How much does a Canadian wage subsidy actually pay an employer?
The median Canada Summer Jobs agreement paid an employer $6,319, and the middle half of agreements fell between $3,920 and $13,440, across 253,792 employer agreements disclosed since 2006. That is the largest wage-subsidy dataset Canada publishes, and it sits well below the $10,000 per-employee caps most hiring programs advertise.
Canada Summer Jobs employer agreements signed per year
An agreement is one employer approval, not one hire. A single approval can fund more than one position, so the per-agreement figure is the amount an employer receives, not a per-student rate. The program reimburses part of the wage for each approved position, which is why the middle-half range is wide: a one-position nonprofit and a four-position business both appear in it.
Across the 86 hiring and wage programs in the GrantCompass catalogue, 72 were accepting applications as of 3 September 2026. Their advertised per-employer ceilings have a median of $25,000, but a ceiling is what a program can pay in principle, not what a typical employer collects. Canada Summer Jobs is the only program of the 86 whose actual payments are disclosed at agreement level, so its median is the best available anchor for what a subsidy really pays.
| Measure | Value | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Median agreement | $6,319 | Half of employers received less, half more |
| 25th percentile | $3,920 | A single part-time or short placement |
| 75th percentile | $13,440 | Typically two or more positions |
| Agreements counted | 253,792 | All recipient types; for-profit share not separable |
Source: Government of Canada Proactive Disclosure of Grants and Contributions, Canada Summer Jobs employer agreements (ESDC), all recipient types, agreements dated 2006 to February 2026, n = 253,792 with a disclosed value; program counts from the GrantCompass catalogue (886 browsable programs). Verified 2026-09-03. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
Canadian employers can use 21 wage subsidy and hiring incentive programs, and the ones taking applications right now are mostly the provincial ones. Open today: the Ontario Job Grant (up to $10,000 per trainee, or $15,000 with no employer contribution when a small employer trains a previously unemployed new hire), the B.C. Employer Training Grant (80% of training costs to $10,000), Building Up Manitoba, WorkingNB, SkillsPEI, Employ PEI, JobsNL, Yukon Staffing UP and Nova Scotia's START and Graduate to Opportunity. On the federal side the year-round options are the Student Work Placement Program (50% to $5,000 a term) and Green Jobs STIP (up to 80% to $25,000). Canada Summer Jobs is between intakes — the 2026 cycle closed December 11, 2025 and the next employer intake is expected November 2026. Apply and get written approval before the hire or training start date; retroactive claims are refused almost everywhere.
- Six provincial Job Grants have closed or been renamed since 2024. Saskatchewan's CSJG closed, Newfoundland's CNLJG was suspended, Manitoba's CMJG became the Building Up Manitoba Program, Nova Scotia's CNSJG became WIPSI, New Brunswick's CNBJG folded into WorkingNB, and the Canada-Ontario Job Grant was relaunched in May 2026 as the Ontario Job Grant. If a guide still names the old program, it is out of date.
- The Ontario Job Grant is open again and is the most generous program in the country for a small employer. Employers under 100 staff pay one-sixth of training costs, and pay nothing at all when the trainee is a previously unemployed new hire (up to $15,000).
- Wage subsidies follow the worker's status, not the employer's. Almost every program requires the person you hire to be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, or a person to whom refugee protection has been conferred. There is no employer wage subsidy for a temporary foreign worker.
- Two federal programs employers still search for are gone. Digital Skills for Youth has no announced 2026–27 cycle, and the Apprenticeship Incentive and Completion Grants ended March 31, 2025.
- Timing beats size. The most common rejection cause is not being too small or in the wrong sector — it is applying after the start date. Most programs require written approval in hand before any employment or training commitment.
- Stacking is legal when programs fund different cost categories — a wage subsidy on salary plus a training grant on course fees plus a tax credit at filing, on the same hire, subject to the 75% government-assistance ceiling.
On This Page
- 1. What's actually open right now
- 2. Foreign workers, newcomers and PRs
- 3. What you'd actually get: worked examples
- 4. Sort by who you're hiring
- 5. Federal Wage Subsidy Programs
- 6. Provincial Job Grant Comparison
- 7. Stacking Scenarios: Combining Programs
- 8. Which Program Is Right for You?
- 9. Eligibility Quick-Check
- 10. Application Timeline by Program
- 11. Mistakes That Get Applications Rejected
- 12. What If You Don't Qualify?
- 13. Full Program Comparison Table
- 14. What Changed in 2026
- 15. Frequently Asked Questions
- 16. How to Apply: Step-by-Step
- 17. Related Guides
- 18. Sources & References
What's Actually Open Right Now
Every major program on this page, with the status we could verify in August 2026 — not a list of programs that once existed.
| Program | Status | What it pays |
|---|---|---|
| Student Work Placement Program (SWPP) | Open | 50% of a student's wages, max $5,000 per term (70% / $7,000 for underrepresented students at some partners) |
| Green Jobs — STIP | Open | Up to 75–80% of intern wages, max $25,000 per intern, up to 12 months |
| Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit | Open | 10% of apprentice wages, max $2,000 per apprentice per year, claimed at filing |
| Indigenous Skills and Employment Training (ISET) | Open | Varies — set by each of 110+ Indigenous-led agreement holders |
| Canada Summer Jobs | Between intakes | Up to 100% of minimum wage (not-for-profit) or 50% (small private). 2026 cycle closed Dec 11, 2025; next intake expected Nov 2026 |
| Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) | Between intakes | Up to $25,000 per youth — but only through an intermediary that currently holds an agreement |
| Apprenticeship Service employer grant | Paused | Was $5,000–$10,000 per first-year apprentice. ESDC is renewing it; a successor was announced May 2026 with no intake date |
| Digital Skills for Youth (DS4Y) | Closed | Was up to $30,000 per internship. No 2026–27 cycle has been announced |
| Apprenticeship Incentive / Completion Grants | Ended | Ended March 31, 2025. These paid the apprentice, never the employer |
The federal "Canada Job Grant" does not exist as a standalone program you can apply to. Since 2017 it has been delivered through provincial Labour Market Transfer Agreements, so every province runs its own variant with its own name, portal and cost-share rules — and those variants have churned hard. Saskatchewan's CSJG closed. Newfoundland's CNLJG was suspended in May 2024. Manitoba's CMJG was discontinued and replaced by the Building Up Manitoba Program (BUMP), which pays up to $10,000 per employee for training plus up to $25,000 for HR strategy work, to a $100,000 employer maximum. Nova Scotia's CNSJG became WIPSI. New Brunswick's CNBJG folded into WorkingNB. Ontario's became the Ontario Job Grant. Searching "Canada Job Grant" and applying to whatever comes up is the single most reliable way to waste an afternoon. Sources: Province of Manitoba — Building Up Manitoba Program; provincial program portals and the GrantCompass catalogue, reviewed August 2026.
An estimated 60–75% of eligible Canadian employers never claim available wage subsidies, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business 2024 Small Business Funding Access Report. The barriers are application complexity, not knowing a program exists, and timing — most programs must be applied for before the hire is made, which is the exact opposite of how most employers work. Every program on this page rewards the employer who plans the funding before writing the job posting. Source: Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Small Business Funding Access Report, November 2024.
Can You Get a Wage Subsidy for a Foreign Worker?
The short answer is no — and the longer answer is worth reading, because the person you are hiring may well be eligible anyway.
Canada has no employer wage subsidy for a temporary foreign worker. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada states plainly: "We do not offer direct financial incentives to employers who hire newcomers or temporary foreign workers." Canadian wage subsidies attach to the worker's status, and almost every program requires the participant to be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, or a person to whom refugee protection has been conferred. A worker on a closed employer-specific work permit and an international student on a study permit are both outside that definition. But a newcomer who is already a permanent resident is fully eligible for every program on this page, and several programs pay more for hiring one. Source: The Canadian Press fact check, "Claims about wage subsidies for immigrants and temporary workers in Canada are misleading" (June 27, 2025), citing IRCC.
| Who you're hiring | Wage subsidy available? | What to use |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian citizen | Yes — all programs | Any program on this page |
| Permanent resident (including a recent newcomer) | Yes — all programs | Any program, plus newcomer-targeted streams that pay a premium |
| Protected person / person granted refugee protection | Yes — almost all programs | SWPP delivery partners and provincial subsidies name this status explicitly |
| International student on a study permit | Generally no | TECHNATION's Career Ready rules state the student must "not be an international student with a work permit" |
| Temporary foreign worker on a closed work permit | No | Employers bear the full cost, plus LMIA fees. Training grants may still fund the training, not the wage |
| International graduate now working in Nova Scotia | Sometimes | Nova Scotia START names "eligible international graduate" as a qualifying hire |
If You're Hiring a Newcomer Who Is Already a Permanent Resident
You've found a strong candidate who landed in Canada in the last few years, holds PR status, and may have foreign credentials that need Canadian recognition.
