Ontario Job Grant (formerly Canada-Ontario Job Grant)
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Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
Program Description
The Ontario Job Grant provides funding to private and non-profit employers in Ontario to train existing employees and new hires through approved third-party training providers. It covers up to $10,000 per trainee in eligible training costs, with employers of fewer than 100 staff paying as little as one-sixth of costs and up to $15,000 available to those employers for training previously unemployed new hires. Applications are accepted year-round, and the ministry is currently accepting applications covering 25 or fewer trainees each.
Eligibility Requirements
- Ontario-based employer (private sector, NPO, or Indigenous business — government bodies excluded)
- Employees to be trained are Ontario residents who are Canadian citizens, permanent residents, refugee claimants, or other protected persons under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, and legally authorized to work in Canada (temporary residents and temporary foreign workers are not eligible)
- Training must not start before funding approval, and costs incurred before the effective date of the Transfer Payment Agreement are not eligible for reimbursement.
- Training provider is a third-party eligible provider (accredited college, licensed private trainer — not internal staff delivery)
- Training must be completed within 52 weeks of the training start date; executive/senior-leadership development training (e.g., MBA, CFA) is not eligible
- Only one OJG application may be in progress per employer at a time, and only one course per application (multiple modules of the same course, same provider, same trainees, are allowed)
- Organizations sharing the same Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) number — including branches and franchises — count as ONE employer for the application limit and the fewer-than-100-employees threshold
Quick Assessment
Funding Details
- Amount
- Up to $10,000 per employee
- Type
- Grant
- Level
- Provincial
- Co-Funding
- Up to 83% of eligible costs
- Deadline
- Ongoing — year-round intake
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
How to Win
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
Insider TipEmployers with fewer than 100 employees pay only one-sixth of training costs, and if the trainees are previously unemployed new hires the ceiling rises to $15,000 per trainee with no minimum employer contribution - effectively 100% funding.
Rejection Pitfalls 7
- Training started before the ministry approved the application, or costs were incurred before the Transfer Payment Agreement was signed (applying before training starts is not enough — approval must land first)
Success Profile
How the Government of Ontario judges your application
What the reviewer scores, what gets applications rejected, and what to write.
Distilled from 6 documents published by the Government of Ontario: the application form, the applicant guide and the judging criteria, condensed into one brief. Updated 2026-09-04.
6 funder documents
- Ontario Job Grant
- Central Forms Repository entry on00935 — Ontario Job Grant
- OJG Online Application Portal — pre-eligibility questions
- Ontario Job Grant — Application Guidelines, EFFECTIVE May 1, 2026
- OJG portal — eligible-outcome screen after the screener
- OJG Employer Application Form — Step 1 of 8, Introduction
Sign in free: we show which checks your profile already answers and keep your document ticks.
What the Government of Ontario favours
Priority: new or better jobs, layoff retention, no OJG in 6 months◦
“Highest priority goes to: training that helps support trainees in a new or better job, including retaining employees who have received a formal notice of layoff; employers who have not received OJG funding in the past 6 months”
The form
Pre-eligibility screener
- 1Pre-Eligibility Questions (nine yes/no gates before the form opens)yes/no + writtenno limit
These questions will help determine whether your organization meets the required eligibility requirements to participate in the Ontario Job Grant (OJG). The questions below ensure that the employers, trainees, and proposed training activities align with program guidelines.
