Employment and Social Development Canada’s 2025 to 2026 Departmental Plan

On this page

• From the Minister
• Service excellence
• Plans to deliver on core responsibilities and internal services
  • Core responsibility 1: Social development
  • Core responsibility 2: Pensions and benefits
  • Core responsibility 3: Learning, skills development and employment
  • Core responsibility 4: Working conditions and workplace relations
  • Core responsibility 5: Information delivery and services for other government departments
  • Internal services
  • Overall risks and mitigation strategies
• Planned spending and human resources
  • Spending
  • Funding
  • Future-oriented condensed statement of operations
  • Human resources
  • Statutory Annual reports
• Corporate information
• Supplementary information tables
• Federal tax expenditures
• Definitions

Alternate formats

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List of tables

• Table 1: Not-for-profit organizations, communities and other groups have an enhanced capacity to address a range of social issues such as the social inclusion of persons with disabilities, the engagement of seniors, and support for children and families
• Table 2: : Barriers to accessibility for persons with disabilities are removed
• Table 3: Affordability of early learning and child care is increased
• Table 4: Clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs
• Table 5: Planned resources to achieve results for Social development
• Table 6: Seniors have income support for retirement
• Table 7: Persons with disabilities and their families have financial support
• Table 8: Clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs
• Table 9: Planned resources to achieve results for Pension and benefits
• Table 10: Canadians access education, training, and lifelong learning supports to gain the skills and work experience they need
• Table 11: Canadians participate in an inclusive and efficient labour market
• Table 12: Canadians receive financial support during employment transitions such as job loss, illness, or maternity/ parental leave
• Table 13: Students, including those from low and middle-income families, are provided with federally funded supports to help them participate in post-secondary education (PSE)
• Table 14: Students borrowers are able to repay their federal student debt
• Table 15: Clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs
• Table 16: Planned resources to achieve results for Learning, skills development and employment
• Table 17: Workplaces are safe and healthy
• Table 18: Work Conditions are fair and inclusive
• Table 19: Indicators, results and targets for departmental result: Labour relations are cooperative
• Table 20: Clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs
• Table 21: Planned resources to achieve results for Working conditions and workplace relations
• Table 22: Indicators, results and targets for departmental result: Clients receive high quality, timely and accurate government information and services that meet their needs
• Table 23: Indicators, results and targets for departmental result: Canadians can obtain a passport within Canada in a timely manner
• Table 24: Planned resources to achieve results for Information delivery and services for other government departments
• Table 25: Planned resources to achieve results for internal services this year
• Table 26: Percentage of contracts planned and awarded to Indigenous businesses
• Table 27: Financial resources (dollars)
• Table 28: Actual spending summary for core responsibilities and internal services - Gross (dollars)
• Table 29: Actual spending summary for core responsibilities and internal services - Net (dollars)
• Table 30: Budgetary planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services - Gross (dollars)
• Table 31: Budgetary planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services - Net (dollars)
• Table 32: 2025 to 26 budgetary gross and net planned spending summary (dollars)
• Table 33: Consolidated Future-oriented condensed statement of operations for the year ending March 31, 2026 (dollars)
• Table 34: Actual human resources for core responsibilities and internal services
• Table 35: Human resources planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services
• Table 36: 2025 to 2026 Allocations

From the Minister

This year brings both challenges and opportunities for Canada as we look to build an economy that works for everyone. In order to provide the level of service on which Canadians rely, the Government of Canada will maintain the sustainability of vital social programs. Whether supporting Canadians through their college or university studies, starting careers, mid-career, raising families or transitioning to retirement, the Government of Canada will be there to provide a helping hand when and where it is needed.

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) is working with provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners to provide families with access to high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive early learning and child care no matter where they live. We are on track to meet the goal of delivering regulated child care for an average of $10-a-day and creating 250,000 new spaces by March 2026. In addition, we are expanding the Indigenous early childhood educator workforce and building and upgrading child care centres, ensuring culturally appropriate programs and services.

A good education starts with a healthy meal. Alongside provinces, territories and Indigenous partners, the Government of Canada is investing in and expanding national school food programs to provide up to 400,000 more children with nutritious meals.