You are in a better position than you probably think. Because PR status satisfies the participant test in essentially every program, your candidate unlocks the whole menu — and several programs go further and treat a recent immigrant as a priority hire that pays a higher rate. Quebec's PRIIME subsidizes a meaningful share of wages specifically for hiring immigrants and visible minorities. Nova Scotia's Graduate to Opportunity adds a 10% first-year bonus on top of its 25–30% salary incentive when the graduate comes from an underrepresented group, which includes recent immigrants. BioTalent Canada's Career Starter pays 60% of a youth's salary and names "recent immigrants or refugees" as a qualifying barrier. Several SWPP delivery partners give priority placement to recent immigrants inside the same 50–70% subsidy.
The credential-recognition side is funded separately from the wage. If the role requires Canadian certification your candidate does not yet hold, that training is exactly what a provincial Job Grant is designed to pay for — and in Ontario, if the candidate was unemployed when you hired them, the Ontario Job Grant covers it at up to $15,000 with no employer contribution at all.
Application order: confirm PR status in writing before you build a subsidy plan around the hire. Apply to your provincial Job Grant for credential and bridging training before the training starts. Layer the wage-side program that matches the role (SWPP if it is a student placement, GTO if it is a new graduate in Nova Scotia, PRIIME in Quebec).
What this does not do: none of these pay you for sponsoring someone, arranging a work permit, or covering LMIA costs. If your candidate is not yet a permanent resident, the funding conversation starts after their status changes, not before.
A related myth worth killing: there is no across-the-board 30% or 60% subsidy for hiring immigrants. The Canadian Press checked this directly and found no wage subsidy program in Canada available exclusively to immigrants — every program it reviewed was also open to Canadian citizens. Programs like WorkBC's wage subsidy (up to 75% for priority clients), Yukon's Staffing UP (60% of base wage) and JobsNL (60–80%) are real, generous, and open to everyone who meets the status test. For funding aimed at newcomer founders rather than newcomer employees, see our guide to grants for immigrants and newcomers in Canada.
What You'd Actually Get: Five Worked Examples
Wage subsidies are quoted as percentages and capped in dollars, so the percentage almost never describes what lands in your account. Each example below runs the arithmetic on a realistic salary.
1. Post-secondary co-op student, four-month term — Student Work Placement Program
Placement paid at $22.00/hour, 35 hours a week, 16 weeks. Applied for through an approved SWPP delivery partner.
The cap binds, not the percentage. If the same student is from an underrepresented group and your delivery partner runs the enhanced stream, the rate rises to 70% and the cap to $7,000 — so you would receive $7,000, not $8,624. Your real cost for the term is $12,320 minus the subsidy, plus employer CPP and EI on the full wage.
2. Summer student at a not-for-profit — Canada Summer Jobs
Ontario not-for-profit, one youth at $19.00/hour, 35 hours a week, 12 weeks. Provincial minimum wage assumed at $17.60.
A private for-profit employer running the identical placement receives 50% of minimum wage — $3,696 — and carries about $5,084 of cost. This is the single biggest not-for-profit advantage in the Canadian system. Canada Summer Jobs is between intakes until roughly November 2026; full mechanics are in our Canada Summer Jobs employer guide.
3. Twelve-month green-economy intern — Green Jobs STIP
Clean-tech employer, one intern under 30 at $52,000/year, full 12-month placement, applied through an NRCan delivery organization.
At a $52,000 salary the cap converts an 80% headline into an effective 48%. The percentage only governs below about $31,000 of annual wage. This is still the largest single per-hire wage subsidy currently open to Canadian employers.
4. Training a previously unemployed new hire in Ontario — Ontario Job Grant
Ontario employer with 40 staff, hiring someone who was unemployed, and sending them on a $9,000 third-party certification course.
Same course, same employer, two different answers depending on whether the trainee was unemployed when you hired them. Most employers never check which route they are on and default to paying the one-sixth. Apply and get approval before the training starts — the grant is not retroactive.
5. Red Seal apprentice on payroll — Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit
Fabrication shop with two first-year Red Seal apprentices, each paid $42,000 in eligible wages during the tax year.
Non-refundable: it reduces tax owing rather than paying cash, but it carries back three years and forward twenty, so a loss year is not a lost credit. The 10% rate only matters below $20,000 of apprentice wages. Provincial apprenticeship incentives stack on top — Ontario's Achievement Incentive pays employers milestone payments per apprentice. Depth on the trades side is in our apprenticeship and trades hiring incentives guide.
Sort by Who You're Hiring
Wage subsidies are organised around the person, not the job. Find the row that describes your candidate, then the row that describes your business.
Each result links to the full program profile below. More than one row will usually apply — combining them is covered in the stacking section.
Decision Tree #2 — Sort by employer type and urgency
Federal Wage Subsidy Programs
Three federal programs directly subsidize employee wages, plus one tax credit and one Indigenous-led delivery network. Available to employers in all provinces and territories.
As young Canadians are working towards their future in difficult times, they will not be left behind. The Canada Summer Jobs program helps young people get meaningful, paid work experience that builds the skills and confidence to succeed in the job market. This year, by expanding the program to support up to 100,000 job opportunities, we are ensuring that even more young Canadians can access meaningful job experiences and build the foundation for long-term success. The Honourable Patty Hajdu Minister of Jobs and Families, Government of Canada (Employment and Social Development Canada) Canada.ca — Canada Summer Jobs 2026 hiring period launch (April 2026)
Employment and Social Development Canada administers the two largest programs — Canada Summer Jobs and the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy — while Natural Resources Canada and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada each operate a sector-specific internship program. Employers can access all four independently, and two of them stack cleanly on the same hire. Canada Summer Jobs 2026 was expanded to up to 100,000 positions, raising the program's annual placement target from approximately 70,000 in prior years — making it the largest single youth-placement program in Canadian history. Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, "Canada Summer Jobs 2026 youth hiring period now open with up to 100,000 jobs available" (April 2026).
| Dimension | Standard CSJ | CSJ-Plus (Equity Stream) |
|---|---|---|
| Eligible employer | Private (under 50 FTE), public sector, not-for-profit | Same plus organizations serving equity-deserving youth |
| Wage coverage (private) | 50% of provincial minimum wage | Up to 75% in priority categories |
| Wage coverage (not-for-profit) | 100% of provincial minimum wage | 100% of minimum wage + non-wage cost top-ups |
| Position length | 6–16 weeks | 6–16 weeks |
| Scoring bonus | None at base | +30 priority points for environmental, digital, equity-deserving themes |
| 2026 capacity | Combined target: up to 100,000 positions across all streams | |
Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ)
Canada Summer Jobs subsidizes youth positions lasting 6 to 16 weeks. Not-for-profit employers receive 100% of provincial or territorial minimum wage; small private-sector and public-sector employers receive 50% of minimum wage. It is the single highest-volume youth employment program in Canada, and the 2026 cycle was expanded to support up to 100,000 positions. Employer applications are not open right now. The 2026 cycle ran from November 4 to December 11, 2025 for placements the following summer; the next employer intake is expected around November 2026, based on the program's consistent pattern of a roughly five-week window each autumn. Applications go through Service Canada's Grants and Contributions Online Services (GCOS) portal.
Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS)
The Youth Employment and Skills Strategy provides wage subsidies and wraparound supports for youth facing barriers to employment — including Indigenous youth, newcomers, youth with disabilities, and rural youth. It is not a direct-application program: ESDC funds intermediary organizations through periodic calls for proposals, and those intermediaries then place youth with employers within their mandate areas. The relevant nuance for an employer is that the strategy's funding cycle and an individual intermediary's intake are different things. ESDC's most recent Youth Focused Projects call closed in 2024, and Budget 2025 allocated new money starting in fiscal 2026–27, so a fresh call is expected. Meanwhile, intermediaries that already hold agreements are still placing youth. Whether YESS is available to you depends entirely on whether an intermediary near you currently holds funding — which is a phone call, not a portal lookup.
Green Jobs — Science and Technology Internship Program (STIP)
Green Jobs STIP subsidizes 75–80% of an intern's wages to a maximum of $25,000 for employers hiring youth aged 15–30 in roles related to the environment, clean technology, energy, forestry, mining or earth sciences, for placements of up to 12 months. Typical placements are environmental monitoring, clean energy installation, sustainable forestry and climate data analysis. Natural Resources Canada funds a set of delivery organizations — ECO Canada, BioTalent Canada, MiHR, Colleges and Institutes Canada and others — each running its own employer intake. There is no NRCan employer portal; you apply through a delivery organization. This is currently the largest per-hire wage subsidy open to Canadian employers.
