Canada Summer Jobs Wage Subsidy – New Intake Open

The Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) program is one of the largest wage subsidy programs available to businesses and non-profits across Canada. This program helps cover a portion of co-op, recent graduate, and youth hiring costs, providing up to 50% of minimum wage for private/public sector employers and up to 100% of minimum wage for non-profit applicants.

The Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) program is now open for applications until January 10, 2024.

Through CJG funding, students should be able to further develop their skills and knowledge through funded placements, preparing them for employment.

Funding Snapshot: Canada Summer Jobs

If your business will hire a co-op, recent graduate, or youth for a summer position, this is an excellent opportunity to recover a portion of their employment costs.

Amount of Funding

The amount of funding eligible businesses can receive for each new hire through the Canada Summer Jobs program is limited by the type of organization applying for funding. A maximum of 40 work hours per week can qualify for funding. Additional funding is provided to non-profit organizations to reduce their costs. The amount of funding provided will be determined based on your application and organizational structure:

  • Covers up to 50% of minimum wage for youth hired by private/public sector employers; OR
  • Covers up to 100% of minimum wage for youth hired by non-profit applicants, plus Mandatory Employment Related Costs (MERCS).

Who is Eligible to Apply?

To ensure the CSJ program is offering financial support to businesses that will foster a healthy learning environment for youth hires, the following eligibility restrictions must be met for your business to receive funding:

  • Employer must have < 50 employees;
  • Candidate must be 15–30 years of age and a permanent Canadian resident, citizen, or refugee; and
  • Positions must be full-time (30–40 hours/week) for at least 6 weeks in duration, with the average funding in previous years lasting 8 weeks at ~35 hours/week.

Eligible Hires and Positions

The CSJ program requires that new hires are between the ages of 15–30 and work a minimum of 30–40 hours a week. This program does not require candidates to be selected when applying for funding. Only an eligible position is required for the application. Eligible activities for this stream of funding include employers who are:

  • Providing relevant work experience and mentorship for youth ages 15–30;
  • Providing wages above minimum wage;
  • Hiring a priority student; or
  • Addressing local priorities.

National Priorities this year include:

  • Opportunities for youth with disabilities/organizations that provide services to persons with disabilities;
  • Opportunities for youth underrepresented in labor market (Black and racialized youth, Indigenous youth, LGBTQ2+ youth);
  • Opportunities in rural, remote, or official language minority communities;
  • Skilled trades opportunities; and
  • Opportunities related to sustainability.

You do not need a candidate to apply; you have until your position’s proposed start date to find an eligible candidate.

Timelines for Canada Summer Jobs

Given the popularity of this program, and the short application window, Canadian business will want to keep the previous 2022 application deadlines in mind, to know what to expect with the current intake.

The Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) program is now open for applications until January 10, 2024.

Here are additional timelines for consideration:

  • Internship can commence as soon as April 22, 2024.
  • Latest possible internship start date is July 22, 2024.
  • Internships must be completed by August 31, 2024.
  • Must wait for approval before hiring your candidate – with approval updates provided by the program starting in April 2024.

Apply for the Canada Summer Jobs Wage Subsidy

This program operates on a tight deadline and receives a large number of applications during its intake period. We strongly recommend you subscribe to our weekly funding newsletter to be notified when this program opens. If you believe your business has an eligible position, we strongly encourage you to speak with a member of the Mentor Works team of Canadian government grant writing professionals for the best chance at getting approved for funding and eliminate an estimated 95% of time required to apply for funding compared to businesses that apply in-house. Speak with a member of our team today by calling our toll-free hotline at 1-888-599-3111.

Businesses that are successful in their Canada Summer Jobs application will then need to find and select a candidate themselves. For the best practices on scouting and recruiting the best employee available to you, get access to our free Recruiting Top Talent slide deck.

Where to Recruit Recent University Graduates

4 Comments

  1. I am a small business owner that has been affected by both Covid 19 lockdowns, as well as a bridge closure in our town which has greatly impacted the ability for customers to reach our destination. Our Surf Shop is located on one of Bobcaygeon’s three islands and it is dependent on the traffic flow over the bridge. We have now just been told that the bridge will remain closed for a second consecutive summer 2022 season.
    Is it possible to still apply for the summer student wage subsidy because I am passed the deadline of Jan 25 2022
    I look forward to your reply.
    Thank You Monica Poole (Buckeye Surf, Bobcaygeon, ON K0M 1A0

    1. Hi Monica – Thank you for reaching out. Although you cannot apply for Canada Summer Jobs after the deadline, we encourage you to explore your options at Employment Ontario, as they also offer wage subsidies and talent matching programs that might be of help. Canada Summer Jobs typically launches between the last month and the first month of the year for the upcoming summer, so you could participate in the next round for 2023 if you check back in December 2023, assuming the program is refreshed.

  2. Hi
    We have opened a small franchise restaurant in St.Albert city. We hire new immigrants, summer students and wide variety of different cultural groups.
    We need employments wage subsidy to support our business.
    As a new start up business it has not been a profitable business for us till now.

    1. Hi Jalpa,

      Thank you for getting in touch with us. Although Mentor Works’ grant writing services are catered to established Canadian businesses with a positive net income, we recommend that you browse the list of Startup Resources, as there are financing, support, and mentorship resources for the manufacturing sector that might be relevant to you. Additionally, we wanted to let you know about Fundingportal™, an incentive management system that will allow you to find and track startup funding that could help your business grow.

      If your company matches the Mentor Works criteria, please fill out our Contact Form to speak to one of our funding specialists. We hope this helps and wish you all the best!

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