A $51 billion federal infrastructure fund opened its application portal this spring. The general deadline has passed. Indigenous and territorial applicants have one more window: August 12, 2026.
The Build Communities Strong Fund is the largest federal community infrastructure commitment in years: $51 billion over ten years starting in 2026-27, then $3 billion per year ongoing. Its Direct Delivery stream opened a portal for projects that can start construction this building season. Indigenous and territorial applicants have until August 12, 2026 to apply. If your community holds a costed, designed project that has been waiting for a funder, this is the window this post is about.
The Direct Delivery stream carries $6 billion over ten years. Canada signs agreements directly with successful applicants. For a First Nation or a Métis government that matters: there is no provincial program office in the middle. At minimum, 10 percent of the stream is allocated to Indigenous communities. Projects fit one of three sub-streams:
The eligibility list is broad. It covers a band council within the meaning of the Indian Act, a First Nation, Inuit, or Métis government established under a self-government agreement or comprehensive land claim, an Indigenous government created by or under federal, provincial, or territorial legislation, a not-for-profit whose primary mandate is to serve Indigenous Peoples, and an Indigenous development corporation. One more line is worth reading twice: a private, for-profit company is eligible if it is working in collaboration with an eligible Indigenous applicant and files a letter of support with the application. That opens the door for joint ventures where the Nation's development corporation leads and a commercial partner builds.
The program is specific about readiness and the requirements are binary. Your project needs:
Two things to note. Projects that have already started construction are not eligible, although a new and distinct phase of an existing project can be. The federal cost share and financial details also live in the Applicant Guide inside the HICC funding portal. There is a separate Indigenous Applicant Guide and some eligibility requirements differ from the general stream. Read that version before you build your budget.
If the project is real but the design work is not done, the program runs an expression of interest process by email. It asks for the applicant's legal name and type, a short project description, estimated costs, the federal share you expect to request, the estimate class, and an estimated construction start date. It costs you a page of writing and it puts the project in front of the department for future selection rounds. Early-stage projects should send one.
Smaller asks have their own lane. Applicants seeking $1 million or less are directed to the BCSF Local Impact Stream, delivered through the regional development agencies: PrairiesCan on the Prairies and PacifiCan in British Columbia. The first Prairie intake closed in July. Watch for the next window and have the file ready before it opens.
If your community holds a project with real design behind it, pull the Indigenous Applicant Guide and run the readiness list against your file now. Council resolutions and letters of support take time to arrange. If the checklist shows gaps, decide fast whether the gap can close before August 12 or whether the expression of interest is the smarter move. Send us the project and we will run that call with you.
Related reading: The complete guide to funding a First Nations project and Indigenous loan guarantee programs, explained
Program names, amounts, cost-share rates, and intake windows change between funding cycles. Confirm current requirements before you build a plan around any figure here, or ask us and we will check.
Bring us the project and the timeline. We will tell you whether August 12 is realistic and what the file needs to get there. No obligation, just a conversation.
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