The Government of Canada has an ambitious plan to drive progress in trade, energy solutions, housing affordability and security through well thought out infrastructure projects. Together with transformative artificial intelligence, we will create opportunities for millions of Canadians to pursue new rewarding careers. We will work with speed and determination to help Canadian workers and businesses develop the skills needed to participate in an evolving labour market by ensuring timely access to the necessary education and training resources to fuel our ambitious economic agenda. For example, ESDC is funding 22 projects through the Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program to provide training for workers affected by artificial intelligence and help workers develop skills for jobs in the low-carbon economy in key sectors. ESDC is also investing close to $3 billion through Labour Market Development Agreements and Workforce Development Agreements. This funding is expected to support the delivery of training and employment services to 800,000 Canadians, focusing on those most in need. It will help Employment Insurance recipients with skills training, wage subsidies, and employment support, while Employment Assistance Services will provide counselling and job search help. The Skills for Success Program will also support 35 projects to fund research to improve skills development for underrepresented groups and develop assessment tools and training resources, which help Canadians, particularly from vulnerable groups, build essential transferable skills.

The Department is also working on initiatives aimed at protecting the mental and physical health of employees in federally regulated private sectors. This includes a new three-day paid leave related to pregnancy loss that will provide employees with greater job and income security while they recover, and a right-to-disconnect policy to help promote clear boundaries between work and personal time.

The Government of Canada will introduce automatic enrolment in the Canada Learning Bond for eligible children who do not have a Registered Education Savings Plan, helping low-income families plan for their child's education. As part of the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program, we will support around 700,000 post-secondary students through Canada Student Grants and interest-free Canada Student Loans. The Supports for Student Learning Program will also help more than 40,000 equity-deserving students transition to post-secondary education or employment. Through the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, at least 90,000 youth will gain work experience in high-demand sectors like STEM and agriculture. Canada Summer Jobs opportunities will be available on Job Bank, along with enhanced digital tools for career guidance. In addition, targeted investments under the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy will help create a diverse and inclusive skilled trades workforce, help more Canadians build good careers and support labour market needs.

Canada is building a barrier-free country by 2040 through the continued implementation of the Accessible Canada Act. Regulations for digital technologies are being developed to ensure that they are accessible from the outset and finalizing the Accessible Canada Roadmap. Additionally, we are removing barriers and helping more than 6,000 individuals to gain skills and work experience through the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities by supporting about 2,000 employers to create more inclusive and accessible workplaces. We are also committing $6.1 billion over six years for the Canada Disability Benefit, which will provide up to $2,400 per year to eligible low-income Canadians with disabilities, starting in July 2025.

ESDC is empowering Black communities through the Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative by supporting Black youth and Black people experiencing mental health and other health challenges. The Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat is also working with North American counterparts to advance anti-racism work and promote partnership and trade, including helping Black-led Canadian organizations to deepen ties and expand their opportunities.

Fostering Indigenous economic empowerment remains a priority as the Department completes the first evaluation of the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program. This program provides training and support to more than 40,000 individuals annually, with the goal of helping more than 16,500 of them to find jobs. Furthermore, investments in the Indigenous Labour Market Information Survey and Skills Inventory will help more than 200 communities collect local labour market data, identify skills gaps, and improve job matching and economic development.

To ensure seniors and their families have the support they need through retirement, changes are being made to the Canada Pension Plan. Starting in 2025, ESDC is introducing a new monthly benefit of $150 for eligible dependent children of deceased or disabled contributors who are in part-time studies. We are also expanding eligibility for the disabled contributor's child benefit for children of disabled parents. As part of Canada's social safety net, the Old Age Security program will continue to provide a basic pension and additional help through the Guaranteed Income Supplement for eligible low-income seniors, along with allowances for their spouse or common-law partner when they qualify. The Department is improving the delivery of these benefits through the Benefits Delivery Modernization programme, which seeks to transform the digital experience for millions of Canadians by introducing a more seamless service experience across platforms.

ESDC is committed to providing high-quality and accessible services to Canadians. We will be helping Health Canada expand access to affordable dental care with the Canadian Dental Care Plan by onboarding eligible Canadians and introducing a renewal process for existing clients. Through initiatives like GC Notify and GC Forms, the Department is simplifying information sharing, expanding service notifications, and making applications more user-friendly. These improvements reflect ongoing efforts to deliver government services that are faster, more secure, and truly centred on the needs of Canadians. Additionally, we will continue to work closely with Indigenous communities to provide flexible in-person access to services and benefits through community events and outreach activities like Social Insurance Number clinics.