Student Work Placement Program (SWPP)
SWPP reimburses 50% of a post-secondary student's wages to a maximum of $5,000 per placement term, rising to 70% and $7,000 for students from underrepresented groups through delivery partners that run the enhanced stream. Any field of study qualifies, and small and medium employers are prioritised. You apply through one of 18 approved delivery partners — ICTC's WIL Digital for tech roles, TECHNATION Career Ready, BioTalent Canada, ECO Canada, MiHR, EHRC, Propel, Venture for Canada, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce's Talent Opportunities Program and others — not directly to ESDC. Funding was renewed in November 2025, which is why this is the most reliable federal wage subsidy on the page right now.
ISET funding does not flow directly to employers. Employment and Social Development Canada allocates ISET through over 110 Indigenous-led agreement holders across Canada — First Nations, Métis, and Inuit organizations that deliver employment and training programs within their communities. Employers seeking to hire Indigenous workers should contact their nearest ISET agreement holder, not ESDC directly. Agreement holders frequently offer wage subsidies, on-the-job training contributions, occupational certification support, and cultural accommodation budgets within their local mandates. Funding terms and amounts vary significantly by agreement holder and region — there is no national rate sheet. Source: ESDC, Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program — Funded Organizations Directory (April 2026).
Not sure which programs you qualify for?
Answer a few quick questions and we'll match you to the wage subsidies and hiring grants you're actually eligible for — free, in about 60 seconds.
Get matched in 60 seconds →Provincial Hiring and Training Programs Compared
Every province runs its own version, the terms vary dramatically, and six of them changed name or status between 2024 and 2026. This table reflects August 2026.
The Canada Job Grant has been delivered through provincial Labour Market Transfer Agreements since 2017, so there is no federal direct-application channel. Employer share requirements, per-employee maximums, intake portals, and whether new hires or only existing staff qualify all differ by province — and the names have shifted underneath the search results. Ontario's is now the Ontario Job Grant, relaunched under redesigned guidelines on May 1, 2026 and accepting applications year-round from employers training 25 or fewer participants. Manitoba's is now the Building Up Manitoba Program, funded at $3.5M through the Canada-Manitoba Labour Market Transfer Agreements, which absorbed both the old CMJG and the Workforce Development Program. Sources: Government of Ontario — Ontario Job Grant; Province of Manitoba — Building Up Manitoba Program. Both reviewed August 2026.
| Dimension | Federal wage subsidies (SWPP, STIP, CSJ) | Provincial training grants (OJG, BUMP, BC ETG…) |
|---|---|---|
| What they fund | The employee's wages | Third-party training costs for the employee |
| Direct application? | CSJ yes; SWPP and STIP through delivery partners | Yes — through the provincial portal |
| Coverage range | 50–100% of wages | 50–100% of training costs (small business rates are better) |
| Per-employee maximum | $5,000–$25,000 depending on program | $5,000–$15,000 per trainee; higher employer-level annual caps |
| Stackable on the same hire? | Yes — federal funds wages, provincial funds training; different cost categories, no double-funding conflict | |
| Pre-approval required? | Yes — no retroactive claims | Yes (B.C. ETG allows a 30-day window for training already begun) |
Scroll right to see all columns →
| Province | Program | Max / Employee | Employer Share | Processing | Status (Aug 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario | Ontario Job Grant (OJG) — renamed from COJG, May 2026 | $10,000 ($15K unemployed hire) | 1/6 under 100 staff; none for a previously unemployed new hire | 2–4 weeks | Open — year-round |
| British Columbia | Employer Training Grant (ETG) | $10,000 | 20% employer (80% covered) | 3–4 weeks | Open |
| Alberta | Canada–Alberta Productivity Grant (CAPG) | $5,000 ($10K unemployed hire) | 50%; $100,000 employer maximum per year | 4–8 weeks | Open |
| Manitoba | Building Up Manitoba Program (BUMP) — replaced the CMJG | $10,000 training + $25,000 HR strategy | $100,000 employer maximum across both streams | 3–5 weeks | Open — NEW |
| Prince Edward Island | SkillsPEI Workplace Skills Training | $10,000 ($15K unemployed trainee) | 50% | 2–4 weeks | Open |
| Nova Scotia | Workplace Innovation and Productivity Skills Incentive (WIPSI) | $100,000 / year | 0% on first $10K (small biz), 50% after | 3–6 weeks | Periodic intakes |
| New Brunswick | WorkingNB Labour Force Training | $20,000 per region / year | 50–75% (employer pays 25–50%) | 4–6 weeks | Open — continuous |
| Newfoundland & Labrador | JobsNL Wage Subsidy — a true wage subsidy, not a training grant | $12/hr for 10–28 weeks | 60–80% covered, plus $2,000 completion bonus | 2–4 weeks | Open |
| Prince Edward Island | Employ PEI — a true wage subsidy | $12.50/hr for 20 weeks | 50% of wages | 2–4 weeks | Open |
| Yukon | Staffing UP — Wage & Training Subsidy | 60% of base wage, up to 1 year | 40% employer, plus training subsidies | Varies | Open |
| Saskatchewan | Canada–Saskatchewan Job Grant (CSJG) | — | — | — | Discontinued |
| Best terms in the country for a small employer: the Ontario Job Grant — up to $15,000 per trainee with no minimum employer contribution when an employer under 100 staff trains a previously unemployed new hire. Best for an employer who wants the wage subsidised rather than the training: JobsNL in Newfoundland and Labrador, or Yukon Staffing UP, both of which pay against wages for up to a year. | |||||
Two provinces work differently enough to note. Quebec administers training funding through the 1% Training Law, which requires employers with a payroll over $2 million to invest 1% of payroll in eligible employee training each year — a compliance mechanism, not a discretionary grant. Employers below the threshold do not have a Quebec equivalent of a Job Grant; Quebec's employer-facing wage support is concentrated in integration programs like PRIIME instead. Nova Scotia is unusually rich for a small province but the money sits in several separate programs rather than one: WIPSI for training, Graduate to Opportunity for new graduates, the Co-op Education Incentive for co-op terms, and START for hiring an unemployed Nova Scotian. Applying to the wrong one of the four is a common local mistake. Sources: Loi favorisant le développement et la reconnaissance des compétences de la main-d'œuvre, RLRQ c D-7.1; Nova Scotia programs verified in the GrantCompass catalogue, August 2026.
The Employer Stacking Formula
How to combine multiple programs on a single hire for maximum savings
| Program | Claimed by | Benefit form |
|---|---|---|
| Student Work Placement Program (SWPP) | Employer | Wage reimbursement through the delivery partner, after the term |
| Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) | Employer | Direct wage reimbursement, bi-weekly |
| Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit (AJCTC) | Employer | Non-refundable tax credit, 10% of apprentice wages, max $2,000/year |
| Ontario Co-operative Education Tax Credit | Employer | Refundable credit, 25–30% of co-op wages, max $3,000 per placement |
| Manitoba COS-HI / COG-HI | Employer | Refundable credit, 15% of wages, max $5,000 per student or graduate |
| Ontario Job Grant / B.C. ETG | Employer | Reimbursement of third-party training costs, after completion |
| SR&ED Investment Tax Credit | Employer (CCPC) | 35% refundable credit on qualifying R&D wages |
| Mitacs Accelerate | Employer + post-secondary | $15,000 per internship unit, of which the employer contributes half |
Wage subsidy programs and training grants fund different cost categories — which is why they stack cleanly. A wage subsidy covers salary expenditures; a training grant covers course and certification fees. Applied to the same employee, these programs do not overlap in what they reimburse. Three scenarios below show how Canadian employers are legally stacking federal and provincial programs to reduce their first-year hiring costs by 50–75%. Source: Government of Canada, Government Assistance Stacking Policy (Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat); program-specific funding agreements.
Scenario 1: Hiring a Recent Graduate in Ontario
A clean-tech company in Toronto hires a 26-year-old environmental science graduate at $52,000/year for a 12-month green energy role, and sends them on a $9,000 professional certification.
- Green Jobs STIP wage subsidy (up to 80% of $52,000, capped at $25,000) $25,000
- Ontario Job Grant (employer under 100 staff pays one-sixth of the $9,000 course) $7,500 net
No double-funding: STIP reimburses wage costs; the Ontario Job Grant reimburses training course fees. Two different line items on the same hire, no conflict. If the graduate was unemployed when hired, the Ontario Job Grant covers the full $9,000 with no employer contribution at all.
Scenario 2: A Co-op Student Who Becomes a Permanent Hire — Manitoba
A Winnipeg business takes a university co-op student for a four-month term at $21/hour, 35 hours a week, then hires them permanently and puts them through a $6,000 course.
- SWPP wage subsidy through a delivery partner (50% of $11,760, capped at $5,000) $5,000
- Manitoba COS-HI refundable tax credit (15% of wages, to $5,000 lifetime) $1,764
- Building Up Manitoba Program, employee training stream (post-conversion course) up to $6,000
Three different mechanisms, three different cost categories: a federal wage reimbursement, a provincial tax credit claimed at filing, and a provincial training reimbursement for a course that happens after the placement ends. Disclose all three on each application.
