Apprenticeship grants in Canada: the $5,000 Red Seal bonus opens this fall
You cannot apply for the $5,000 Red Seal Completion Bonus yet. On September 18, 2026, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) said applications open later this fall. The bonus covers apprentices certified in an eligible Red Seal trade on or after April 1, 2025, so if you got your ticket since then, you should expect to qualify.
No application form exists yet, so nobody can take your application today, and no one should charge you to.
Which one are you?
- I'm an apprentice or just got my ticket Am I covered, what to have ready, and one email the day applications open. Check if I'm covered
- I employ apprentices Up to $17,000 per apprentice in Ontario, $2,000 a year federally, and up to $10,000 more from this fall. Match my business, free
- I'm certified and want my own shop Start-up loans and grants a one-person trades business can use. Find start-up funding
The $5,000 Red Seal completion bonus: where it actually stands
Applications are not open yet, and there is no form. What changed on September 18, 2026 is the timing: ESDC said tradespeople who certify in an eligible Red Seal trade will be able to apply for a $5,000 completion bonus later this fall, and that the bonus also covers anyone certified on or after April 1, 2025. That date is the day after the old $2,000 Apprenticeship Completion Grant closed.
What is confirmed
- Its official name is the Red Seal Completion Bonus: a one-time $5,000 payment for certifying in an eligible Red Seal trade designated in your province or territory.
- It reaches back to certifications on or after April 1, 2025.
- Applications open later this fall (2026). No exact date has been given.
- It is part of Team Canada Strong, now an $8 billion plan to recruit, train and hire 80,000 to 100,000 new Red Seal workers by 2030–31.
- It is program spending, not a law: Bill C-30, which put the Spring Economic Update into law, contains no apprentice grant or bonus.
What is not known yet
- The exact opening date. "Later this fall" is all ESDC has said.
- How you claim it and who runs it. No portal, form or office has been named.
- Whether it is taxable. Nothing has been published.
- Which Red Seal trades count as "eligible", and whether trade qualifiers or a Red Seal endorsement are needed.
- Whether a deadline applies to people certified between April 2025 and the launch.
Am I eligible for the $5,000 Red Seal bonus?
It depends on two things ESDC has published: your trade, and the date on your certificate. Find your row.
| Your situation | What ESDC has said | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Certified in a Red Seal trade on or after April 1, 2025 | Covered: the bonus "will also be available to those who received their certification on or after April 1, 2025". | Get your documents ready (next section) and join the one-email list. |
| Still an apprentice in a Red Seal trade | Expected to be covered once you certify, if your trade is an eligible Red Seal trade in your province or territory. | Keep your registration current; the bonus pays on certification. |
| Certified before April 1, 2025 | Not covered by what has been published. The old $2,000 Apprenticeship Completion Grant closed on March 31, 2025 and no longer accepts applications or documents. | Nothing federal to claim; see the money open now. |
| Certified in a trade that is not Red Seal | Not covered: the bonus is for Red Seal trades. | Ontario and Nova Scotia pay $2,000 completion grants for non-Red Seal trades (details below). |
| Trade qualifier, endorsement, residency or tax questions | Not published. | We will update this row the day ESDC publishes the rules. |
How do I apply for the Red Seal completion bonus?
You can't yet: ESDC has not published a form, a portal or an administering office. What you can do is have the things any claim will need in one place, so you can apply the day it opens.
- Your Red Seal trade certificate, and the date on it. The April 1, 2025 line depends on that date. Needed
- Your apprenticeship registration number from your provincial or territorial apprenticeship authority, which issued it when you registered. Needed
- A My Service Canada Account, if the claim runs through Service Canada as the old apprenticeship grants did. Likely, not confirmed
- For reference only: the closed $2,000 Completion Grant asked for proof of certification on Service Canada form SC-EMP5482. The new bonus's form has not been published, so do not send anything yet. Old grant's form
Get one email, the day applications open
One email, the day ESDC opens applications for the $5,000 Red Seal Completion Bonus. Nothing else.