ESDC is paving the way for future generations as we continue to lead Canada's implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. This includes the release of Canada's 2025 Annual Report, which will highlight whole-of-society and whole-of-government efforts to advance the sustainable development goals at home and abroad.

By working together in partnership and staying true to our values, we can take advantage of the opportunities ahead and lay the foundation for a fairer and more inclusive future for all Canadians.

Minister of Jobs and Families, Patty Hajdu

Service Excellence

We are committed to serving Canadians, to meeting their diverse needs, ensuring accessibility, efficiency, and high-quality experiences across all channels: in person, online, by telephone and by mail. In 2025 to 2026, we are focusing on three priorities:

1. Modernizing Service Delivery

We are improving digital tools and processes to offer faster, and more secure and user-friendly, experiences:

• Enhancing Digital Tools:
  • expanding GC Notify, a cloud-based product that keeps clients updated 24/7 via email or text about their government services
  • expanding GC Forms, a cloud-based tool that builds simple, accessible online forms. This will help clients complete service applications online
  • launching GC Sign-In as the single, secure, seamless entry point for Government of Canada services, providing clients with a single login to access government services
  • introducing GC Issue and Verify to:
    • issue digital credentials that can be used across Canada and internationally
    • confirm that a credential is valid and authentic without the need for multiple verification steps
  • putting in place an inclusive, efficient and cohesive GC Design System to provide users with a trusted and unified online experience for government information and services
  • launching a Service and Digital Toolkit, a set of tools and guidelines that will enable the government to offer more services to clients that are digital by design
• Improving Service Experiences:
  • making it easier to find information on Canada.ca with a new search tool using machine learning and artificial intelligence for faster and more accurate searches
  • using client experience research and user-centric design to make products easier to understand and use. This involves testing digital tools like applications, forms, and websites with real users and using their feedback to improve services
• Benefits Delivery Modernization:
  • finalizing the migration of Old Age Security (OAS) benefits to a modern platform in 2025, which is expected to benefit approximately 7.4 million seniors with features like application saving, online submissions, and managing personal details like payment preferences
  • launching the Compassionate Care for Self-Employed benefit under Employment Insurance in 2025, offering simpler applications and real-time status tracking

2. Improving Services for Canadians

We are enhancing accessibility, responsiveness, and efficiency:

• Using Client Feedback:
  • Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP): making updates for plain language, better content grouping, and a clearer "Apply" button
  • Canada Pension Plan (CPP): adding a sign-in button on all pension pages
  • Life Events – “Welcoming a Child” and “What to Do When Someone Dies”: simplifying navigation and redesigning pages using plain language
  • All delivery channels (online, phone and in-person): collecting feedback from clients to improve our services and better meet their needs. Surveys and questionnaires will help us to understand client behaviour and channel churn, identify areas for improvement and track the impact of service changes over time
  • In Person: using a ticketing system and testing a text messaging system to improve the client experience by providing clients with flexibility in where they wait for service
• Innovating Service Design:
  • improvements to the overall design and content of our departmental grants and contributions funding web page to further improve navigation and user-experience, to help organizations find what they are looking for. Adding a "Find Funding Opportunities" button helps organizations quickly search for funding and encourages online applications
  • introducing "life events" navigation to Canada.ca, making it easier for users to access key services
  • Starting the transition of contact centres, including those for Employment Insurance and Pensions, to CCaaS (Contact Centre as a Solution). These centres handle over 27 million calls annually and will offer a seamless experience across all channels. Service Canada employees will get new features like workforce management and integrated knowledge management to improve client experience
  • following a successful pilot with Newfoundland and Labrador, we are partnering with Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, and Manitoba to digitize the death registration process, ensuring faster notifications to reduce overpayment. Quebec implemented their electronic death registration project in 2022. Alberta and British Colombia did not receive funding from our department as they already met the timeliness targets. Both provinces partnered with Statistics Canada to implement electronic death registration

3. Better Access to Services

We are addressing barriers faced by marginalized and underserved populations, focusing on reducing inequities and increasing benefit uptake by:

