Construction Grants Canada — Funding for Trades, Equipment & Hiring

The AJCTC is a non-refundable tax credit equal to 10% of the eligible salaries and wages paid to a qualifying apprentice, capped at $2,000 per apprentice per year. An eligible apprentice works in a prescribed Red Seal trade in the first two years of an apprenticeship contract registered with a federal, provincial, or territorial government. Because most construction trades, including electricians, plumbers, carpenters, welders, and heavy-equipment operators, are Red Seal trades, the AJCTC is one of the most broadly available construction incentives. Employers claim it on their corporate or individual income tax return using Form T2038. Source: Canada Revenue Agency, Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit.

The Canada Job Grant reimburses employers up to two-thirds of eligible third-party training costs, to a maximum of $10,000 per employee, and is delivered through ten provincial and territorial programs with differing rules. For construction crews, this funds safety certifications, equipment tickets, supervisory training, and software upskilling. Provincial examples: the B.C. Employer Training Grant covers up to 80% of costs (capped at $10,000 per employee and $300,000 per employer annually); the Canada-Alberta Job Grant reopened on February 3, 2026 with a $39 million pool; and Nova Scotia's WIPSI covers 100% of the first $10,000 for small businesses. The Canada-Ontario Job Grant was paused in November 2025 for review, so Ontario employers should confirm its status first. Source: provincial Canada Job Grant program pages.

The Clean Technology ITC is a refundable tax credit of up to 30% of the capital cost of eligible clean technology property acquired and available for use from March 28, 2023 to December 31, 2033 (dropping to 15% in 2034). For builders, the eligible categories that matter most are non-road zero-emission vehicles, including heavy-duty construction machinery, plus heat pumps (air-source and ground-source), solar PV and wind, stationary electrical storage, and charging equipment. The credit is available to taxable Canadian corporations, and the equipment must be situated in and used exclusively in Canada. This is the closest thing to an equipment grant for construction firms electrifying their fleet or sites. Source: Canada Revenue Agency, Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit.

Announced on April 29, 2026, Team Canada Strong is a $6 billion federal plan to recruit, train, and hire up to 100,000 new Red Seal trades workers over five years. Its employer-facing piece, the new Build Canada Apprenticeship Service, provides up to $10,000 toward an apprentice's first-year salary plus matching and navigation support for hiring and retention. For apprentices, the plan adds a one-time $5,000 completion bonus for Red Seal certification and a $400 weekly top-up during mandatory in-class training, up to $16,000 per apprentice on top of Employment Insurance, and aims to cut certification time in half. As a 2026 proposal, specific intake dates and rules are still rolling out; construction employers should monitor ESDC announcements. Source: Prime Minister of Canada, Team Canada Strong (April 29, 2026).

The original federal Apprenticeship Service paid employers with 499 or fewer employees $5,000 for each new first-year apprentice hired in one of 39 Red Seal trades, or $10,000 if the apprentice was from an equity-deserving group. The program was placed under review in 2025 and new intake is paused as of 2026. It is being effectively superseded by the new Build Canada Apprenticeship Service under Team Canada Strong. Employers should treat the legacy $5,000 incentive as unavailable for new hires and watch for the replacement's launch details. Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Apprenticeship Service.