Ottawa Puts Nearly $5 Million Into Two Sarnia Businesses, From One Open Program and One Paused

On October 9, FedDev Ontario announced nearly $5 million for two Sarnia companies, and the money comes from two different programs. AlumaPower Corporation gets $4 million from the Regional Defence Investment Initiative, which is not taking applications. Promart Industrial Products Ltd. gets close to $900,000 from the Regional Tariff Response Initiative, Ottawa's tariff program, which is.

For a southern Ontario owner, Promart's file is the one to read: a fabricator's equipment and facility upgrade, with FedDev paying under half.

Promart's money buys equipment for a Sarnia coating shop

Promart has operated since 1985. Its Vanier Road facility includes a 25,000-square foot climate controlled coating shop, per the October 9 release. Its customers are petrochemical, nuclear, energy and manufacturing companies. The project is "almost $2-million" and FedDev's share is "close to $900,000".

The money goes to "equipment and facility upgrades designed to increase capacity, precision and productivity". The release ties the project to new markets and to offsetting tariffs. Both sit on the tariff program's list of pivot activities.

"We want to build more here in Sarnia, invest in our people," said Marc Parizeau, Promart's Vice President of Operations.

AlumaPower's $4 million is exactly half, from a program on pause

AlumaPower, founded in 2017, is "undertaking an $8-million project" to commercialize its aluminum-fueled generator systems. FedDev's $4 million is exactly half. It comes through the Regional Defence Investment Initiative, "a $379.2-million initiative" per the release.

That program is closed to new files. On October 13 its page read "Intake for the Regional Defence Investment Initiative is currently paused", last modified June 17. The page lists businesses at "a minimum of $125,000 to $10 million in repayable funding".

Its business page, last modified May 19, wants three years registered, five full-time equivalent employees in southern Ontario and a place in a defence supply chain, or a plan to get into one.

What the release leaves out

Neither "repayable" nor "non-repayable" appears on the page. No job number appears either. Promart's share from FedDev is under half of its project, and the release does not say which tier the money sits in.

The headline adds two programs together. Only one of them is taking applications.

The tariff program is open and its terms are unchanged

On October 13 the tariff program's page still read "Accepting applications", with no closing date, last modified September 24. A pivot project gets non-repayable money up to $1 million at up to 50% of eligible costs. Over $1 million it becomes a repayable contribution at up to 75%, interest-free.

Payroll support is separate: up to $2 million, not paid back. The caps are $3 million in combined non-repayable money and $20 million in total once repayable money is included.

You need an incorporated for-profit business in southern Ontario, $1 million in revenue in one of the last two fiscal years, a business that was viable before the tariffs, and proof the tariffs hit you. Pivot projects must finish by March 31, 2029.