Scenario 3: Hiring a Newcomer with Permanent Residence — Ontario
A manufacturer in Hamilton hires a recently landed permanent resident who was unemployed at the time of hire, holds a foreign engineering credential, and needs $12,000 of Canadian certification and bridging training.
- Ontario Job Grant — previously unemployed new hire route, no minimum employer contribution $12,000
- Same course under the standard route, if the hire had not been unemployed (you pay one-sixth) $10,000 net
Permanent residence is what makes this work — a candidate on a closed work permit would not clear the participant test for a wage subsidy, though training grants may still fund the course. Nothing here pays you for sponsorship or immigration costs. See the section above for the full status rules.
Which Program Is Right for You? Five Employer Scenarios
Five real-world archetypes that cover ~85% of Canadian small-employer hiring. Find yours, then jump directly to the program profile.
If You're a Small Business Hiring Your First Employee
Sole proprietor or 2–4 person team, hiring your first non-founder employee — typically a coordinator, customer support hire, or junior operations person.
If you can wait for the season, Canada Summer Jobs is the cheapest way to test a first role — it covers 50% of provincial minimum wage for private employers and 100% for not-for-profits, and a 16-week placement lands around $2,400 to $5,800. It is between intakes right now, with the next employer window expected around November 2026. If you cannot wait, the faster path is your province's own wage subsidy for hiring an unemployed worker: JobsNL in Newfoundland and Labrador (60–80% up to $12/hour for 10–28 weeks plus a $2,000 completion bonus), Employ PEI (50% up to $12.50/hour for 20 weeks), Yukon Staffing UP (60% of base wage for up to a year) and Nova Scotia START all take applications year-round and all fund net-new positions rather than replacements.
One condition applies to all of them and is worth confirming before you write the offer: the person must be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or protected person, and several of these programs additionally require them to have been unemployed at the time of hire. Quebec's PRIIME is the exception worth knowing about if you are in Quebec — it exists specifically to subsidise the first Canadian work experience of immigrants and visible minorities, at a meaningful share of the wage.
Application order: if the role can be seasonal and youth-appropriate, calendar Canada Summer Jobs for November. If you need the person now, apply to your provincial wage subsidy and get written approval before the start date. Layer your provincial training grant for anything the person needs to learn on the job.
Realistic year-one benefit: roughly $5,000 to $12,000 for a first hire, depending on province and how long the subsidy runs. The most common way small employers lose this money is not ineligibility — it is hiring first and looking for funding afterwards.
If You're a Non-Profit Sustaining Year-Round Staff
Registered charity or not-for-profit with 3–15 staff, struggling to maintain year-round programming on tight budgets.
Non-profits are Canada Summer Jobs' most-favoured employer category — you receive 100% of provincial minimum wage against 50% for private employers, and there is no employee-count cap on you the way there is on private applicants. A 16-week placement in Ontario at minimum wage for 35 hours a week is roughly $9,900 in reimbursed wages, and multiple positions in the same year are routine. That single rate difference is the largest structural advantage available to any employer type in the Canadian system, and it is worth building your summer programming around.
The catch is that it is seasonal and the window is short. The 2026 cycle closed on December 11, 2025, so the practical planning move today is to draft the job descriptions in October and submit in the first days of the November 2026 window. For the rest of the year, non-profits are eligible for the same provincial training grants as businesses — the Ontario Job Grant, B.C. Employer Training Grant, Building Up Manitoba Program and Nova Scotia's Co-op Education Incentive all accept non-profit applicants — and, when hiring Indigenous staff, for placements arranged through a local ISET agreement holder.
Application order: calendar the Canada Summer Jobs window for early November and prepare in October. Apply to your provincial training grant whenever a staff member needs a course, year-round. For Indigenous-serving organizations, open a parallel conversation with your ISET agreement holder, which is a relationship rather than a single application.
Realistic year-one benefit: around $9,900 per Canada Summer Jobs youth in Ontario at minimum wage, multiplied by the number of positions approved in your riding, plus up to $10,000 per staff member in provincial training. Do not budget on a per-position CSJ approval until the funding agreement is signed — applications are scored per federal riding and approval is not guaranteed.
If You're a Manufacturer Onboarding Apprentices
Small or mid-sized manufacturer, fabricator, or trades-based business hiring registered apprentices in Red Seal trades.
The federal apprenticeship picture got thinner in 2025 and 2026, so start from what still pays. The Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit is a non-refundable federal credit equal to 10% of eligible apprentice wages, capped at $2,000 per apprentice per year, claimed at fiscal year-end on Form T2SCH31 for wages paid in the first two years of a Red Seal apprenticeship. Multiple apprentices means multiple $2,000 credits, up to your tax liability, and unused credit carries back three years and forward twenty.
What no longer pays: the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant and Apprenticeship Completion Grant both ended March 31, 2025, and in any case they paid the apprentice rather than you. The federal Apprenticeship Service employer grant — the $5,000-to-$10,000 first-year signing incentive that most trades blogs still recommend — is not accepting applications; ESDC says it is renewing the program and announced a successor in May 2026 without publishing an intake date. Do not build a hiring budget on it until a date exists.
Provincial apprenticeship incentives are where the live money is, and they vary a lot. Ontario's Achievement Incentive Program pays employers milestone amounts per apprentice — $1,000 per in-class training level to a maximum of four levels, plus $1,000 on certification. Check your own province's apprenticeship branch directly rather than a national round-up, because this is the category where third-party guides rot fastest.
Application order: register the apprentice with your provincial apprenticeship branch, which is mandatory and gates everything else. Register for your province's employer incentive at the same time. Claim the federal tax credit at filing. Use your provincial training grant for any third-party course the apprentice needs beyond the in-class blocks.
Realistic year-one benefit: $2,000 federally per apprentice, plus whatever your province pays on milestones — in Ontario that can reach $17,000 per apprentice across the full apprenticeship, though it arrives in stages rather than up front. Depth on this: our apprenticeship and trades hiring incentives guide.
If You're an Indigenous-led Organization Hiring Indigenous Youth
Indigenous-owned business, First Nations / Métis / Inuit organization, or community development corporation hiring within Indigenous community.
Your highest-leverage path is the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training (ISET) program — not the federal direct-application channel. ISET funding flows through 110+ Indigenous-led agreement holders nationwide, who deliver wage subsidies, training stipends, certification supports, and cultural accommodation budgets directly to employers in their service area. Funding terms vary substantially by agreement holder, so the right first step is to identify your nearest holder via ESDC's Indigenous Programs and Services directory.
Because ISET is delivered locally, this is the one area of Canadian hiring funding where a national guide genuinely cannot give you a number. Agreement holders set their own wage-subsidy rates, training stipends, certification supports and cultural accommodation budgets within their mandates, and two holders a province apart may offer materially different packages for the same hire. Anyone who quotes you a national ISET rate is guessing. Northern Ontario employers have a second, separately-published option worth checking: NOHFC's Indigenous Workforce Development Program pays up to $35,000 per year per intern, and FedNor's Youth Internships in Northern Ontario covers up to 90% of an intern's salary.
Indigenous-led non-profits are also eligible for Canada Summer Jobs at the full not-for-profit rate of 100% of minimum wage, and the program's published scoring priorities include services to equity-deserving groups — so a well-described placement competes strongly in its riding. That intake is currently closed and expected to reopen around November 2026.
Application order: identify your nearest ISET agreement holder through ESDC's Indigenous Programs and Services directory or a Service Canada office, and treat that as a conversation rather than a form. Ask specifically what wage support, certification funding and equipment support they can attach to the role you are filling. Layer Canada Summer Jobs for summer youth positions when the window opens, and your provincial training grant for third-party courses year-round.
Realistic year-one benefit: genuinely variable — we will not put a national range on it, because the honest answer is that it depends on your agreement holder's current allocation. What is consistent is that holders frequently bundle in safety certifications, driver's licence support and tools alongside the wage support, which lowers real onboarding cost by more than the headline subsidy suggests.
If You're a Tech Startup Hiring R&D Talent
2–5 year-old technology, software, AI, or clean-tech company hiring engineers, ML researchers, or technical staff for R&D-intensive roles.
Straight wage subsidies for senior R&D hires barely exist — the programs on this page are overwhelmingly aimed at students, youth and unemployed workers, none of which describes an experienced ML engineer. The closest functional substitute is Mitacs Accelerate, at $15,000 per four-to-six-month internship unit for a graduate student (or $20,000 for a postdoctoral fellow), of which you contribute half. It is technically a research grant rather than a wage subsidy, and the intern is placed through their academic institution, but operationally it behaves like a 50% wage offset with fast approval and light documentation.