We use your address only for what you ask for here, and never share it.
What does Team Canada Strong pay, and when does each part open?
Team Canada Strong is the federal plan announced on April 29, 2026. It is now an $8 billion investment, including $2 billion added on July 16, 2026 for agreements with the provinces and territories. Each part opens on its own date, and none of them is open to apprentices or employers today.
| Measure | Who it pays | Amount | Status | Opens |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Seal Completion Bonus | Apprentices who certify in an eligible Red Seal trade, including anyone certified on or after April 1, 2025 | $5,000, one time | Announced | Later this fall (2026) |
| Apprenticeship Training Grant | Apprentices attending mandatory in-class technical training | $400 a week on top of Employment Insurance, up to $16,000 | Announced | Expected spring 2027, for training weeks that start on or after January 3, 2027 |
| Build Canada Apprenticeship Service | Small and medium-sized employers hiring a first-year apprentice in an eligible Red Seal trade | Up to $10,000 per apprentice | Announced | Later this fall (2026) |
| Team Canada Strong Youth Placements | Organisations that deliver placements now; young Canadians from 2027 | Paid placements of up to four months ($880 million over five years) | Organisations: open | Organisations' expression of interest closes October 23, 2026; placements start early 2027 |
| Apprenticeship Continuation Support | Apprentices out of work between in-class training and work | Not published | Announced | Not published |
The October 23 date belongs to Youth Placements, and only to organisations applying to deliver them. It is not a deadline for the $10,000 employer incentive or for the $5,000 bonus, whatever some news coverage says.
Sources: ESDC news release and backgrounder (September 18, 2026); Spring Economic Update 2026, chapter 2 (April 28, 2026); ESDC, $2 billion for provinces and territories (July 16, 2026).What money can apprentices get right now?
While the bonus is pending, this is the support open to apprentices today. Most of it is a loan, a tax deduction or a provincial grant tied to a level or a tool kit. For Red Seal apprentices, the new federal bonus is the only completion money coming.
| Support | Who | What you get | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada Apprentice Loan | Registered apprentices in every province and territory except Quebec | Up to $4,000 per period of technical training, interest-free; ESDC cites up to $20,000 in total. You repay it. | Open |
| Employment Insurance during technical training | Apprentices who qualify for EI and leave work for their in-class training | EI regular benefits; you serve the one-week waiting period once per apprenticeship | Open |
| Tradesperson's tools deduction | Employed tradespeople and apprentices who buy their own tools | Up to $1,000 a year of tool costs above a threshold ($1,471 for 2025) | At tax time |
| Labour Mobility Deduction | Tradespeople who relocate temporarily for work, at least 120 km from home | Up to $10,000 a year (was $4,000; the distance was 150 km), from the 2026 tax year; in law since June 18, 2026 | At tax time |
| Ontario Tools Grant | Ontario apprentices after Level 1 and 12 months registered | $1,000 (motive power), $600 (construction or industrial), $400 (service) | Open |
| Ontario Apprenticeship Completion Bonus | Ontario apprentices who certify in a trade that is not Red Seal; apply within 180 days | $2,000 (taxable) | Open |
| Ontario Apprentice Development Benefit | Ontario apprentices in full-time in-class training | Help with living and dependant-care costs during training | Open |
| Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Tools Grant | New Nova Scotia apprentices (500 hours or fewer; apply within 90 days) | $1,000, one time | Open |
| Nova Scotia Progression and Completion grants | Progression: Red Seal apprentices completing Level 3 of a trade with more than three levels. Completion: non-Red Seal trades with 3 or 4 levels | $750 progression (as funding allows); $2,000 completion | Open |
| Nova Scotia Women in Trades Incentive | Women newly registered in one of 39 Red Seal construction or manufacturing trades | $750, until March 2027 or until the funding runs out | Open |
| Saskatchewan Apprenticeship Training Allowance | Saskatchewan apprentices who need a second residence during training | $200 a week ($250 in the north) | Open |
| Alberta apprentice scholarships | Alberta apprentices, chosen on merit (1,900 or more a year) | $1,000 each | Open |
On the government pages we checked, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador list no provincial completion grant, and we could not confirm one in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island or Quebec. Quebec apprentices cannot use the Canada Apprentice Loan; Quebec's own student financial aid (Aide financière aux études) applies instead.
