Programs and Services

Long-Term Financing

The main purpose of the NSMFC is to provide low-cost, long-term capital financing for municipalities. Flexible terms can be arranged to match municipalities’ needs. Terms ranging from 3 – 15 years with amortization periods up to 25 years can be arranged. Interest rates available to municipalities are the lowest possible because borrowings are guaranteed by the Province. Typically NSMFC debentures are issued twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall.

Administering the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Green Municipal Funds

Nova Scotia legislation restricts where municipalities can borrow; under the Municipal Finance Corporation Act (section 16) municipalities can borrow only from the NSMFC, the provincial government and its agencies, and the federal government and its agencies.

The NSMFC is partnering with the FCM to administer Green Municipal Funds loans. In order to enable access to this source of low-cost funding, the NSMFC has agreed to administer FCM Green Municipal Funds loans on behalf of Nova Scotia municipalities.

Borrowings from the FCM Green Municipal Funds are subject to the same legislative and approval processes as all other debentures issued by the NSMFC.

Short-Term Financing

NSMFC offers short-term loans to clients who have completed their capital projects and are awaiting participation in the debenture issue.

  • The term of these short-term loans is for a period of not greater than one year
  • Interest is charged at a rate of Bank of Montreal's Prime less 1%

Municipal Finance Training and Capacity Building Program

The NSMFC sponsors a financial professional working in municipal government in Nova Scotia to attend the annual Government Finance Officers Association Conference. This international conference is dedicated to the development of financial excellence in local government.

The purpose of the Municipal Finance Training and Capacity Building Program is:

  • To enhance the quality of municipal financial services provided by local government finance professionals in Nova Scotia by exposing them to current issues, best practices, and trends in Canadian and international local government finance
  • To encourage the development of a network of municipal finance specialist in Nova Scotia for the purpose of sharing knowledge and best practices

Sponsorship generally covers most of the cost of attending the conference depending on the conference location.

One of the requirements of receiving funding to attend the GFOA conference is that the sponsored candidate makes a presentation to the Association of Municipal Administrators of Nova Scotia’s (AMANS) annual conference and/or other local government workshops and conferences. This sharing of experiences exposes municipal finance professionals across the province to the benefits of training that is focused on local government finance.

The NSMFC also provides sponsorships for annual conferences of the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities, AMANS, sponsorship for the Municipal Finance Officers group and Municipal Finance Workshops and presentations.