• Collaborating with Communities:
  • engaging First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and urban Indigenous populations through consultations to improve Employment Insurance delivery, ensuring solutions are bilingual and inclusive. Research and testing have involved over 900 participants across all provinces since September 2023
  • working with provinces and territories to identify and address barriers for underserved groups, including those in rural and remote communities
• Improving Accessibility:
  • consulting persons with disabilities to ensure service designs meet their needs
  • implementing accessibility standards across all programs, introducing Accessibility Statements for over 50 services, and refining feedback mechanisms to address gaps
  • providing specialized training for service staff to better support clients with physical and cognitive disabilities
• Addressing Systemic Barriers:
  • collaborating with Canada Revenue Agency and Statistics Canada to better serve low-income families, Indigenous communities, and seniors who face barriers in accessing benefits like the Canada Child Benefit and Guaranteed Income Supplement
• Leveraging Client Feedback:
  • continuing the Grants and Contributions Client Experience Research Program to improve funding application processes. Over 3,000 clients across sectors participated in the latest survey, resulting in simpler application steps for organizations nationwide

These initiatives reflect our commitment to delivering inclusive, accessible, and high-quality services to all Canadians, regardless of location or background.

Service Canada Regional Service Delivery

Service Canada offices, in partnership with provinces, territories, municipalities, and communities, provide essential services at many offices across the country. They will continue to adapt to clients' needs. Each region has unique and shared activities. Here are a few highlights of the activities that regions will pursue this year:

Western Canada and Territories

Passport Services

A third Passport Production Centre was recently opened in British Columbia—the first one in the Western Canada and Territories Region. This new centre will process and print passports, helping to improve passport services in places like Red Deer, Yellowknife, and Iqaluit, to ensure equitable passport services are available for all Canadians, no matter where they live. The addition of this production centre will add to our existing sites in Ontario and Quebec.

Service for Indigenous Peoples

The Canada Post Connect pilot will expand into additional northern communities in the Western Canada and Territories Region. This will improve delivery of Employment Insurance documents to northern Indigenous partners, who need this information to verify income support. The partners can receive same-day responses, significantly reducing wait times experienced when using regular mail.

With nearly 70% of Indigenous communities in Canada located in this region, we will continue to work closely with over 500 communities to provide flexible in-person access to services. We will make it easier to access services and benefits through outreach activities, including Super Clinics (clinics co-delivered with federal and provincial/territorial partners) and Social Insurance Number (SIN) clinics and at community events.

Funding for an outreach strategy to improve delivery of the Canada Summer Jobs program to northern and Indigenous organizations will continue. This includes creating and translating marketing materials and social media posts into the Indigenous languages of Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun. The aim is to increase applications from Nunavut, which has had fewer applications in the past. We are also exploring using radio ads in the North to encourage more applications.

Partnering with provinces, territories and community organizations to improve service delivery

We partner with Alberta Children's Services department to issue Social Insurance Numbers (SIN) for children in care. A new Verified Partners Secure Processing Portal can be used by verified employees or representatives with Alberta Children's Services to apply for a first time SIN or get a SIN confirmation for children in their care. This supports children in care with getting a first job or accessing the Canada Learning Bond while safeguarding their personal information.

We will continue to hold outreach sessions with employers, temporary foreign workers and stakeholders, including local and provincial/territorial governments. These sessions educate participants about compliance inspections, rights of the Temporary Foreign Workers program, improving inspection results and strengthening partnerships.

Ontario Region

Passport Services

We will host information sessions to explain passport services, document requirements and the application process. Passport services will also be available at all scheduled outreach locations.

Services for Indigenous Peoples

Partnering with Indigenous Services Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency, we will host meetings with Indigenous Partners including service organizations, Nations, and Tribal Councils. Together, we will create strategies to reduce barriers and find solutions for the Indigenous Community. For example, we will extend in-person services to remote communities through outreach activities, such as information sessions and clinics.

Partnering with provinces, territories and community organizations to improve service delivery

We will work with Ontario's Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services to improve data sharing to make the application process easier for support programs, such as the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP).

Collaborating with Ontario's Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, we will improve employment services for workers. Labour market information will be shared, and we will connect with local managers to help vulnerable clients. Joint information sessions on foreign workers' rights, including employment protection, inspection and compliance processes, the Employment Standards Act, and workplace safety, will be held.

In partnership with ServiceOntario, we are exploring ways to improve service delivery and help vulnerable people access benefits, such as mobile pension clinics.

We are working with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board in Ontario to streamline processes for common clients by sharing information for both Employment Insurance and the Canada Pension Plan disability benefits.