For a junior technical hire who is still enrolled, the Student Work Placement Program through a tech delivery partner is the live route: ICTC's WIL Digital, TECHNATION Career Ready, Venture for Canada or Propel, each paying 50–70% of wages to a $5,000–$7,000 cap per term. This is the honest replacement for Digital Skills for Youth, which paid up to $30,000 and has no announced 2026–27 cycle. If you have been budgeting on a DS4Y-sized number, revise it down by roughly a factor of five.
Then layer the tax side. SR&ED is where the real money is for an R&D-heavy payroll: Budget 2025 raised the enhanced-rate expenditure limit directly from $3M to $6M, so a CCPC receives a 35% refundable credit on the first $6M of qualifying expenditures, for a maximum enhanced credit of $2.1M a year, dropping to 15% non-refundable above that. Provincial co-op tax credits stack on the placement itself — Ontario's Co-operative Education Tax Credit returns 25–30% of co-op wages to $3,000 per placement, and Manitoba's COS-HI returns 15% to $5,000.
Application order: Mitacs Accelerate is rolling, so start there. Register with a SWPP delivery partner early in the term cycle, since tech placements exhaust their allocations quickest. Claim SR&ED at fiscal year-end on Form T661 and T2SCH31, and the provincial co-op credit on the same return.
Realistic year-one benefit: on a $90,000 engineer doing 80% SR&ED-eligible work, the federal credit alone returns roughly $25,200 as a refundable CCPC claim. A Mitacs unit adds $15,000. A co-op student adds $5,000 federally plus a provincial credit. The wage-subsidy portion is small relative to the tax portion for this persona — which is the opposite of every other persona on this page.
| Program | Small (< 100) | Medium (100–499) | Large (500+) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada Summer Jobs (private) | 50% min wage; under-50 FTE for full eligibility | 50% min wage | Limited eligibility |
| Ontario Job Grant | You pay one-sixth; nothing for an unemployed new hire | You pay one-sixth under 100 staff, one-half above | You pay one-half |
| NS Graduate to Opportunity | Eligible (Grow stream, under 100 staff) | Innovate stream only, 200 or fewer FTE | Not eligible |
| NS WIPSI (training) | 100% on first $10K, then 50% | Up to 50% | Up to 50% |
| SR&ED enhanced rate (CCPC) | 35% refundable on first $6M | 35% refundable (subject to taxable capital phase-out) | 15% non-refundable only |
Eligibility Quick-Check
Confirm your eligibility before investing time in an application. Most rejections stem from one disqualifying condition that could have been identified in two minutes.
Canada Summer Jobs
- ✓ Canadian employer — private sector, public sector, or non-profit
- ✓ Hiring youth aged 15–30 who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents
- ✓ Position is 6–16 weeks in length during the summer season
- ✓ Paying at least the provincial or territorial minimum wage
- ✓ Private businesses have fewer than 50 full-time year-round employees (no cap for non-profits)
- ✗ Federal and provincial government departments do not qualify
- ✗ Positions that conflict with available employment for adult workers are not eligible
Ontario Job Grant (formerly COJG)
- ✓ Ontario-based employer with a CRA Business Number
- ✓ Training delivered by an eligible third-party provider, not an internal trainer
- ✓ Currently accepting individual-employer applications for 25 or fewer participants
- ✓ Employer under 100 staff pays one-sixth of training costs — nothing at all for a previously unemployed new hire
- ✓ Application submitted and approved BEFORE training begins
- ✗ Training already started or paid for is not retroactively eligible
- ✗ Owner-operator wages do not qualify — the trainee must be an arm's-length employee
Green Jobs STIP
- ✓ Canadian employer in natural resources, energy, environment, or clean economy sector
- ✓ Hiring a post-secondary graduate under 30 years of age
- ✓ Position is a professional or technical internship lasting 6–12 months
- ✓ Application submitted through an approved delivery organization (ECO Canada, Electricity Human Resources Canada, etc.)
- ✗ Federal government departments and federal Crown corporations do not qualify
- ✗ Internships that have already started are not retroactively eligible
BC Employer Training Grant
- ✓ BC-based employer with a valid Business BCeID (allow 2 weeks to obtain)
- ✓ Training at an eligible BC institution or approved provider
- ✓ Employee lives and works in British Columbia
- ✓ Training is relevant to the employee's current or intended role
- ✗ Training that has already started is not eligible (apply before first day of training)
- ✗ Budget is first-come-first-served — applications submitted after the fiscal year budget is exhausted are waitlisted
Building Up Manitoba Program (BUMP)
- ✓ Manitoba employer with active payroll
- ✓ Training delivered by an eligible third-party provider
- ✓ Up to $10,000 per employee for training, plus up to $25,000 for HR strategy work
- ✓ Supports upskilling existing staff and moving laid-off or underemployed people into permanent work
- ✗ Training already started or completed is not retroactively eligible
- ✗ The Canada-Manitoba Job Grant no longer exists — do not apply to it
Student Work Placement Program (SWPP)
- ✓ Canadian employer in any sector; small and medium employers are prioritised
- ✓ Student is currently enrolled at a Canadian college or university, in any field of study
- ✓ Student is a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person granted refugee protection
- ✓ Placement is paid and gives meaningful work related to the field of study
- ✗ Direct applications to ESDC are not accepted — apply through one of 18 delivery partners
- ✗ International students on a study permit are not eligible participants
Application Timeline — When to Apply for Each Program
Most hiring incentive programs have fixed intake windows or finite annual budgets that run out before year-end. Miss the window and you wait another year.
Canada Summer Jobs — the only fixed federal window
The employer intake opens in early November and runs about five weeks. The 2026 cycle ran November 4 to December 11, 2025; the 2027 cycle is expected on the same pattern. Funding agreements are issued in the spring for placements starting in May or June. Applications are scored per federal riding, so you are competing with your neighbours rather than the country — and the published priority themes (environmental sustainability, digital skills, services to equity-deserving groups) are scored explicitly. Draft the job description in October; the window is too short to write from scratch inside it.
Register for SWPP terms and get portal credentials sorted
Summer academic terms open early in the calendar year and are the most oversubscribed of the three — delivery partners routinely reach waitlist status within weeks. Register with your chosen partner well before you need the student. This is also the quarter to obtain a Business BCeID if you intend to use the B.C. Employer Training Grant, since processing takes about two weeks and discovering the requirement mid-application costs you a month.
Fresh fiscal-year budgets — the strongest window for everything provincial
Most provincial fiscal years start April 1, and most provincial training grants are first-come, first-served against a fixed annual envelope. April and May are the highest-probability months to apply to the Ontario Job Grant, B.C. ETG, Building Up Manitoba, WorkingNB, SkillsPEI and the Canada-Alberta Productivity Grant. Green Jobs STIP delivery organizations also work through fresh annual allocations in this window, and some open waitlists later in the year once their slots are gone. Nova Scotia WIPSI runs periodic intake rounds rather than continuous intake — confirm the current round before planning around it.
Claims season, and the point where provincial budgets thin out
Canada Summer Jobs placements are running through August; submit payroll claims on schedule, because late claims are refused after the program end date. Training reimbursements for spring-approved courses are claimed once training is complete, with the completion certificate, the paid invoice and payroll records submitted together. If you are applying to a provincial training grant in this window, ask the program directly whether budget remains — in high-demand years several exhaust their allocations before the autumn.
Year-end claims and next year's planning
Submit outstanding reimbursement claims — typically due 30 to 90 days after each program ends. Prepare the Canada Summer Jobs application in October so it is ready the day the November window opens. Document SR&ED expenditures for the fiscal year; the T661 is due within 18 months of fiscal year end and late filing forfeits the credit entirely. Confirm which apprentices were on payroll during the year so the Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit is claimed on the right return.
Rolling programs — apply as soon as the need appears
The Ontario Job Grant, B.C. ETG, Building Up Manitoba, WorkingNB, SkillsPEI, Employ PEI, JobsNL, Yukon Staffing UP, Nova Scotia START and Graduate to Opportunity all take applications continuously, subject to budget. There is no window to wait for — apply as soon as you have identified the need and the provider, and always before the start date. Green Jobs STIP and SWPP are also rolling, but through delivery partners with their own queues. Tax credits are claimed on the annual return for the year the wages were paid.
10 Mistakes That Get Wage Subsidy Applications Rejected
These are the documented failure modes — each one has caused employers to forfeit thousands of dollars in available subsidies.
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1
Applying after the hire date or training start date. The most common and most preventable rejection cause. The Ontario Job Grant, Building Up Manitoba, B.C. ETG, Green Jobs STIP, Nova Scotia START and Canada Summer Jobs all require pre-approval — not just pre-application, but written approval in hand before the first day of training or employment. An application submitted the day after training starts is automatically ineligible, no matter how compelling the circumstances. Build a 60-day buffer between application submission and your intended hire date.
