Grant
Federal
Active
ECO Canada — Student Work Placement Program (SWPP)
ECO Canada / Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)
Maximum Funding
50–70% of eligible costs
Placement dates April 1, 2026 - February 15, 2027; placements are 6-16 weeks,...
Difficulty
Easy
Payment
Reimbursement
Trend
Stable
First-Timers
Friendly ✓
Co-Funding
50%
ECO Canada — Student Work Placement Program (SWPP) provides up to 50–70% wage reimbursement, up to $7,000 per placement — base 50% up to $5,000, enhanced 70% up to $7,000 for eligible under-represented groups. Wage subsidy for Canadian employers hiring post-secondary students into environmental-sector placements: 50% of the student's salary reimbursed, up to $5,000, for 6-16 week placements related to the student's STEAM or Business program. Placement dates April 1, 2026 - February 15, 2027; placements are 6-16 weeks, minimum 180 hours; slots currently open.
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Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
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Program Description
Wage subsidy for Canadian employers hiring post-secondary students into environmental-sector placements: 50% of the student's salary reimbursed, up to $5,000, for 6-16 week placements related to the student's STEAM or Business program. ECO Canada delivers this on behalf of the federal Student Work Placement Program (ESDC).
Eligibility Requirements
- Employer must be Canadian-owned or a Canadian subsidiary; open to businesses and non-profits of all sizes
- Municipalities, governments, and post-secondary institutions are excluded as the employer
- Student must be currently enrolled in an accredited Canadian post-secondary institution (no age restriction)
- Student must hold Canadian citizenship, permanent residency, or Canadian refugee status
- Placement must be directly related to the student's post-secondary program in STEAM or Business
- Placement must be 6-16 weeks with a minimum of 180 hours worked
- The student is not required to be in a formal co-op program with the post-secondary institution
- Priority given to female students in STEAM, visible minorities, persons with disabilities, Indigenous students, first-year students, and recent immigrants
- Financial sector employers with 500 or more employees are not eligible
- Trades and apprenticeships, clinical hours in healthcare and articling hours for lawyers do not count as work-integrated learning under this program
- Subcontract or contractor positions are not eligible, and the placement cannot be filled by a business owner or an existing employee
- Provincial, territorial and municipal funding may be combined with this subsidy, but the subsidy is calculated only on the share of the wage the employer pays from non-government funds
- Net-new rule: as of April 1, 2026 only employers with 100 or more employees must show the placement is above their baseline number of students hired; smaller employers are not held to it
Provinces
Industries
Business Stage
Quick Assessment
Difficulty
Easy
Competition
Low
First-Timer
Friendly
Funding Details
- Amount
- 50–70% wage reimbursement, up to $7,000 per placement — base 50% up to $5,000, enhanced 70% up to $7,000 for eligible under-represented groups
- Type
- Grant
- Level
- Federal
- Co-Funding
- Up to 50% of eligible costs
- Deadline
- Placement dates April 1, 2026 - February 15, 2027; placements are 6-16 weeks, minimum 180 hours; slots currently open
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
Competition
Low
Deadline
Ongoing
Approval
Varies
Accessibility
--/5
Competition
--/5
Approval Rate
--%
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How to Win
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
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Insider TipApply early — funding is a limited pool released in slots and the placement window closes February 15, 2027.
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Success Profile
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Evaluation Criteria
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The pitfalls, the checklist and the reviewer notes are in the Playbook below. See what it includes ↓
What's in this Playbook
Everything you need to win SWPP
Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.
- 5-document checklist with what each reviewer is actually checking
- Your Application Game Plan — the print-ready PDF the preview below describes
- 5-step application timeline with prep hours per step
- Insider tip from program officers on what separates winners
- Success profile + evaluation criteria — exactly what reviewers score on
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Application Playbook
Step-by-step process, required documents, and expenses
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5 steps
5 docs
Application Steps
1
Take the eligibility quiz Start on eco.ca/swpp with the eligibility quiz. It routes you to the programs you qualify for — ECO Canada runs more than one employment program and the quiz can approve you for one or more.
Required Documents 5
✓ Completed employer eligibility quiz and employer application
✓ Participant application submitted by the selected student candidate
Eligible Expenses 1
Intake Periods
Deadline Notes
Ineligible Organizations
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Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
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Combined Funding Potential
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Clawback Risk
Low Risk
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How SWPP Compares
Side-by-side with similar programs
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| Program | Amount | Difficulty | Payment | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ECO Canada — Student Work Placement P... | up to $7,000 | Easy | Reimbursement | Placement dates April 1,... |
| Strategic Response Fund (formerly Str... | Minimum $10 million contribution | Hard | Mixed (Advance + Reimb.) | Ongoing — continuous... |
| Ocean Supercluster | Up to $5 million | Hard | Reimbursement | Continuous intake (Core... |
| Alberta Innovation Employment Grant | up to $4M | Hard | Tax Credit Offset | Ongoing |
| PrairiesCan (Prairies Economic Develo... | Varies | Hard | Reimbursement | Ongoing |
Related Programs
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Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions founders most often ask about SWPP
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How much does an employer actually get?
50% of the student's salary, capped at $5,000 per placement. There is no enhanced rate for priority-group students on this program — priority affects who gets selected, not how much you are reimbursed.
Does the student have to be young, or in a co-op program?
Neither. ECO Canada states there are no age restrictions for applicants, and the student is not required to be in a formal co-op program with the post-secondary institution.
Who can be the employer?
Businesses and non-profits of all sizes, provided the employer is Canadian-owned or a Canadian subsidiary. Municipalities, governments and post-secondary institutions are excluded.
How long does the placement have to be?
6 to 16 weeks, full-time or part-time, with a minimum of 180 hours worked, and it must be directly related to the student's post-secondary program in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math or Business.
When do I receive the money?
After the fact. You pay the student, then complete your progress reports and provide the pay statement to receive the wage funding. Your funding is held once you sign the funding agreement following candidate confirmation.
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Full Playbook: SWPP
5 steps · 5 docs · reviewer insights