Archived - 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

  • 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.

    Learn more about the Canada Workers Benefit

  • 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.

    Learn more about mortgage payment deferral

Students

  • 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.

    Find out more about repayment of student loans

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

  • 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

    Apply through your Regional Development Agency

  • Extending the Work-Sharing program

    We have extended the maximum duration of the Work-Sharing program from 38 weeks to 76 weeks for employers affected by COVID-19.

    Apply to the Work-Sharing program

Find the support you need for your business

Interactive business benefits finder:


Support for sectors

Tourism

  • 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.

    Apply through your Regional Development Agency

Aquaculture and fisheries

  • Changes to Employment Insurance fishing benefits

    We will calculate Employment Insurance (EI) fishing benefits for self-employed fish harvesters and sharespersons using either their fishing earnings for their current claim, or their fishing earnings from their claim for the same season from the previous year, whichever is higher.

    Apply for EI fishing benefits

Culture, heritage and sport

  • 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.

    Apply to the Major Festivals and Events Support Initiative

  • 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

  • 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.

    Apply through your Regional Development Agency


Support for communities

Communities and organizations

  • 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

    Apply to the Indigenous Community Support Fund

  • 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


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