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2
Applying directly to YESS instead of through intermediary organizations. The Youth Employment and Skills Strategy does not accept direct employer applications. Funding flows through community organizations, industry associations, immigrant-serving organizations, and Indigenous organizations that hold delivery agreements with Employment and Social Development Canada. Contact your local Service Canada office or search the YESS funded organizations list to find an active intermediary in your sector. Employers who email ESDC directly receive a form letter directing them back to intermediaries.
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3
Searching for the program by its old name. Six provincial job grants have closed or been renamed since 2024: Saskatchewan's CSJG was discontinued, Newfoundland's CNLJG was suspended in May 2024, Manitoba's CMJG became the Building Up Manitoba Program, Nova Scotia's CNSJG became WIPSI, New Brunswick's CNBJG folded into WorkingNB, and the Canada-Ontario Job Grant relaunched in May 2026 as the Ontario Job Grant. Searching the old name surfaces third-party pages describing terms that no longer apply — and in Ontario's case, pages that still say the program is paused when it is open. Always verify status on the provincial government site before you apply.
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4
Not obtaining Business BCeID early enough for BC programs. The BC Employer Training Grant requires a Business BCeID — a government-issued digital credential for BC businesses. Processing takes approximately two weeks after submitting the registration request. Employers who discover this requirement while filling out the ETG application miss their training window and forfeit the grant for that cohort. Register for BCeID at least three weeks before you need to submit your ETG application. The registration is free but cannot be expedited.
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5
Missing the small-business rate and budgeting at the large-employer co-pay. The Ontario Job Grant charges employers under 100 staff only one-sixth of training costs, not one-half — and charges them nothing at all when the trainee is a previously unemployed new hire. Nova Scotia's WIPSI covers 100% of the first $10,000 for small businesses. Employers who calculate their share at the standard large-employer rate budget incorrectly, and a meaningful number decline to apply at all because the net cost looks higher than it really is. Check which route you are on before you decide the program is not worth the paperwork.
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6
Double-funding the same expense across two programs. Stacking is legal when programs cover different cost categories. A wage subsidy can cover salary costs while a training grant covers course fees on the same employee without conflict. Claiming the same dollar of wages from two separate wage subsidies — for example a provincial wage subsidy and Canada Summer Jobs on the same position — is prohibited. Several programs also state outright that the employer cannot be receiving other government wage funding for the position, which is a stricter rule than "don't double-claim the same dollar": Nova Scotia's Graduate to Opportunity says exactly this. Disclose concurrent funding on every application; failure to disclose results in clawback, interest and deregistration from future programs.
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7
Submitting Canada Summer Jobs applications without aligning to national priority themes. The CSJ scoring rubric awards up to 30 bonus points for projects that address national priorities: environmental sustainability, digital skills, or services to equity-deserving communities. A generic application describing a standard summer position earns zero priority points. An application describing the same position in terms of how it contributes to environmental monitoring or digital service delivery earns 30 additional points — potentially the difference between funding and rejection in a competitive constituency.
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8
Waiting until late summer to apply for a provincial training grant. These programs run on fixed annual envelopes, first-come, first-served from the April 1 fiscal-year start. Manitoba's is $3.5M for the whole province. In high-demand years the money runs out before autumn, and employers who apply in July or August are waitlisted into the next fiscal year regardless of how good the application is. April to June is the optimal window; structure your training calendar around the provincial fiscal year rather than around when the need happens to arise.
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9
Submitting incomplete applications without required financial documentation. Most programs require a minimum document package: two years of financial statements (or tax returns for sole proprietors), current business registration or certificate of incorporation, a detailed job description or training plan, and proof of the training provider's eligibility. Applications missing any required document are returned for completion — adding 2–4 weeks to processing time and potentially missing the hire window. Prepare the complete document package before starting the online application, not during it.
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10
Assuming wage subsidies cover all employment costs. Most wage subsidy programs cover wages only — not employer payroll taxes (CPP and EI contributions), extended health benefits, equipment, workspace, or management overhead. A Canada Summer Jobs award covers 100% of the student's minimum wage; the employer still pays CPP and EI on top of that (approximately 10% additional). Budget for the full cost of employment before committing to a hire, using the subsidy to offset the wage component rather than assuming the hire costs nothing.
Alternatives If You Don't Qualify
No single program covers every employer situation. These alternatives address common eligibility gaps.
Need employer-side help but your province's training grant is exhausted or closed?
Looking for R&D funding rather than hiring subsidies?
Need equipment financing alongside a new hire?
Want personalized program matching instead of searching manually?
By province: Every active funding program in the province where you hire, not just the hiring incentives.
All 21 Programs Compared
Every federal and provincial hiring incentive in one table, with its verified status — open programs first, seasonal ones last.
| Program | What's Covered | % Covered |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario Job Grant (unemployed new hire) | Training costs, to $15,000 | 100% |
| NS WIPSI (small biz, first $10K) | Training costs | 100% |
| Canada Summer Jobs (NFP) | Provincial minimum wage | 100% |
| Ontario Job Grant (under 100 staff, standard) | Training costs, to $10,000 | 83% (you pay 1/6) |
| B.C. Employer Training Grant | Training costs | 80% |
| Green Jobs STIP | Wages, to $25,000 | 75–80% |
| JobsNL (Newfoundland and Labrador) | Wages, to $12/hr | 60–80% |
| Yukon Staffing UP | Base wage, up to 1 year | 60% |
| BioTalent Career Starter | Youth salary | 60% |
| SWPP (underrepresented students) | Wages, to $7,000 | 70% |
| SWPP (standard) | Wages, to $5,000 | 50% |
| Canada Summer Jobs (private) | Provincial minimum wage | 50% |
| Employ PEI | Wages, to $12.50/hr for 20 weeks | 50% |
| SkillsPEI · CAPG (Alberta) | Training costs | 50% |
| SR&ED ITC (CCPC, refundable) | R&D wages, on the first $6M | 35% credit |
| NS Graduate to Opportunity | New graduate's Year 1 salary | 25–30% credit (+10% bonus) |
| Ontario Co-operative Education Tax Credit | Co-op wages, to $3,000 | 25–30% credit |
| Manitoba COS-HI / COG-HI | Co-op wages, to $5,000 | 15% credit |
| Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit | Apprentice wages, capped $2,000/yr | 10% credit |
← Scroll to see all columns →
| Program | Type | Max Amount | Realistic Amount | Cost-Share | Status (Aug 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario Job Grant (OJG) | Training Grant | $15,000/trainee | $6,000–$15,000 | 1/6 under 100 staff; none for an unemployed new hire | Open |
| B.C. Employer Training Grant | Training Grant | $10,000/employee | $5,000–$10,000 | 20% employer | Open |
| Building Up Manitoba Program (BUMP) | Training Grant | $10,000/employee + $25,000 HR | $5,000–$10,000 | $100,000 employer maximum | Open — new |
| Canada-Alberta Productivity Grant | Training Grant | $10,000/unemployed hire | $3,000–$5,000 | 50% employer | Open |
| SkillsPEI Workplace Skills Training | Training Grant | $15,000/unemployed trainee | $3,000–$8,000 | 50% employer | Open |
| WorkingNB Labour Force Training | Training Grant | $20,000/region/year | $4,000–$8,000 | 25–50% employer | Open |
| Nova Scotia WIPSI | Training Grant | $100,000/year | $7,500–$25,000 | 0% on first $10K (small biz) | Periodic intakes |
| Green Jobs STIP | Wage Subsidy | $25,000/intern | $15,000–$25,000 | 20–25% employer | Open |
| Student Work Placement Program (SWPP) | Wage Subsidy | $7,000/placement | $5,000 | 50% employer (30% enhanced) | Open |
| JobsNL Wage Subsidy | Wage Subsidy | $12/hr for 10–28 weeks | $6,000–$13,000 | 20–40% employer | Open |
| Employ PEI | Wage Subsidy | $12.50/hr for 20 weeks | $1,000–$5,000 | 50% employer | Open |
| Yukon Staffing UP | Wage Subsidy | 60% of base wage, 1 year | Varies by wage | 40% employer | Open |
| Nova Scotia Graduate to Opportunity | Salary Incentive | 40% of Year 1 salary | $12,000–$20,000 | Employer pays the balance | Open |
| Nova Scotia Co-op Education Incentive | Wage Subsidy | $9.50/hr to 640 hours | $5,120–$6,080 | Employer pays the balance | Open — 3 intakes/yr |
| Nova Scotia START | Wage Subsidy | Case by case | Negotiated | Varies | Open |
| Access Ability Wage Subsidy (Atlantic) | Wage Subsidy | $6,300/participant | $6,300 | Employer pays the balance | Open |
| Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit | Tax Credit | $2,000/apprentice/year | $1,000–$2,000 | Claimed at tax time | Open |
| Ontario Co-operative Education Tax Credit | Tax Credit | $3,000/placement | $2,000–$3,000 | Claimed at tax time | Open |
| Manitoba COS-HI / COG-HI | Tax Credit | $5,000 each | $1,500–$5,000 | Claimed at tax time | Open |
| Indigenous Skills and Employment Training (ISET) | Wage Subsidy | Varies by agreement holder | Set locally | Varies | Open |
| Canada Summer Jobs | Wage Subsidy | 100% min. wage (NFP) | $2,400–$5,800 | 0% (NFP) / 50% of min wage (private) | Next intake ~Nov 2026 |
| Most accessible open program overall: the Ontario Job Grant for Ontario employers (difficulty 2/5, year-round, and free to the employer when the trainee is a previously unemployed new hire). Outside Ontario, the Student Work Placement Program is the lowest-friction federal option in any province, because the delivery partner does most of the administration. | |||||
What's Changed in 2026
May 2026: Ontario's job grant is open again — and has a new name
Employment Ontario suspended new intake for the Canada-Ontario Job Grant in late 2025 citing budget exhaustion and a planned redesign. The redesigned program took effect May 1, 2026 as the Ontario Job Grant (OJG), and it is accepting applications year-round from individual employers training 25 or fewer participants. It pays up to $10,000 per trainee, and up to $15,000 with no minimum employer contribution when an employer with fewer than 100 staff trains a previously unemployed new hire. Because the pause was widely written up and the reopening was not, a large share of third-party guidance still tells Ontario employers this money is unavailable. It is available. Source: Government of Ontario — Ontario Job Grant, reviewed August 2026.
