Second Intake of Rural Ontario Development Program Open, $700 Million Allocated for Health and Safety Water Stream
Top Insights
- The second intake of the Rural Ontario Development Program is now accepting funding applications to support municipal economic development projects.
- The province is allocating $700 million to help municipalities build, expand or rehabilitate aging water infrastructure as part of the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program.
Rural Ontario Development Program
At the 2026 ROMA conference, the provincial government launched a second intake of the Rural Ontario Development (ROD) Program. The application deadline is February 26, 2026.
The ROD program provides cost-share funding for projects that help rural communities:
- Address barriers and build capacity for economic development
- To attract, retain and expand businesses
- Attract and retain investment and jobs
- Strengthen regional partnerships and economic resilience
- Address workforce development challenges
- Transform community assets to drive economic development
$700 Million Allocated for Health and Safety Water Stream
The provincial government announced that $700 million has been allocated to help municipalities build, expand or rehabilitate aging water, wastewater, stormwater, flood and erosion infrastructure.
This funding is from the Health and Safety Water Stream of the $4 billion Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program.
Funding will be allocated to existing applicants, and successful recipients will be announced in the coming weeks.