A note on our data: GrantCompass is a funding database for businesses, so the supports in this table are summarised from the government pages linked, not matched to you. Everything employers can claim is in the next section, built from our catalogue.
Sources: ESDC (Canada Apprentice Loan, EI for apprentices, June 2, 2026); Canada Revenue Agency guide T4044 (January 20, 2026); Bill C-30, Spring Economic Update 2026 Implementation Act (royal assent June 18, 2026); Ontario (updated September 15, 2026); Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency; Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission; Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training. Checked September 22, 2026.What can an employer get for hiring an apprentice?
Everywhere in Canada, the federal Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit pays you for employing an apprentice. Ontario adds the Achievement Incentive, and northern Ontario adds paid internships through the NOHFC. From later this fall, the Build Canada Apprenticeship Service adds up to $10,000 for a first-year apprentice at a small or medium-sized employer. Answer four questions to see everything your business can claim, apprenticeship programmes and the rest.
Programmes that pay because you employ an apprentice
| Programme | Where | What it pays | Who can claim | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit (AJCTC) | Canada-wide | 10% of the apprentice's wages, up to $2,000 a year, for two years (a tax credit) | Any employer (corporation, sole proprietor or partnership) of an apprentice in a Red Seal trade, in the apprentice's first two years | Open now |
| Ontario Achievement Incentive Program | Ontario | Up to $17,000 per apprentice, paid at training and certification milestones | Ontario employers and group sponsors of apprentices registered with Skilled Trades Ontario; the ministry contacts you at each milestone | Open now |
| NOHFC Workforce Development Program | Ontario | Up to $35,000 a year per intern (half the wage, for a business) | Northern Ontario employers in operation a year or more; the job-posting rule can be waived for apprenticeship internships | Open now |
| NOHFC Indigenous Workforce Development Program | Ontario | Up to $52,500 a year per intern (75% of the wage, for a business) | Northern Ontario employers hiring an Indigenous intern (the intern is Indigenous, not the business) | Open now |
| Union Training and Innovation Program | Canada-wide | Up to $2 million per training project | Unions, union training trusts and Red Seal training providers only; an employer can take part as a consortium partner | Open now |
| Build Canada Apprenticeship Service | Canada-wide | Up to $10,000 per first-year apprentice | Small and medium-sized employers hiring a first-year apprentice in an eligible Red Seal trade. It replaces the paused Apprenticeship Service. | Opens later this fall |
General hiring and training grants that can cover an apprentice
These are not built for apprentices. Their published rules do not exclude an apprentice hire, so check each condition against your hire before you apply.
| Programme | Where | What it pays | Who can claim | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario Job Grant (formerly Canada-Ontario Job Grant) | Ontario | Up to $10,000 per trainee in training costs | Ontario employers training staff or new hires through an approved third-party training provider | Open now |
| B.C. Employer Training Grant | British Columbia | 80% of training costs, up to $10,000 per person | B.C. employers training staff or new hires through a third-party provider; apply before training starts | Open now |
| Yukon Staffing UP: Wage & Training Subsidy | Yukon | Up to 60% of base wages for up to one year | Yukon employers with at least one employee besides the owner | Open now |
| NL JobsNL Wage Subsidy | Newfoundland and Labrador | 60% to 80% of wages, up to $12 an hour, for 10 to 28 weeks | Newfoundland and Labrador employers hiring an unemployed or underemployed worker into a new position | Open now |
| Employ PEI (Wage Subsidy) | Prince Edward Island | Up to 50% of wages (at most $12.50 an hour) for up to 20 weeks | P.E.I. employers hiring an unemployed worker, out of high school two years or more, into a new position | Open now |
Left out on purpose: the Student Work Placement Program (its rules say trades and apprenticeships do not count as a placement) and the Ontario Co-operative Education Tax Credit (it is for post-secondary co-op students, not apprentices). Both used to be listed here.