Québec Region

Services for Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous Peoples in Quebec face barriers in accessing services in both urban and community settings. The region will set-up new mobile clinics in urban and remote areas with partners, enabling Indigenous Peoples to access a range of government services where they live. We will collaborate with partners including the Kativik Regional Government and the First Nations Human Resources Development Commission of Quebec.

Partnering with provinces, territories and community organizations to improve service delivery

Vulnerable populations such as seniors, people experiencing homelessness and newcomers can find it difficult to access services and benefits. The region will work with community organizations and the province to identify and address clients’ evolving needs. Solutions will be put in place to remove barriers and provide support to clients.

Atlantic Region

Partnering with provinces, territories and community organizations to improve service delivery

We will continue to work with community partners to find and help vulnerable clients, making it easier for them to learn about and access the benefits and services they are entitled to. For example, we participate in the Day of Caring, an annual one-day drop-in event where individuals can receive services from several provincial and federal departments, clothing distribution and food services, and other supports.

Other regional service delivery initiatives

We are increasing onsite inspections to ensure employers comply with the rules of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Investigators will conduct in-person interviews with employers and workers, addressing compliance issues directly on-site. This hands-on approach will enhance investigator visibility, improve employer education, and increase inspection resolutions.

To better serve clients, we will continue to contribute to the development of national systems and workload models. We will train employees to develop broader skills so they can adapt to various roles. For example, cross-training employees to help clients with multiple programs like Old Age Security and Canada Pension Plan - Disability, rather than just one program. This will equip employees to deliver high-quality services across diverse settings for a more seamless experience for Canadians.

Text description of Figure 1

This graphic shows the distribution of Service Canada's in-person service network by the type of office and regional distribution. Information in the graphic is valid as of December 31, 2024. The offices are distributed as follows:

Service Canada Centres

• Western Canada and Territories: 98
• Ontario: 87
• Québec: 75
• Atlantic: 57
• total: 317

Scheduled Outreach Sites

• Western Canada and Territories: 128
• Ontario: 75
• Québec: 18
• Atlantic: 28
• total: 249

Service Canada Centres - Passport Service Sites

• Western Canada and Territories: 5
• Ontario: 10
• Québec: 4
• Atlantic: 0
• total: 19

Service Delivery Partner Sites

• Western Canada and Territories: 15
• Ontario: 0
• Québec: 0
• Atlantic: 0
• total: 15

Plans to deliver on core responsibilities and internal services

Core responsibilities and internal services

• Core responsibility 1: Social development
• Core responsibility 2: Pensions and benefits
• Core responsibility 3: Learning, skills development and employment
• Core responsibility 4: Working conditions and workplace relations
• Core responsibility 5: Information delivery and services for other government departments
• Internal services

Core responsibility 1: Social development

In this section

• Description
• Quality of life impacts
• Indicators, results and targets
• Plans to achieve results
• Planned resources to achieve results
• Related government priorities
• Program inventory
• Summary of changes to reporting framework since last year

Description

Increase inclusion and opportunities for Canadians to participate in their communities.

Quality of life impacts

Programs under this core responsibility contribute to several Quality of Life Framework for Canada domains and indicators, including:

• Domain - Society (Indicators - Accessible environments, Indigenous languages, Positive perceptions of diversity, Sense of belonging to the local community, Volunteering) through activities that help remove barriers and provide racialized communities, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and families with children, opportunities to participate in their communities, and support local organizations in addressing the needs of these groups
• Domain - Prosperity (Indicators - Access to early learning and child care, Financial well-being, Protection from income shocks) through activities that increase the availability of affordable child care and support Indigenous groups to provide child care, and reduce poverty
• Domain - Good Governance (Indicator - Confidence in institutions), through activities that focus on the Sustainable Development framework, innovative projects and research that strengthen the programs of the department and the Government of Canada

Indicators, results and targets

This section presents details on the department's indicators, the actual results from the three most recently reported fiscal years, the targets and target dates approved in 2025 to 2026 for Social development. Details are presented by departmental result.

• Notes:
  1. Service standards are published on Transparency - Canada.ca.

Additional information on the detailed results and performance information for Employment and Social Development Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Plans to achieve results

The following section describes the planned results for Social Development in 2025 to 2026.

Affordability of early learning and child care is increased

We will keep working with provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners to build and maintain a Canada-wide early learning and child care system (ELCC). The system aims to provide high-quality, affordable, flexible, and inclusive ELCC. The goal is to lower fees to an average of $10 per day and to create 250,000 new spaces by March 2026.