Step 1: Introduction and attestations
- 2Introduction: what to have ready before startinglistno limit
- 3Eligibility attestations (18 required declarations)checkboxesno limit
- 4Workplace safety insurance typeselectionno limit
- 5Your Attestation Details (who is filling this in)short answerno limit
Step 2: Employer Information
- 6General Informationshort answerno limit
- 7Contact and Alternate Contactshort answerno limit
- 8Corporate and Business addressesshort answerno limit
- 9Employer Details (the fields that set the cost share)short answerno limit
Step 3: Training Details
- 10Is this company-specific training?yes/no + writtenno limit
Is this company-specific training (i.e. training that is specific to a company's processes and/or equipment, proprietary software, etc.)? (required)
- 11Training categoryselection · 250 characters
- 12Type of skills gainedselection · 250 characters
- 13Describe the workforce need this training addresseswritten answer · 500 characters
- 14Identify the groups of employees who will participatewritten answer · 500 characters
- 15How the training supports employees facing barrierswritten answer · 500 characters
- 16Participants must be paid during trainingyes/no + writtenno limit
- 17Credential expected on completionselectionno limit
- 18Incumbents table (current vs post-training)tableno limit
- 19New Hires tabletableno limit
- 20Training Outcomes (13 numeric forecasts)tableno limit
Step 4: Training Provider
- 21three providers must be namedlistno limit
- 22Course Title (1st choice)short answerno limit
- 23Describe the proposed trainingwritten answerno limit
- 24Credential to be obtainedshort answerno limit
- 25Intended outcomes of the trainingcheckboxes · 250 characters
- 26Method of trainingcheckboxesno limit
- 27Training Schedule (dates, breaks, weekly hours, plus an alternate)tableno limit
- 28Total cost of training for all participants (1st choice)short answerno limit
- 29Rationale if the chosen training is not the least expensivewritten answer · 240 words
- 30Rationale for cost above the thresholds, or for fewer than three quoteswritten answer · 240 words
Step 5: Training Costs and Grant Request
- 31the costed tablespreadsheetno limit
- 32employer contribution and ministry contributiontableno limit
Step 6: Review Application
- Step 6Review Applicationcheckboxno limit
Step 7: Declaration and Signature
- Step 7Declaration and Signaturecheckboxno limit
bar = length the funder allows, from its stated limits
Judged against
- 1
Does this training meet a real workforce need?
Show them Name the job duties, the skill that is missing, and what the gap is costing the business right now.◦
In the funder’s words · 3
- Alignment with Program Objectives (see Section 1): The application clearly indicates how the training will support workforce development, including: how training will support workforce expansion and job creation if the employer plans to train new hires; how training will support workforce retention by enabling employees to obtain new skills to retain or advance in positions within the employer's organization; and, how the training will support the employer's workforce needs, particularly if the employer is a small- or medium-sized enterprise.
- Training that helps support trainees in a new or better job, including retaining employees who have received a formal notice of layoff
- Employers who have not received OJG funding in the past 6 months
- 2
Is the provider qualified and the curriculum real?
What to show, and the funder’s 1 criterion behind it in Premium
- 3
Is this price defensible against the other quotes?
What to show, and the funder’s 1 criterion behind it in Premium
- 4
Will people measurably gain skills or better jobs?
What to show, and the funder’s 1 criterion behind it in Premium
3 questions the reviewer answers about you, in Premium.
Where applicants fail
“Only requests for funding that have been approved prior to the start of the training are eligible for funding. Applications submitted after the start or completion of training are not eligible for Ontario Job Grant funding.”
“Any costs incurred before the effective date of the TPA are not eligible for reimbursement.”
“OJG funds must not be used to compensate lobbyists or consultants to assist an employer with a OJG application.”
Premium · the rest of this brief
See all 43 rules run against your profile, every criterion the reviewer scores, and your draft laid out in this form. On every programme you match.
38 more rules that can reject you · 3 more criteria · 32 more prompts
Do you pass?
43 checks. Sign in free and we show which ones your profile already answers.
Your business
Private or non-profit employer
Eligible applicants include private and non-profit employers that meet the requirements set out below.
Physical location in Ontario
Have a physical location in Ontario
No other government funds, same training
Organization currently in receipt of other government funds related to the same, or substantially similar, skills training for the same trainee(s).
The project
Finished within 52 weeks
Must be completed within 52 weeks of the training start date
The trainee
Legally allowed to work here
Legally authorized to work in Canada
Documents to attach
Ticks are kept on this device.
The money
Under 100 employeesUp to $10,000; 1/6 employer
Employers with fewer than 100 employees: employer contribution requirement 1/6, maximum ministry contribution $10,000 per trainee.
