COVID-19: Financial support for people, businesses and organizations
List of available financial support introduced to help address the needs of Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On this page you will find
Support for people
People and families
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Supporting low-income workers and families
The Canada Workers Benefit provides a refundable tax credit to help people who are working and earning a low income.
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Mortgage payment deferral
Homeowners facing financial hardship may be eligible for a mortgage payment deferral.
The deferral is an agreement between you and your lender. Typically, the agreement indicates that you and your lender have agreed to pause or suspend your mortgage payments for a certain amount of time. After the agreement ends, your mortgage payments return to normal and the deferred payments — including principal and accumulated interest – are added to the outstanding principal balance and subsequently repaid throughout the life of the mortgage.
To know if you are eligible for a mortgage payment deferral or to learn what options are available, contact your lender — your bank or your mortgage professional.
Students
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Waiving interest on student and apprentice loans
To help students and young Canadians who have been particularly hard-hit by COVID-19, we are waiving the interest for full-time and part-time students on the federal portion of Canada Student Loans and Canada Apprentice Loans until March 31, 2023.
Additional support
For additional financial support such as Employment Insurance, child benefit, pensions and benefits for housing, education, training, family, people with disabilities and after a death, visit the Benefits page.
Support for businesses
Businesses
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Wage and hiring support
You may be eligible for a subsidy to cover part of your employee wages between October 24, 2021 and May 7, 2022. This subsidy will enable you to re-hire workers, help prevent further job losses, and ease your business back into normal operations.
For each applicable claim period, eligible employers can claim one of the following, whichever gives the highest amount:
- Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program
- Hardest-Hit Businesses Recovery Program
- Canada Recovery Hiring Program
- Local Lockdown Program
Although these programs ended on May 7, 2022, businesses can apply for support up to 180 days after the end of the claim period for which they are applying.
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Rent and property expenses support
You may be eligible for a subsidy to cover part of your commercial rent or property expenses between October 24, 2021 and May 7, 2022.
Depending on the period you are applying for, you may be eligible to claim your commercial rent or property expenses through one of the following:
- Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program
- Hardest-Hit Businesses Recovery Program
- Local Lockdown Program
Although these programs ended on May 7, 2022, businesses can apply for support up to 180 days after the end of the claim period for which they are applying.
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Jobs and Growth Fund
The Jobs and Growth Fund is a $700-million program that supports regional job creation and positions local economies for long-term growth. This includes up to $70 million dedicated to businesses created after January 2020.
The Fund will help businesses and organizations that:
- support the transition to a green economy
- foster an inclusive recovery
- enhance Canada's competitiveness through digital adoption to improve productivity and manufacturing processes
- strengthen capacity in sectors critical to Canada's recovery and growth
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Extending the Work-Sharing program
Find the support you need for your business
Interactive business benefits finder:
Support for sectors
Tourism
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Tourism Relief Fund
The Tourism Relief Fund will help position Canada as a destination of choice when domestic and international travel is deemed safe, by:
- empowering tourism businesses to create new or enhance existing tourism experiences and products to attract more local and domestic visitors
- helping the sector reposition itself to welcome international visitors, by providing the best Canadian tourism experiences we have to offer the world
The Tourism Relief Fund provides non-repayable contributions up to $100,000 or repayable contributions up to $500,000 to businesses to enhance or create new tourism experiences. Not-for-profit organizations and Indigenous organizations, not generating profits, are also eligible for non-repayable contributions.
Aquaculture and fisheries
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Changes to Employment Insurance fishing benefits
Culture, heritage and sport
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Major Festivals and Events Support Initiative
The Major Festivals and Events Support Initiative is a two-year, $200-million national fund to help Canadian festivals survive and adapt to the pandemic.
Eligible activities are recurring festivals and events with annual revenues exceeding $10 million.
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Canada Arts and Culture Recovery Program
The Canada Arts and Culture Recovery Program (CACRP) is a $50 million investment in 2022-2023, aiming to continue the targeted support for organizations that are still facing significant financial challenges in the third year of the pandemic.
More information on the Canada Arts and Culture Recovery Program (CACRP)
Aerospace
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Aerospace Regional Recovery Initiative
The Aerospace Regional Recovery Initiative provides $250 million over three years to help the Canadian aerospace sector emerge from the pandemic and continue to compete on the global stage.
Businesses operating in the aerospace industry, and the organizations that support them through supply chains, are eligible to apply for funding for projects that will:
- help them green their operations and adopt environmentally sustainable practices;
- improve productivity and strengthen commercialization; and/or
- strengthen integration into regional and global supply chains.
Support for communities
Communities and organizations
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Addressing immediate needs in Indigenous communities
We launched a distinctions-based Indigenous Community Support Fund to address immediate needs in First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Nation communities.
These funds could be used for measures including, but not limited to:- support for Elders and vulnerable community members
- measures to address food insecurity
- educational and other support for children
- mental health assistance and emergency response services
- preparedness measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19
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Canada Community Revitalization Fund
The Canada Community Revitalization Fund provides up to $750,000 or $1 million to not-for-profit organizations, municipalities, public institutions and Indigenous communities for projects to revitalize communities across Canada.
The funding covers up to 75% of the total project costs. Indigenous community projects may qualify for funding to cover 100% of total project costs.
To apply for funding, projects must aim to:
- adapt community spaces and assets so that they may be used safely in accordance with local public-health guidelines
- build or improve community infrastructure to encourage Canadians to re-engage in and explore their communities and regions
- reinvent outdoor spaces
- create green infrastructure
- increase the accessibility of community spaces
Apply to the Canada Community Revitalization Fund through your Regional Development Agency
What COVID-19 information do you need?
- Testing
- Vaccines
- Income support
- Health and safety
- Additional economic and financial support
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