Excerpt from Government of Ontario

Program overview

The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming (MTCG) supports Ontario’s economy and reputation as a top destination by growing tourism and attracting investment and investing in festivals and events across the province. The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming (MTCG) supports destination and product development and investment in Ontario’s tourism industry.

The Experience Ontario program provides support for festivals and events with a tourism economic impact to motivate visitors to discover Ontario, connect people with local experiences, and increase tourism spending.

Experience Ontario is a competitive program. Applications will be measured against program criteria and, as such, there is no guarantee of funding, including to past recipients.

The ministry will only consider one application per organization, but organizations may submit an additional application for the new Capacity Building stream, if they qualify.

• This includes affiliated organizations. Only one organization in a group of affiliated organizations is eligible to apply.What is an affiliated organization?
• Multiple location events are eligible as one event ONLY where the programming is offered and marketed as part of a consolidated festival or event and where the experience includes visitation to several locations over the defined consecutive days. (e.g., Harvest Festival with multiple farm locations).

To review this web page offline, you can download a copy of the full program guidelines: Download Experience Ontario 2026 Application Guide (PDF)

Successful applicants will be required to enter into a Transfer Payment Agreement or sign off on Terms and Conditions prior to funding being disbursed.

After completion of the program, organizations will be required to submit a report back confirming that they have used the entirety of the grant on eligible expenses related to their application.

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Funding available

The maximum funding amount for the Experience Ontario 2026 program is determined through two program streams, as follows:

1. New Capacity Building Stream where new* festivals or events are eligible to receive funding. The Capacity Building stream encourages organizers to submit an application for festivals or events new to Ontario. New events must meet the stream’s specific eligibility criteria.

Capacity Building Stream

Applicants can apply for up to 50% of eligible cash expenditures, up to a maximum of $10,000.

• The eligibility criteria for the Capacity Building stream differs from those of the Established Events stream.

2. The Established Event Stream where festivals and events that have been successfully produced within the past three years are eligible to receive funding. This stream retains the core features of the previous Experience Ontario Program, with select modifications.
   • The maximum funding amount for the Experience Ontario 2026 Established Events Stream is determined through a three-tier model based on the organization’s previous year’s actual festival or event cash expense total:

Tier 1 - Signature	Tourism festivals or events with event operating budgets of $1 million or greater will be eligible for up to 50% of eligible cash expenses up to a maximum of $125,000.
Tier 2 - Emerging	Tourism festivals or events with cash event operating budgets between $250,000 and $999,999 will be eligible for up to 50% of eligible cash expenses up to a maximum $55,000.
Tier 3 - Community	Tourism festivals or events with cash event operating budgets of less than $250,000 will be eligible for up to 50% of eligible cash expenses up to a maximum of $20,000.

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Program eligibility

Eligible organizations must:

• Be a legal entity, established by or under legislation; federally or provincially incorporated; or a First Nation in the province of Ontario. OR, an Indigenous community in Ontario; a regional or provincial organization representing First Nation, Métis, Inuit or urban Indigenous peoples; or an Indigenous service provider in Ontario (e.g. band councils, tribal councils, Indigenous education authorities, Provincial Territorial Organizations).
• Be in existence since January 1, 2025, or before.
• Be an operating business (e.g., business address, physical presence) in Ontario.
• Not be in default of the terms and conditions of any grant or loan agreement with any ministry or agency of the Government of Ontario.
• Be conducting business in Ontario (e.g., business address, physical presence) and have a Canadian bank account in the legal name of the applicant at a Canadian financial institution.

Ineligible Organizations:

• Sole proprietorships, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships and general partnerships.
• Federal or provincial governments and/or their agencies.

Eligible Tourism Festivals or Events

Tourism festivals or events must meet all the following eligibility requirements:

• Take place between April 1, 2026, and March 31, 2027, over a minimum of two consecutive days with a minimum of 5 hours programming per day.
• Occur in the province of Ontario.
• Be open to the public at large without membership in a club or group.
• Follow all municipal and provincial guidelines, including health and safety guidelines.
• One-day tourism festivals or events that are held on Canada Day are eligible for funding.
• Submit expenses for your festival or event that are not solely related to marketing or media buys.
• For the Established Event Stream: The festival or event must have been held at least once in the previous three-year period.
• For the Established Event Stream: Tourist attendance should be at 30% of overall attendance or 5,000 tourists, at least once in the previous three-year period.

Ineligible Tourism Festivals or Events

Festivals or Events that are focused on or contain programming that relates to FIFA World Cup 2026 must adhere to the FIFA’s brand protection rules and guidelines. To understand these requirements, please review the FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto Community Activation Toolkit. (this will be a link). Festivals or Events that would infringe on third party intellectual property rights, including those of FIFA or related entities, or that would be non-compliant with the guidelines set out in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto Community Activation Toolkit, are not eligible for funding.

Ineligible tourism festivals or events include:

For the Capacity Building Stream: Festivals or events that have been held in the past and are not new in Ontario.

One-day tourism festivals or events (except for those held on Canada Day).

Non-consecutive day festivals or events. Festivals or events that offer a series of days, are only eligible for the consecutive days.

Virtual/broadcast festivals or events.

Festivals or events that are receiving funding through the Ontario Sport Hosting Program or the Ontario Music Investment Fund (OMIF).

An organization can only apply for Experience Ontario and OMIF if the organization is applying for separate events.

Sporting events offering programming that is of primary benefit to event participants/athletes only (e.g., sport tournaments/competitions, marathons), with no ancillary programming for visitors, and is not marketed to, or does not attract tourists.

Festivals or events that seek to attract only a special interest audience, restrict audiences (e.g., students only), or recruit new members (e.g., religious, or political gatherings).

Festivals or events of a primarily commercial nature, where the main intent of the event is to sell or promote one or multiple products, services, or sponsorships (e.g., trade fairs and shows, business events, consumer shows, artisan, and craft fairs).

Fundraising events or events with a primarily charitable purpose.

Symposia, conventions, meetings, conferences, seminars, clinics, workshops, contests, and events that solely consist of an award show.

Applicants who apply only for marketing funding.