We will keep supporting the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Forum of Ministers Most Responsible for ELCC, including work on a strategy to expand the workforce and improve working conditions in this field.

We will keep working with First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and Modern Treaty Self-Governing partners to support Indigenous-led Early Learning and Child Care programs across Canada.  We will continue to invest in building and upgrading early learning and child care centres to make sure they are of high quality. This investment contributes to our goal of providing Indigenous children and families with access to high-quality, culturally-relevant, early learning programming and services across Canada.

Increase capacity to address social issues

This year, the Social Finance Fund (part of the Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy) will continue to help Social Purpose Organizations (SPOs) access flexible funding opportunities by disbursing about $60 million to funding recipients to make social finance investments and undertake market-building activities. This funding helps SPOs address social and environmental problems. We will use data from funding recipients (known as fund managers or wholesalers), social finance intermediaries (credit unions, community loan funds, private equity firms) and SPOs to measure the social and environmental impacts of investments. We will also start to use the pilot Social Equity Lens Investment (SELI) coding system to measure and track progress in meeting social equity and gender goals. This will make it easier for investors and SPOs to measure how they are doing with diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiatives (SBCCI) will continue to fund Black-led organizations so they can make Black communities stronger. This includes projects that help Black youth and Black people experiencing mental health and other health challenges.

In 2018, Canada formally recognized the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent (the Decade). The Decade provides a framework to take targeted measures to promote respect and protect the rights of people of African descent. It also aims to increase knowledge and respect for their heritage, culture, and contributions to society around the world. In December 2024, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution Co-sponsored by Canada, for a Second International Decade for People of African Descent, from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2034, with the same theme: "People of African descent: recognition, justice and development". In 2025, we will continue our efforts under the first Decade with targeted programing aimed at removing barriers faced by people of African descent in Canada.

Discussions with Black youth, at the 2024 Permanent Forum on People of African Descent and other forums, showed the need for more youth representation in the SBCCI External Reference Group (ERG). In response, we have set up a temporary Black Youth Council for this purpose. This year, we will work on creating a permanent Black Youth Council to advise the Minister and departmental officials on the SBCCI and the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent.

We are investing $7.25 million over three years in Caribbean African Canadian Social Services to establish the first National Institute for People of African Descent. The Institute will lead research, knowledge-sharing, and community engagement to combat racism and improve the social and economic well-being of Black communities. In 2025 to 2026, we will give $2.16 million to support community engagement, data collection and applied research.

The Black-led Philanthropic Endowment Fund will keep investing in, and supporting Black-focused, Black-led and Black-serving charities and non-profits. These funds will help organizations run projects that fight anti-Black racism and improve social and economic outcomes in Black communities, including:

• projects designed to increase representation of Black youth in fields where they are currently under-represented, such as agriculture
• projects that support Black residents of Montreal in accessing mental health services
• providing access to affordable housing, as well as financial literacy coaching

The Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat's work will help to improve the quality of life, guarantee the rights and freedoms, and remove systemic barriers faced by close to 33% of the Canadian population. The federal Secretariat is working on tools to help federal employees:

• remove barriers that create disadvantages for Indigenous Peoples, Black, racialized and religious minority communities
• repair the adverse effect of past government decisions on diverse populations with lived experience of racism
• increase equal opportunities for populations that face racism

The federal Secretariat is also working with North American counterparts to advance anti-racism work and promote partnership and trade, including for Black-led Canadian community organizations, social enterprises, entrepreneurs, and businesses, to deepen ties and expand opportunities.

We will continue to lead Canada's implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This includes publishing Canada's 2025 Annual Report on the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. The report will feature people-focused narratives, and highlight actions taken by the whole-of-society and whole-of-government to achieve the SDGs at home and abroad. The department will also support Canada's participation at the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in July 2025.

Poverty is reduced

We will keep working on Opportunities for All - Canada's First Poverty Reduction Strategy. The target is to reduce poverty in Canada in half by 2030 compared to 2015 levels. Several measures are helping Canada meet its poverty reduction target. This includes the Canada Child Benefit, which provides substantial income support to families raising children and the Canada Workers Benefit, a refundable tax credit that helps supplement the earnings of low-income workers. For Canadian seniors, enhancements were made to the Old Age Security (OAS) program and the Guaranteed Income Supplement. Results from the Canadian Income Survey show that the overall poverty rate went down from 14.5% in 2015 to 9.9% in 2022. For children, the poverty rate went down from 16.3% in 2015 to 9.9% in 2022 and the poverty rate among seniors decreased from 7.1% in 2015 to 6.0% in 2022.

