 2022. The submission window runs from February 2024 through February 2028, with final funding decisions expected by March 2029.

Proposals are reviewed on a continuous, non-competitive basis by a Northern Fund Advisory Committee that includes Indigenous representation, supplemented by a per-proposal Proposal Review Committee that holds a virtual meeting with each applicant team. Board decisions are made at CFI's March, June, and November meetings, with decisions typically issued within approximately six months of submission. The five review criteria explicitly include community co-design with First Nations, Métis, or Inuit communities; Indigenous leadership on the research team; infrastructure quality; sustainability; and demonstrated benefits to Northern communities. Institutions may also access up to $50,000 per year ($100,000 over five years) for proposal development support — covering travel, audio/video, grant writing, and community adviser costs — with no matching requirement for that development support.