Data as of October 23, 2026, from the GrantCompass catalogue (each programme's status is re-derived from its dates on every build). The Build Canada Apprenticeship Service is not open yet; its row is from the ESDC news release of September 18, 2026.
How the Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit works
The credit is 10% of the wages you pay an apprentice in a prescribed Red Seal trade during the first two years of their apprenticeship, up to $2,000 a year. Corporations claim it on Schedule T2SCH31 and individuals (sole proprietors and partners) on Form T2038(IND). It is non-refundable: it lowers tax you owe, and any unused credit can be carried back 3 years or forward 20. If a related company also employs the same apprentice, only one of you can claim, and the others must agree to it in writing.
Register the apprenticeship with your provincial or territorial authority before the apprentice starts: the credit needs a valid apprenticeship contract, and the provincial programmes count from the registration.
An Ontario shop that hires a first-year apprentice in a Red Seal trade can claim the tax credit, up to $4,000 over the first two years, and the Ontario Achievement Incentive, up to $17,000 across the apprenticeship as the apprentice finishes each level and certifies. That is up to $21,000 for one apprentice, and more once the Build Canada Apprenticeship Service opens, if its terms allow stacking. The Achievement Incentive pays only at milestones, so it rewards finishing: see how many apprentices finish.
How the last federal employer grant was paid. The previous Apprenticeship Service did not pay employers directly: federal disclosure shows it ran through 19 delivery organisations (unions, industry associations, colleges, a provincial apprenticeship agency and Indigenous organisations) under agreements signed in 2022, and which one an employer went through depended on its trade and on who it was hiring. ESDC has not said whether the Build Canada Apprenticeship Service will work the same way. Newfoundland and Labrador also runs an Apprenticeship Wage Subsidy for employers of apprentices (75% of wages, up to $14.00 an hour, per gov.nl.ca); it is not in our catalogue yet.
Sources: Canada Revenue Agency, Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit (July 27, 2026); Ontario, financial supports for apprentices and sponsors (September 15, 2026); federal Proactive Disclosure of Grants and Contributions (open.canada.ca), Apprenticeship Service agreements, retrieved September 22, 2026.How many apprentices will the $5,000 bonus reach?
Statistics Canada counts every apprenticeship certificate. Those counts give the most honest estimate available of the bonus's size, and they show where the money is aimed: finishing.
- 28,638 apprentices earned a certificate in a Red Seal trade in 2024. If every one of them were paid the $5,000 bonus, it would cost about $143 million a year. That is an upper bound: ESDC has not published who exactly qualifies.
- Another 5,943 people certified in 2024 as trade qualifiers: experienced workers who challenged the exam without an apprenticeship. Whether the bonus covers them is not published. With them, the ceiling is about $173 million.
- 101,541 people started a Red Seal apprenticeship in 2024, the most in the ten years of the table (79,713 in 2015). For their employers, each one is an Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit claim in years one and two.
- Finishing is the hard part. Of apprentices who started a Red Seal trade in 2016, 38.4% had their certificate within twice the normal program length and 47.2% had left their apprenticeship. On schedule, it is about one in six (16.5% of 2020 starters).
| Province or territory | Certified in a Red Seal trade | Trade qualifiers | New Red Seal apprentices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario | 7,734 | 2,154 | 22,596 |
| Alberta | 6,801 | 483 | 28,893 |
| Quebec | 6,510 | 993 | 21,585 |
| British Columbia | 4,059 | 1,371 | 17,979 |
| Manitoba | 936 | 108 | 2,961 |
| Saskatchewan | 864 | 129 | 2,169 |
| Nova Scotia | 618 | 228 | 2,442 |
| New Brunswick | 483 | 327 | 1,479 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 396 | 84 | 858 |
| Prince Edward Island | 126 | 42 | 399 |
| Yukon | 57 | 24 | 105 |
| Northwest Territories | 48 | 3 | 63 |
| Nunavut | 3 | 3 | 12 |
| Canada | 28,638 | 5,943 | 101,541 |
StatCan rounds each cell at random to a multiple of 3, so the provinces add up to 28,635 against the Canada total of 28,638.
