Eligibility
Businesses, municipalities, Indigenous communities, and not-for-profit organizations located in Northern Ontario that have been in operation for at least one year and have a minimum of one full-time employee. Organizations must recruit interns through a fair and transparent process. Immediate family members of owners or directors cannot be hired, except in small Northern communities with limited workers. Interns must have direct onsite supervision.
Before you begin, check if you fall within the eligible region of Northern Ontario.
What is eligible?
Salaries/wages and employer’s portion of Mandatory Employment Related Costs (MERCs) for a limited-term internship position of 52 weeks (with at least 35 hours of work per week) for candidates that:
- Are new entrants into the work force, are transitioning to a new career, or the unemployed or underemployed who are entering a new field;
- Have not previously participated in a NOHFC-funded internship;
- Are at least 18 years of age; and
- Reside, and be legally entitled to work, in Canada.
An organization is eligible for two internship positions at a given time.
Colleges, universities and research institutions (as defined by NOHFC) may be eligible for up to up to five research positions, in addition to two regular internship positions.
What is not eligible?
- Discretionary benefits paid by the employer i.e. sick pay, group medical/dental plans
- Training expenses, computers, equipment, travel and accommodations, etc.
- Positions that displace existing employees
- Positions that, in the opinion of the NOHFC, involve general, manual labour or that require minimal training or training for less than six months
- Positions that are clerical in nature (e.g. duties such as answering phones, filing, general office work, etc.)
- Positions that primarily involve retail and general sales
Funding for each project is determined by the NOHFC Board of Directors, and limited funding is available. Not all projects meeting the criteria will necessarily be approved.
Process
Applications to the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation take the following path:
Apply
Submit your application and we’ll review it and make sure your project meets our program guidelines.
Evaluation
We’ll get some additional information on your project and review it in greater detail.
Decision
We’ll share our review with our board of directors, who will make the final decision on your application.
Documents
Program Success Story
How Fromagerie Kapuskoise transformed a residential home into a cheese factory.
While visiting China in 2011, Francois Nadeau was surprised to learn that it was hard to find cheese — something he loved to eat — in the country. That experience spurred him to follow his dream of learning how to make cheese, so he would never be without it.