Indigenous Forestry Initiative (IFI)
Supports Indigenous Canadian communities through training, participation, and forestry sector development.
⚠This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.
The Indigenous Forestry Initiative (IFI), administered by Natural Resources Canada, is an exclusively Indigenous-focused programme renewed for 2026-2029 with a total budget of CAD 16.9 million, including CAD 13 million in direct investment in First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities. IFI is designed to accelerate Indigenous awareness, influence, inclusion, and leadership in Canada's forest sector. The programme is restricted to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis individuals and entities — no other applicant types qualify. IFI operates through two funding streams: a Capacity Grants stream providing up to CAD 50,000 at 100% cost coverage for governance, planning, and skills development activities; and a Contribution Funding stream providing up to CAD 1 million per project for larger economic development projects, with up to 100% coverage of capacity development costs and up to 25% coverage of capital project costs.
The current call deadline was May 13, 2026 at 11:59 p.m.; this deadline has passed, meaning the current intake cycle is between rounds. The programme is renewed for the full 2026-2029 period, and future call windows are expected. The programme is denominated in Canadian dollars. For direct enquiries, contact ifi-ifa@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.
IFI is the primary federal forestry programme designed specifically for Indigenous communities and organisations seeking to build governance capacity, develop forestry plans, or launch economic development projects in the forest sector. The full 100% cost coverage on capacity projects makes IFI particularly accessible for communities without significant matching resources. Prospective applicants who missed the May 2026 deadline should register their interest with NRCan and monitor the IFI webpage for announcement of the next intake window.
Indigenous forestry governance, planning, and capacity development; economic development projects in the forestry sector for First Nations, Inuit, and Metis.
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