Journal · News · updated 30 October 2026 · four minutes
MARP Events 2027: the next intake opens 13 January.
Events from 1 August to 30 November 2027 apply between 13 January and 24 February 2027, 4 pm ET. The April–July intake closed on 27 October 2026.
In short
- Events 1 August – 30 November 2027
- Apply between 13 January and 24 February 2027, 4 pm ET.
- Events 1 December 2027 – 31 March 2028
- Apply between 12 May and 22 June 2027, 4 pm ET.
- Events 1 April – 31 July 2027
- That intake closed on 27 October 2026.
- How to apply
- Forms from the regional office, sent back by email.
Where the 2027 intakes stand.
Federal money for multicultural events in 2027 comes in three windows, and the first closed on 27 October 2026. For an Ottawa community association, this calendar decides when the paperwork happens.
Canadian Heritage · MARP Events
MARP Events is the Events component of Canadian Heritage's Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program. It funds public events that bring cultural, religious or ethnocultural communities together. For events from 1 August to 30 November 2027, the next intake opens on 13 January 2027 at 8 am ET and closes on 24 February 2027 at 4 pm ET. Applications go by email to the regional office.
The program's words are that events "establish concrete opportunities for positive interaction among cultural, religious or ethnocultural communities". Canadian not-for-profits, associations and unincorporated groups can apply, along with Indigenous not-for-profits and governments and municipalities of up to 10,000 people (Canadian Heritage, Events component).
On 26 September 2026 the same program put $20,000 into an intercultural event in Ottawa.
Three intakes, matched to event dates.
An organisation picks the intake by the date of its event.
Canadian Heritage · MARP Events · 2027–2028 intakes
| Your event takes place | Intake opens | Intake closes | Status on 30 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 April – 31 July 2027 | 15 September 2026, 8 am ET | 27 October 2026, 4 pm ET | Closed |
| 1 August – 30 November 2027 | 13 January 2027, 8 am ET | 24 February 2027, 4 pm ET | Next to open |
| 1 December 2027 – 31 March 2028 | 12 May 2027, 8 am ET | 22 June 2027, 4 pm ET | Opens in May |
Spring and early summer 2027 events had their window this autumn. Events from August to the end of November 2027, early autumn included, belong to the January intake, which leaves a board November and December to gather its documents.
Events held on one of the four Celebrate Canada days, from 21 June to 1 July 2027, have a second Canadian Heritage program with its own deadline, 23 November 2026: Celebrate Canada funding for 2027.
How much, and what it pays for.
The Events component funds up to $100,000 per event in a fiscal year, and up to $200,000 per application for a recurring event over two fiscal years. Total support from all levels of government stays at or under 100% of the event's eligible costs.
Application guidelines · Events component
Costs the program can cover
- Salaries, consultant and performer fees
- Volunteer support and liability insurance
- Translation into the official languages
- Communications and facility rental
- Administration, up to 15% of the funding
Costs it leaves out
- Food and beverages
- Capital, start-up and profit-making costs
- International travel
- Anything spent before Canadian Heritage receives the application
- Events of a religious, political, commercial or private nature
The Canadian Heritage Funding Portal is unavailable for this component, so an organisation asks its regional office for the Application Form and the Budget Form, and sends the signed file back by email, as attachments. Canadian Heritage acknowledges receipt within two weeks and publishes a decision standard of 26 weeks for this program. If that clock runs from the 24 February close, it ends in late August 2027, so a board planning a summer or early-autumn event should build its budget knowing the answer may arrive close to the day (application guidelines; decision standards).
How a board applies, step by step.
Five steps from the forms to the decision, as the guidelines set them out.
Application guidelines · Events component
- 01Ask the regional office for the Application and Budget forms
- 02Gather the documents and balance the budget
- 03Email the signed file before 24 February 2027, 4 pm ET
- 04Acknowledgement of receipt within two weeks
- 05Decision standard: 26 weeks
The Ottawa precedent, dated 26 September.
The Government of Canada announced $20,000 from the Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program for Nuit Blanche Ottawa's event “Dialogues lumineux: Cultures en conversation contre le racisme”.
Canadian Heritage news release · Ottawa, 26 September 2026
The release describes panels, workshops, activities and artwork developed with eight embassies from Europe, Africa and the Americas, as part of the celebrations for Ottawa's 200th anniversary. Mona Fortier, Member of Parliament for Ottawa–Vanier–Gloucester, made the announcement on behalf of Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture (Canadian Heritage news release).
This funding will help ensure this event continues to grow, strengthening Ottawa's dynamic cultural communities.
What a community board can prepare now.
Most of the file is paperwork a board already holds, and November and December are enough to gather it.
The application guidelines' list of required documents
- The signed Application Form and the signed Declaration/Attestation, both from the regional office.
- Letters patent, bylaws and the list of directors; an unincorporated group sends its terms of reference and an acceptance-of-liability form.
- The most recent financial statements, audited where they exist.
- A balanced budget on the program's template, no surplus or deficit, with food and drink left out.
- A board resolution where the contact person is not the person who signs.
- Letters of support from partners, where you have them.
Whether a community's programme inside a larger festival qualifies on its own is Canadian Heritage's call. The Ontario regional office answers at multiontario-ontariomulti@pch.gc.ca and 1-866-811-0055.
What a pavilion costs a community and what it takes on is set out in the community pavilion guide. How this festival is financed, and what a public funder can ask to see, is on the funders page.
Questions.
The ones community boards ask first about this program.
Answers from the published guidelines
When is the next MARP Events deadline?
For events from 1 August to 30 November 2027 the intake runs from 13 January 2027, 8 am ET, to 24 February 2027, 4 pm ET. For events from 1 December 2027 to 31 March 2028 it runs from 12 May to 22 June 2027. The intake for events from 1 April to 31 July 2027 closed on 27 October 2026.
Which intake fits an event in September 2027?
The January intake: events from 1 August to 30 November 2027 apply between 13 January and 24 February 2027.
Who can apply for MARP Events funding?
Canadian not-for-profit organisations, associations and unincorporated groups; Indigenous not-for-profit organisations; Indigenous governments, band councils and tribal councils; and municipalities and townships of up to 10,000 people.
How do I apply, and is there an online portal?
The Canadian Heritage Funding Portal is unavailable for this component. Ask your regional office for the Application Form and the Budget Form, then email the signed file with its documents as attachments. Links to file-sharing sites are not accepted.
How much multicultural event funding can one organisation get?
Up to $100,000 per event per fiscal year, or up to $200,000 per application for a recurring event over two fiscal years. Support from all governments together stays at or under 100% of eligible costs.
Can the grant pay for food at a community event?
Food and beverages are listed as ineligible expenses. Performer fees, volunteer support, liability insurance, translation, communications and facility rental are eligible.
How long does a funding decision take?
Canadian Heritage publishes a decision standard of 26 weeks for the Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program and acknowledges receipt within two weeks. Costs incurred before the application is received cannot be funded.