| Trade | Certificates, 2024 | Certified within twice the program length | Self-employment income 5 years after |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction electrician | 5,001 | 46.4% | 9.4% |
| Carpenter | 3,303 | 32.5% | 12.0% |
| Automotive service technician | 2,073 | 41.5% | 6.9% |
| Heavy duty equipment technician | 1,716 | 46.5% | 11.8% |
| Plumber | 1,713 | 44.6% | 12.6% |
| Hairstylist | 1,125 | 38.2% (2020 starters) | 28.6% |
| Industrial mechanic (millwright) | 1,047 | 53.4% | 8.8% |
| Welder | 984 | 41.3% (2018 starters) | 9.4% |
| Steamfitter/pipefitter | 798 | 33.5% | 5.5% |
| Cook | 387 | 26.5% (2020 starters) | 10.9% |
Method. Statistics Canada, Registered Apprenticeship Information System: tables 37-10-0142 (certificates), 37-10-0137 (registrations), 37-10-0193 (certification and discontinuation by starting year; unless noted, completion rates are for 2016 starters, the latest group followed for twice a four-year program) and 37-10-0194 (self-employment income of journeypersons who certified in 2018). The tables count certificates, not people, and self-employment income includes any amount, a side job included. Latest reference year 2024, released December 11, 2025; downloaded September 22, 2026. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
Got your ticket and want your own shop? Funding for new trades businesses
About one in ten Red Seal journeypersons reports self-employment income five years after certifying (10.6% of those who certified in 2018). For carpenters and plumbers it is about one in eight (12.0% and 12.6%). The moment you start your own shop you stop being an apprentice in the funding system and become a business, and business funding opens up: start-up loans, equipment financing, and the same apprenticeship tax credit, now claimed by you when you hire your first apprentice.
| Programme | Type | Where | Amount | Check first |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada Small Business Financing Program | Loan | Canada-wide | Up to $1.15M | Any small business with revenue of $10 million or less, through your bank or credit union; covers equipment, vehicles and leaseholds |
| Futurpreneur Canada Startup Program | Loan | Canada-wide | Up to $75K | Founders aged 18 to 39 whose business is 24 months old or less; mentorship included |
| Futurpreneur Side Hustle Program | Loan | Canada-wide | Up to $25K | Founders aged 18 to 39 starting a business beside a full-time job |
| Alterna Savings Community Microfinance Program | Loan | Ontario (Alterna service area) | $1K-$50K | People entering self-employment with income of $50,000 or less (the Skilled Professionals and Trades Loan) |
| CBDC First-Time Entrepreneur Loan (Rural Atlantic Canada) | Loan | Rural New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, P.E.I., Newfoundland and Labrador | Up to $150K | First-time owners starting or buying a business in a rural Atlantic community |
| Community Futures Program: Ontario (CFDC Business Loans) | Loan | Rural Ontario, including the north | Up to $600K | Small businesses that cannot get conventional bank financing; free business counselling |
| Community Futures Alberta: Business Loans (Rural Alberta) | Loan | Rural Alberta | Commonly up to $150,000 | Start-ups and small businesses that cannot get conventional bank financing |
| Community Futures BC: Business Loans (Rural British Columbia) | Loan | British Columbia (Community Futures areas) | Up to $1M (micro loans to $10K) | Start-ups and small businesses that cannot get conventional bank financing |
| Community Futures Manitoba: Business Loans (Rural Manitoba) | Loan | Rural Manitoba | Up to $150K | Start-ups with a business plan; usually a 10% equity contribution |
| Community Futures Saskatchewan: Business Loans (Rural Saskatchewan) | Loan | Rural Saskatchewan | Up to $150K | Start-ups, expansions and acquisitions; more flexible criteria than a bank |
| Réseau des SADC et CAE: Small-Business Financing | Loan | Quebec (SADC and CAE territories) | Up to $300K | Owners aged 18 or older starting, buying or growing a business with fewer than 200 employees |
| Support for Entrepreneurs and Economic Development (SEED) - Entrepreneur Support | Grant | Northwest Territories | Up to $25K | Registered N.W.T. businesses; market research, feasibility and product development |
| Support for Entrepreneurs and Economic Development (SEED) - Micro-business | Grant | Northwest Territories | Up to $6K | N.W.T. micro-businesses with fewer than five employees, at start-up or early growth |
| Small Business Assistance Program | Grant | Prince Edward Island | $2.5K-$5K | P.E.I. businesses buying outside expertise (a business plan, a first website); extra help in the first year |
Data as of October 23, 2026, from the GrantCompass catalogue. Chosen by hand from the open start-up programmes that do not require incorporation or a minimum time in business and are not reserved for a group; programmes reserved for Indigenous, Black, women or newcomer founders are left out here and appear in the matcher.