100 or more employees50% employer; up to $10,000
Employers with 100 or more employees: employer contribution requirement 50%, maximum ministry contribution $10,000 per trainee, regardless of whether employees were previously unemployed.
Previously unemployed new hiresNo minimum; up to $15,000
Employers with fewer than 100 employees training new hires who were previously unemployed are not required to make a minimum contribution to training costs funded through the program, and the maximum ministry contribution is $15,000 per trainee.
Materials and travelUp to $500 materials; $500 travel
Up to $500 per trainee for textbooks, software, and other materials required to complete skills training, and up to $500 per trainee for travel costs; travel is eligible only when the distance is more than 24 km one way, at $0.40/km.
Cost-rationale thresholdsRationale over $2,500 or $700/day
A written rationale is required if the total training cost per participant is over $2,500 or the per participant per day cost is greater than $700.
Your shareMinimum 50% or one-sixth cash
Employers with 100 or more employees are required to make a minimum 50% CASH contribution towards eligible training costs. Employers with fewer than 100 employees are required to contribute a minimum of one-sixth CASH.
StackingOther government funds: ineligible
An organization 'currently in receipt of other government funds related to the same, or substantially similar, skills training for the same trainee(s)' is an ineligible applicant, and a trainee participating in 'any other government training intervention that offers funding support for the same tuition, books, or other training related costs (e.g., Better Jobs Ontario, Skills Development Fund)' is an ineligible trainee.
Costs before approvalCosts before agreement effective date ineligible
Any costs incurred before the effective date of the TPA are not eligible for reimbursement.
FeesNo lobbyist or consultant compensation
OJG funds must not be used to compensate lobbyists or consultants to assist an employer with a OJG application.
What it pays for · 6
- Tuition or other training provider fees
- Mandatory student fees
- Examination fees
- Up to $500 per trainee for textbooks, software, and other materials required to complete skills training (e.g., training clothing, tools, equipment)
- Up to $500 per trainee for travel costs
- Training Support for Persons with Disabilities
From application to money
- Screen and applyyear-roundApply year-round; 30-minute session
- Ministry assessmentMinistry assesses against four criteria
- TPON and TPARegister with TPON; execute TPA
- Training can startTraining within 52 weeks of start
- Reports to the ministryReports due within 60 calendar days
- Trainee follow-upsFollow-ups at exit and 12 months
In the funder’s words · 6
- Screen and apply
- Nine yes/no questions open the form, then eight steps that have to be saved as you go, because the session ends after 30 minutes.
- Ministry assessment
- The ministry confirms receipt, assigns an Employment and Training Consultant, and assesses the application against its four named criteria.
- TPON and TPA
- Selected applicants will be instructed to register with Transfer Payment Ontario (TPON) (a requirement for transfer payment recipients) and submit the required information/documentation to support TPA execution and payment set-up.
- Training can start
- Costs count only from the effective date of the agreement, and the training must be completed within 52 weeks of its start date.
- Reports to the ministry
- Activity, final and financial reports go to the ministry, with a third-party auditor's report where funding is $150,000 or more. (typically due to the ministry within sixty (60) calendar days after the completion of project activities)
- Trainee follow-ups
- The ministry follows up with the trainees on their outcomes after they finish, and surveys every employer when the agreement completes.
Every quotation is the Government of Ontario’s own wording; lines marked ◦ are our reading of it. Brief updated 2026-09-04.
Everything you need to win Ontario Job Grant (formerly Canada-Ontario...
Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.
- 7 rejection pitfalls reviewers flag — so you catch them first
- 9-document checklist with what each reviewer is actually checking
- Your Application Game Plan — the print-ready PDF the preview below describes
- Insider tip from program officers on what separates winners
- 4-program stacking strategy to combine with compatible funding
- Success profile + evaluation criteria — exactly what reviewers score on
Application Playbook
Step-by-step process, required documents, and expenses
Application steps not yet documented.
Required Documents 9
Deadline Notes
Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
Compatible Programs
Clawback Risk
Unknown RiskHow Ontario Job Grant (formerly Canada-Ontario... Compares
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