2026: Manitoba replaced the CMJG with the Building Up Manitoba Program
The Canada-Manitoba Job Grant has been discontinued. The governments of Canada and Manitoba launched the Building Up Manitoba Program (BUMP), funded at $3.5M through the Canada-Manitoba Labour Market Transfer Agreements, which integrates the old CMJG and the Workforce Development Program into one application. Employers can receive up to $10,000 per employee under the Employee Training stream and up to $25,000 under the Human Resources Strategy Development stream, to a combined $100,000 maximum. The employee-training stream also explicitly supports moving laid-off, unemployed or underemployed people into permanent work. Source: Province of Manitoba — Building Up Manitoba Program.
Mar 2025: The apprenticeship grants ended, and the employer grant is paused
The Government of Canada ended the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant and the Apprenticeship Completion Grant on March 31, 2025; applications are no longer accepted and the deadline for supporting documents passed on March 31, 2026. Both paid the apprentice rather than the employer, so their loss changes an apprentice's finances more than yours. Separately, the federal Apprenticeship Service employer grant — the $5,000-to-$10,000 first-year incentive that appears in most trades hiring guides — is not accepting applications while ESDC renews it. A successor, the Build Canada Apprenticeship Service, was announced in May 2026 at up to $10,000 per apprentice for employers with 499 or fewer staff, with no intake date published. What still pays today is the Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit and your province's own apprenticeship incentive.
2026: Digital Skills for Youth has no announced 2026–27 cycle
DS4Y was the most generous federal placement subsidy in the country at up to $30,000 per internship, and it is the program most often still listed as live on employer blogs and grant directories. Its most recent cycle opened applications in May 2025 with a June 2025 deadline, for internships running to March 31, 2026. No 2026–27 cycle has been announced. Employers planning a digital or tech placement should budget against the Student Work Placement Program through a tech delivery partner instead — a materially smaller number, and the reason to know about this now rather than at claim time.
Apr 2026: Canada Summer Jobs expanded to 100,000 positions — and the window has closed
The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families, announced that the 2026 program would support up to 100,000 youth job opportunities, a substantial expansion on the roughly 70,000-position historical capacity. That expansion applied to the cycle whose employer intake ran November 4 to December 11, 2025. Employer applications are not open now; the next intake is expected around November 2026 on the program's consistent annual pattern. Whether the expanded capacity carries into the 2027 cycle has not been announced. Source: Canada.ca — CSJ 2026 hiring period announcement (April 2026).
2024–26: Where the other provincial job grants went
Nova Scotia's Canada-Nova Scotia Job Grant became WIPSI, which covers 100% of the first $10,000 in training costs for small businesses to a $100,000 annual employer maximum — better terms, but it runs periodic intake rounds rather than continuous intake, so check the window before planning around it. New Brunswick's CNBJG folded into WorkingNB Labour Force Training, which reimburses 25–50% of eligible costs to $20,000 per employer per region per year, with continuous intake. Newfoundland and Labrador's CNLJG was suspended in May 2024 and has not been replaced — but the province runs JobsNL, a true wage subsidy at 60–80% of wages, which is arguably better for hiring than a training grant. Saskatchewan's CSJG was eliminated and has no successor.
Budget 2025: SR&ED expenditure limit raised from $3M to $6M
Budget 2025 raised the SR&ED enhanced-rate expenditure limit directly from $3M to $6M, doubling the pool of qualifying expenditures eligible for the 35% refundable credit for Canadian-controlled private corporations. Maximum enhanced credit is now $2.1M per year. For an employer whose payroll is R&D-heavy, this is a larger number than every wage subsidy on this page combined — and unlike the grants, it is not rationed against an annual envelope. Source: Department of Finance Canada, Budget 2025 tax measures.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much of an employee's salary does the government cover?
+Between 50% and 100% of eligible wages, depending on the program, your business size and who you are hiring — but the percentage is rarely what determines the cheque, because almost every program also has a dollar cap that binds first. Canada Summer Jobs covers 100% of provincial minimum wage for not-for-profit employers and 50% for small private employers. Green Jobs STIP covers 75–80% of wages but stops at $25,000 per intern. The Student Work Placement Program covers 50% but stops at $5,000 a term. Most provincial job grants fund training costs rather than wages, at 50–100% depending on your size and whether the trainee was unemployed when you hired them. To know what you would actually receive, multiply the rate by the wage, then take the lesser of that and the cap — we've worked five of these through.
Can I get a wage subsidy for hiring an immigrant or a foreign worker in Canada?
+It depends entirely on the person's status, and the two cases give opposite answers. If your candidate is a permanent resident — including someone who landed recently — they clear the participant test for essentially every program on this page, and several programs pay more for hiring them: Nova Scotia's Graduate to Opportunity adds a 10% first-year bonus for hires from underrepresented groups, Quebec's PRIIME exists specifically to subsidise a first Canadian work experience for immigrants and visible minorities, and BioTalent's Career Starter names recent immigrants as a qualifying barrier at 60% of salary. If your candidate is a temporary foreign worker on a closed work permit, or an international student on a study permit, there is no employer wage subsidy. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada states it does not offer direct financial incentives to employers who hire newcomers or temporary foreign workers, and program eligibility text typically requires the participant to be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person granted refugee protection. There is also no across-the-board 30% or 60% "subsidy for hiring migrants" — the Canadian Press checked that claim and found no program available exclusively to immigrants. Full breakdown by status.
What's the difference between a wage subsidy and a hiring tax credit?
+A wage subsidy is a direct payment — the government reimburses a portion of your employee's wages as cash or direct deposit, typically bi-weekly or monthly during the program period. Examples include Canada Summer Jobs, Green Jobs STIP, SWPP and JobsNL. A hiring tax credit reduces your tax owing at filing time — you claim it on your corporate return and receive the benefit as a reduced liability or a refund. Examples include the Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit, Ontario's Co-operative Education Tax Credit, Manitoba's COS-HI and SR&ED. There is a practical difference beyond cash-flow timing: grants are rationed against an annual budget and tax credits are not. A provincial training grant can tell you the money is gone for the fiscal year; a tax credit cannot. Both reduce the real cost of employment, and both can be claimed on the same hire when they cover different expense categories.
Do I need to apply before or after hiring the employee?
+Before — in almost every case. This is the single most common reason applications are rejected. The Ontario Job Grant, Building Up Manitoba, B.C. ETG, Green Jobs STIP, Canada Summer Jobs, Nova Scotia START and Nova Scotia Graduate to Opportunity all require written approval before the hire date or training start date. An application submitted the day after training begins is automatically ineligible. The only meaningful exception is the B.C. Employer Training Grant, which accepts applications for training that started within the previous 30 days — and even that requires your Business BCeID to already be active. Build a 30–60 day buffer for provincial programs and 60–90 days for federal ones.
Which province has the best employer hiring incentives?
+Ontario, on the current terms. The Ontario Job Grant charges employers under 100 staff only one-sixth of training costs — on a $12,000 course you pay $2,000 and the province pays $10,000 — and charges nothing at all, up to $15,000, when the trainee is a previously unemployed new hire. Nova Scotia's WIPSI is the closest runner-up, covering 100% of the first $10,000 for small businesses, but it runs periodic intake rounds rather than continuous intake. British Columbia's ETG covers 80% to $10,000 per employee year-round. Manitoba's BUMP pays up to $10,000 per employee for training plus $25,000 for HR strategy work. Alberta's CAPG covers 50% (or up to $10,000 for an unemployed new hire). Nova Scotia is the strongest province if you are hiring rather than training, because it runs four separate hiring incentives — START, Graduate to Opportunity, the Co-op Education Incentive and WIPSI — where most provinces run one.