GrantCompass is an independent funding database, not a government office; some features are paid, including the one below.
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What changed in apprenticeship funding in 2026?
Two federal apprentice grants ended in 2025, and in 2026 the government announced their replacement and set the dates.
- March 31, 2023The Apprenticeship Incentive Grant for Women ($3,000 a year) ended.
- March 31, 2025The Apprenticeship Incentive Grant ($1,000 a year, $2,000 in total) and the $2,000 Apprenticeship Completion Grant closed. Neither accepts applications or supporting documents any more.
- April 28, 2026The Spring Economic Update set out a $5,000 completion bonus and a $400-a-week training top-up, aiming for 80,000 to 100,000 new Red Seal workers by 2030–31.
- April 29, 2026The Prime Minister announced Team Canada Strong, including the Build Canada Apprenticeship Service (up to $10,000 toward a first-year apprentice).
- June 18, 2026Bill C-30 received royal assent: the Labour Mobility Deduction for tradespeople rises to $10,000, for moves of 120 km or more, from the 2026 tax year.
- July 16, 2026$2 billion over five years added for agreements with the provinces and territories, bringing Team Canada Strong to $8 billion.
- September 18, 2026ESDC set the windows: the bonus and the Build Canada Apprenticeship Service open later this fall; the bonus covers certifications on or after April 1, 2025; the training grant arrives in spring 2027.
- October 23, 2026Expressions of interest close for organisations that want to deliver Team Canada Strong Youth Placements.
- January 3, 2027The first training weeks the $400-a-week Apprenticeship Training Grant will cover.
- Spring 2027The Apprenticeship Training Grant is expected to launch.
Common mistakes
Assuming the old apprentice grants are still open.
RealityThe Apprenticeship Incentive Grant and the Completion Grant closed on March 31, 2025, and the grant for women ended in March 2023. The Canada Apprentice Loan is still open, but it is a loan.
Paying someone to apply for the $5,000 bonus now.
RealityThere is no application to make until ESDC opens it later this fall, and applying for a government bonus is free.
Assuming a 2024 certificate is covered.
RealityThe bonus reaches back to April 1, 2025, not further, on what ESDC has published.
Registering the apprentice after they have started work.
RealityRegister with your provincial or territorial authority at or before the start date. The tax credit and the provincial programmes count from the registration, and retroactive registration generally isn't accepted.
Claiming the tax credit for a trade that is not Red Seal.
RealityThe Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit needs a prescribed Red Seal trade. For other trades, look at your province's hiring and training grants.
Counting on the Student Work Placement Program for an apprentice.
RealityIt is for post-secondary students, and its own rules say trades and apprenticeships do not count as a work placement.
FAQ
When does Team Canada Strong start?
How do I apply for the Red Seal completion bonus?
I got my Red Seal in 2024. Can I still get the $5,000?
Is the $400 a week training top-up available now?
Is the $5,000 Red Seal bonus taxable?
How does the $10,000 employer incentive work?
Is the Canada Apprentice Loan a grant?
How do I claim the apprenticeship tax credit as an employer?
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