Grant
Federal
Active
Ontario Chamber of Commerce Talent Opportunities Program (TOP)
Ontario Chamber of Commerce (delivered under the federal Student Work Placement Program)
Maximum Funding
Wage subsidy of up to 50% of wages, to a maximum of $5,000 per...
Summer 2026 (May – August) and Fall 2026 (September – December) terms are ope...
Difficulty
Moderate
Payment
Reimbursement
Trend
Stable
First-Timers
—
Co-Funding
50%
Ontario Chamber of Commerce Talent Opportunities Program (TOP) provides up to Wage subsidy of up to 50% of wages, to a maximum of $5,000 per placement. Wage subsidy for registered Canadian businesses and not-for-profit organizations hiring post-secondary students in work-integrated learning placements. The program covers up to 50% of eligible costs. Summer 2026 (May – August) and Fall 2026 (September – December) terms are open; first-come first-served until funding is exhausted..
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Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
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Program Description
Wage subsidy for registered Canadian businesses and not-for-profit organizations hiring post-secondary students in work-integrated learning placements.
Eligibility Requirements
- Must be a registered Canadian business or not-for-profit organization in any industry, province, or territory.
- Student must be enrolled at a recognized Canadian college or university in a program where the placement is part of the study plan.
- Student must be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person to whom refugee protection has been conferred.
- Placement must occur during a scheduled work term and be relevant to the student's field of study.
- Employers with 100 or more employees must demonstrate the placement is net-new.
- Federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments, Crown corporations, hospitals, public long-term care facilities, post-secondary institutions, elected officials, partisan organizations, and major financial-sector employers are ineligible.
- 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
Provinces
Industries
Business Stage
Quick Assessment
Difficulty
Moderate
Competition
High
First-Timer
Not rated
Funding Details
- Amount
- Wage subsidy of up to 50% of wages, to a maximum of $5,000 per placement.
- Type
- Grant
- Level
- Federal
- Co-Funding
- Up to 50% of eligible costs
- Deadline
- Summer 2026 (May – August) and Fall 2026 (September – December) terms are open; first-come first-served until funding is exhausted.
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
Competition
High
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 as early as possible for open terms; the Winter 2026 cohort already closed due to high demand.
Rejection Pitfalls 6
- Applying during a closed term (e.g., Winter 2026, closed due to high demand)
+5 more pitfalls
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Success Profile
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Evaluation Criteria
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All 6 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 TOP
Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.
- 6 rejection pitfalls reviewers flag — so you catch them first
- 6-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
6 docs
Application Steps
1
Check eligibility Review the TOP Program Guidelines & FAQs and confirm both the employer and the student meet the eligibility criteria before applying.
Required Documents 6
✓ Proof of business or not-for-profit registration in Canada
✓ Proof of student enrollment in a recognized Canadian college or university
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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Stacking partner data not yet available.
Combined Funding Potential
See your total funding potential
Clawback Risk
Unknown Risk
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How TOP Compares
Side-by-side with similar programs
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| Program | Amount | Difficulty | Payment | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario Chamber of Commerce Talent Op... | Wage subsidy of up to 50% of... | Moderate | Reimbursement | Summer 2026 (May –... |
| Industrial Research Assistance Progra... | Up to $1M | Moderate | Reimbursement | Ongoing |
| CanExport SMEs | Up to $50,000 | Moderate | Mixed (Advance + Reimb.) | Between intakes — the... |
| Youth Employment and Skills Program | Up to $25K | Hard | Advance Payment | Between intakes —... |
| Innovative Solutions Canada | up to $150,000 | Hard | Milestone-Based | Challenge-specific — new... |
Related Programs
Other programs you might be eligible for
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Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions founders most often ask about TOP
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How much is the wage subsidy?
Up to 50% of the student's wages, to a maximum of $5,000 per placement.
Which employers are excluded?
Governments and their extensions (Crown corporations, hospitals, post-secondary institutions), Members of Parliament or the Senate, partisan organizations, and major financial-sector employers, including businesses that underwrite loans.
Is funding guaranteed once I apply?
No. Funding is first-come, first-served. It is only reserved once your application receives conditional approval and you sign a Recipient Agreement; if funds run out first, you are placed on a waitlist.
What if my business has 100 or more employees?
You must show the placement is 'net new,' meaning above the number of students you hired in your baseline year, calculated relative to when you first received SWPP funding.
Which terms are currently open?
Summer 2026 (May-August) and Fall 2026 (September-December). Winter 2026 and earlier retroactive terms are closed due to high demand.
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Full Playbook: TOP
5 steps · 6 docs · reviewer insights