Can I combine multiple wage subsidies on the same employee?
+You can stack programs that cover different cost categories. A wage subsidy covering salary and a training grant covering course fees are different cost categories — stacking them on the same employee is legal and encouraged. You cannot claim the same dollar of wages from two separate wage subsidies. For example, you cannot claim both Canada Summer Jobs and a provincial wage subsidy on the same position — both cover wages, so the same expense cannot be double-claimed. Note a stricter version of this rule that catches people out: several programs state that the employer must not be receiving any other government wage funding for that position, which rules out combinations that the general stacking rule would allow. Nova Scotia's Graduate to Opportunity says exactly this. The base rule is that different programs can fund the same hire but not the same expense; always read the specific program's wording, and always disclose concurrent funding — failure to disclose is grounds for clawback and deregistration.
Are wage subsidies available for part-time employees?
+Most programs accept part-time positions, with the subsidy prorated based on actual hours worked. Canada Summer Jobs requires a minimum number of hours per week (typically at least 30 hours to receive the full subsidy) and the placement must be between 6 and 16 consecutive weeks. Provincial training grants like the Ontario Job Grant and Building Up Manitoba cover training costs regardless of hours — the employee simply needs to be on payroll and the training needs to be relevant to their role. Green Jobs STIP requires full-time employment of 30 or more hours a week. Nova Scotia's START also requires a minimum of 30 hours a week. Confirm the minimum-hours requirement for each program before designing a part-time role around a specific subsidy.
How long does it take to get approved for a wage subsidy?
+Processing times vary significantly by program. Provincial training grants (the Ontario Job Grant, BUMP, B.C. ETG, WIPSI, SkillsPEI) typically process complete applications in 2–4 weeks. Provincial wage subsidies (JobsNL, Employ PEI, NS START) run 2–6 weeks. Federal programs are slower: Canada Summer Jobs takes several months from the November application window to a spring funding agreement, which is why the intake sits so far ahead of the placement. Green Jobs STIP through a delivery organization takes 2–3 months. SWPP through a delivery partner is the fastest federal route at 2–6 weeks. Always budget for the slowest realistic timeline, not the fastest published one.
Do I need to pay the subsidy back if the employee quits?
+Generally, no — if the employee leaves before the program period ends, you are not required to repay the subsidy for wages already reimbursed, provided you met all program conditions up to the point of departure. However, some programs impose a minimum employment duration, and multi-year salary incentives such as Nova Scotia's Graduate to Opportunity pay a second-year amount that simply does not arrive if the graduate leaves. Where a program has advanced you money against a placement that ends early, expect to return the unused portion. For Canada Summer Jobs, reimbursement is bi-weekly and tied to actual payroll records — if the student leaves in week 8 of a 16-week placement, you receive reimbursement only for the first 8 weeks and owe nothing back. Check the specific terms in your funding agreement for the minimum duration conditions applicable to your program.
Are there hiring incentives specifically designed for small businesses?
+Yes, and the thresholds are steep rather than gradual. The Ontario Job Grant drops the employer share from one-half to one-sixth at 100 employees, and to zero for a previously unemployed new hire — so the same course costs a small Ontario employer three times less than a large one, or nothing. Nova Scotia's WIPSI covers 100% of the first $10,000 for small businesses. Nova Scotia's Graduate to Opportunity Grow stream is restricted to employers with fewer than 100 employees outright, so large firms cannot apply at all. Canada Summer Jobs restricts private-sector eligibility to businesses with fewer than 50 full-time year-round staff. SR&ED gives Canadian-controlled private corporations a 35% refundable credit where a large company gets 15% non-refundable. The pattern is consistent: these programs are not merely friendlier to small employers, they are frequently closed to large ones.
How to Apply for Wage Subsidies
Six steps that apply to every wage subsidy and hiring incentive program in Canada.
Identify qualifying programs before posting the job
Use the decision tree above or the comparison table to find programs that match your hire type, province, and business size. Run through the eligibility quick-check for each target program. Most programs require pre-approval — identifying the right programs before you write the job description lets you design the role to qualify. A position described as a "summer operations support role" qualifies for fewer programs than the same role described as a "6-week youth placement in environmental data management" — both accurate, but one unlocks bonus scoring points and additional program eligibility.
Confirm eligibility before posting the position
Review the full eligibility criteria for each target program against your specific situation. Key variables to confirm: your business size (small vs. large employer rates differ significantly), your province (four provincial grants have closed since 2024), the employee's citizenship and residency status, and whether the training provider you plan to use is on the program's approved-provider list. Contacting the program administrator directly to confirm eligibility before investing time in an application is standard practice for experienced grant applicants — most program officers answer preliminary eligibility questions.
Gather all required documents before starting the online application
Standard document requirements across most programs: 2 years of financial statements (or CRA Notice of Assessment for sole proprietors), current business registration or certificate of incorporation, CRA Business Number with active payroll account (RP suffix), void cheque or bank letter for direct deposit, signed job description or offer letter, training plan with learning objectives and provider contact information, and a signed quote from the training provider on their letterhead. Programs for youth or demographic-specific hires may also require proof of the employee's age, education level, or citizenship status. Prepare the complete package before starting the online application — incomplete submissions are returned, not processed.
Apply through the correct channel for each program
Canada Summer Jobs is administered through the federal Grants and Contributions Online Services portal at canada.ca. Provincial programs have their own portals — the Ontario Job Grant portal at employmentontario.labour.gov.on.ca, WorkBC's Employer Training Grant, Manitoba's Building Up Manitoba Program. Delivery-partner programs (SWPP, Green Jobs STIP, YESS, ISET) require you to contact an approved delivery organization first; do not attempt to apply directly to the federal government for these. Never submit to the wrong portal — applications are not forwarded and must be restarted from scratch.
Wait for written approval before the hire date
Budget 2–4 weeks for provincial programs and 6–12 weeks for federal programs. Do NOT make a verbal or written offer of employment, sign a training agreement, or begin any training activity until your written approval or funding agreement arrives. For Canada Summer Jobs specifically, the funding agreement must be signed before the employee's first day — the program is explicit that no retroactive claims are accepted. Track your application status through the relevant employer portal and respond immediately to any requests for additional information, as delayed responses extend processing time.
Submit proof of hire and claim reimbursement on schedule
Wage subsidies reimburse documented payroll — they do not pay in advance. Keep organized records throughout the program period: bi-weekly payroll records showing hours worked and wages paid, training attendance and completion certificates, invoices from the training provider marked as paid, and bank statements confirming wages were transferred. Canada Summer Jobs reimburses bi-weekly through the Employer Portal — submit each claim within the claim period or forfeit that period's reimbursement. Provincial job grants typically reimburse once training is complete — submit the completion certificate, paid invoice, and payroll records together. Most programs require all claims to be submitted within 30–90 days of the program end date.
Sources and References
All claims cite official government sources and verified program documentation. Program statuses on this page were re-verified against the GrantCompass catalogue and the official program pages in August 2026.
- Canada Summer Jobs — Employment and Social Development Canada
- Youth Employment and Skills Strategy — Employment and Social Development Canada
- Green Jobs — Science and Technology Internship Program (STIP) — Natural Resources Canada
- Digital Skills for Youth Program — Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (no 2026–27 cycle announced)
- Building Up Manitoba Program (BUMP) — Province of Manitoba
- The Canadian Press — "Claims about wage subsidies for immigrants and temporary workers in Canada are misleading" (June 2025), citing IRCC
- Student Work Placement Program (SWPP) — Employment and Social Development Canada
- JobsNL Wage Subsidy — Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
- Employ PEI — Government of Prince Edward Island
- Staffing UP Wage & Training Subsidy — Government of Yukon
- Indigenous Skills and Employment Training (ISET) — Employment and Social Development Canada
- Ontario Job Grant — Government of Ontario
- BC Employer Training Grant — WorkBC / Government of British Columbia
- Workplace Innovation and Productivity Skills Incentive (WIPSI) — Government of Nova Scotia
- WorkingNB — Government of New Brunswick
- SkillsPEI Employer Training — Government of Prince Edward Island
- Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Tax Incentive Program — Canada Revenue Agency
- Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit (AJCTC) — Canada Revenue Agency
- Apprenticeship Incentive Grant — "what this grant offered" — Employment and Social Development Canada (ended March 31, 2025)
- Apprenticeship Service — Employment and Social Development Canada (not currently accepting applications)
- Workforce Development Agreements — Employment and Social Development Canada
- Budget 2025 — Government of Canada
- Labour Force Survey — Statistics Canada
- Canada Summer Jobs 2026: Youth hiring period announcement (April 2026) — Employment and Social Development Canada
- Workplace Innovation and Productivity Skills Incentive (WIPSI) program page — Government of Nova Scotia