Canada's Poverty Reduction Strategy takes a distinctions-based approach to poverty reduction. The Government of Canada recognizes the unique rights, interests and circumstances of First Nations, Métis and Inuit, and based on the principles of reconciliation, we are working with National Indigenous Organizations to identify and co-develop indicators that reflect the multiple dimensions of poverty and well-being, including non-income-based measures of poverty.

We will also continue to provide secretariat support to the National Advisory Council on Poverty which advises and reports on Canada's progress on poverty reduction goals and speaks with Canadians to understand how poverty affect their lives.

In partnership with Statistics Canada, we will complete the third review of the Market Basket Measure which acts as Canada's Official Poverty Line. The updated methodology will reflect stakeholder-recommended changes, including feedback from academics, experts, and Canadians with lived experience of poverty, so that Canada's Official Poverty Line continues to represent the cost of a basket of goods and services required to achieve a modest, basic standard of living.

We are continuing our work to implement the National School Food Program in collaboration with provinces, territories, and Indigenous partners. This year, funding will support ongoing activities to expand and enhance school food programs across the country based on regional and community-specific needs. Overall, programming will provide up to 400,000 additional children each year across Canada with nutritious meals at school. We will also continue our work with Indigenous partners to support Indigenous-led engagement and capacity building activities related to school food programming.

Barriers to accessibility for persons with disabilities are removed

We will keep working on implementation of the Accessible Canada Act (the Act). This includes developing accessibility regulations and guidance for digital technologies (Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)) to make sure they are accessible from the start. It also includes reviewing existing accessibility standards to assess their effectiveness in removing barriers for persons with disabilities. We will also work to finalize the Accessible Canada Roadmap (which aims for a barrier-free Canada by 2040), which we began collecting feedback on in 2024.

We will meet with national Indigenous organizations to discuss their communities' accessibility needs, and work with them to apply the Act in a way that fits these communities. This will help the Government of Canada improve accessibility on First Nations reserves as set out in the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan.

Projects to improve access to professional sign language interpretation by raising awareness of the career path, increasing the number of new interpreters and improving the skills of existing interpreters, will continue. These projects, which were funded through the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities, will conclude by March 31, 2027.

We continue to fund up to 19 two-year projects through the National Accessibility Week (NAAW) stream of the Accessible Canada fund. These projects aim to raise awareness and promote accessibility and disability inclusion across Canada. Activities during NAAW can include arts and cultural events, speaking events, social media campaigns, and more. We will also work to build capacity within the disability community and support the growth and sustainability of these projects.

In addition, we will keep promoting a culture where accessibility is included from the beginning, not added later. We will support inclusive solutions in communities and workplaces so everyone can participate. This will include celebrations and awareness campaigns under National AccessAbility Week and the annual Canadian Congress on Disability Inclusion.

Budget 2024 allocated $22.4 million over five years starting in 2025 to 2026, and $3.8 million annually thereafter, to the Social Development Partnership Program - Disability Component (SDPP-D). This funding will support community-based navigation services to improve awareness and uptake of federal, provincial, and territorial programs for working-age Canadians with disabilities, including the Canada Disability Benefit.

Through a call for proposals launched in December 2024, this initiative will fund efforts to reduce barriers for persons with disabilities accessing benefits. These efforts will address challenges such as information availability, application processes, program interactions, and navigating the complex landscape of disability programs across different levels of government.

Clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs

Starting this year, we will be allocating $22.4 million over five years, and $3.8 million every year after, to improve awareness and access to government programs for working-age Canadians with disabilities. This includes activities that reduce barriers for those trying to access benefits.

Planned resources to achieve results

Table 5 provides a summary of the planned spending and full-time equivalents required to achieve results.

Complete financial and human resources information for Employment and Social Development Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Related government priorities

Gender-based analysis plus

The Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy uses GBA plus analysis to make sure it supports Social Purpose Organizations (SPOs) that are led by and serve populations that need extra support to have equal opportunities. The Social Finance Fund (SFF) aims to invest 35% of its capital in projects promoting greater social equity, with 15% focused on gender equality. Data on the groups served will ensure funds reach diverse populations. For example, funding agreements require wholesalers to collect data from social finance intermediaries (SFIs) and SPOs. Data on the diversity of wholesalers', social finance intermediaries and SPOs' leadership, as well as on the populations served is collected. This information allows us to monitor and ensure that funds reach a diversity of organizations and populations.

The Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat will continue to develop Anti-Racism Framework Tools to make sure the needs and challenges faced by diverse groups are considered in government decisions.

Our work on Canada's Poverty Reduction Strategy takes into account the experiences and barriers that different groups face. According to the latest data from the Canadian Income Survey, in 2022, these groups experience higher rates of poverty:

• people living alone or with others they are not related to (26%)
• individuals living in lone-parent families (22.6%)
• Indigenous Peoples (17.2%)
• racialized persons (13%)
• persons with disabilities aged 15 and over (12.3%)

We are learning more about the unique factors and challenges these groups face so we can help improve their economic security and well-being. Recognizing that poverty has many dimensions, Canada's Poverty Reduction Strategy also introduced the Dimensions of Poverty Hub, which tracks and provides information on multiple indicators related to the social and economic well-being of Canadian households, such as food insecurity, housing need and unmet health needs.

The National School Food Program supports children and youth, particularly those facing food insecurity, poverty, and poor diets, by increasing access to food at school. Communities with higher food insecurity benefit the most. The program also supports single-parent families-often headed by women-who are more likely to experience food insecurity.

The Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) system will support women, especially those with young children, by making child care more affordable and enabling them to work or pursue careers. It will benefit lower-income families and single parents, ensuring women from underrepresented groups receive the support they need. As the ELCC system expands, it will create more jobs in child care, many filled by women, including immigrant women.

For the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Initiative, we will keep working with First Nations, Inuit, Métis and other Indigenous partners to identify culturally appropriate ways to measure and monitor the initiative's impact for diverse Indigenous communities.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

End poverty in all its forms everywhere (SDG 1):

• The Canada Child Benefit (CCB) helps reduce poverty by supporting over 3.5 million Canadian families and more than 6 million children annually, delivering $26 billion in tax-free benefits. The CCB also contributes to SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and the goal of leaving no one behind. It is particularly helpful for low-income single-parent families, approximately 90% of which are led by single mothers. Adjusted yearly for inflation, the CCB ensures low- and middle-income families can better manage rising living costs.
• The National School Food Program contributes to SDG 2 (Zero hunger) and SDG 3 (Good health and well-being). Work continues with provinces, territories, Indigenous partners and other stakeholders, to make sure more children get healthy meals at school. For children in school, this helps fight hunger and improves their overall health and well-being. In addition, our National School Food Policy includes principles and objectives that were designed to align with Canada's progress on all 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Good health and well-being (SDG 3):

The Enabling Accessibility Fund promotes health and well-being by funding projects that make communities and workplaces more accessible for persons with disabilities. For example, funded projects include multi-sensory rooms, which help people with cognitive or mental health disabilities. These rooms support the provision of mental health services in community spaces.

Quality education (SDG 4):

The goal of the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) system is that all families can access high-quality, affordable, flexible, and inclusive child care. ELCC and Indigenous ELCC program investments also help to improve life outcomes for children and families, and support research projects to fill important data gaps.

Decent work and economic growth (SDG 8) and Industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9):

The Accessible Canada Act (the Act) requires regulated organizations to identify, remove and prevent barriers to accessibility in seven priority areas, including employment. This helps persons with disabilities to gain new skills, access more job opportunities, and participate more fully in the labour market. Over time, the Act will remove barriers in other areas like information and communication technologies (ICT) and transportation. Eliminating barriers in areas such as ICT will also support to create employment opportunities for Canadians.

Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10):

The Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat helps to achieve this SDG by leading Canada's Anti-Racism Strategy. The strategy aims to improve the quality of life and remove barriers in areas like public safety, justice, health equity, the economy, rights and freedoms, and national and international partnerships to promote racial equity and inclusion. The strategy also contributes to SDG 1 (No Poverty), (SDG 3) Good health and well-being, SDG 5 (Gender equality, SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth), SDG 11 (Sustainable cities and communities, SDG 13 (Climate action), SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), and (SDG 17) Partnerships for the goals.

Partnerships for the goals (SDG 17):

• The Sustainable Development Goals Funding Program helps support the 2030 Agenda by building partnerships to advance the SDGs. Funded projects increase public awareness of the SDGs, and share best practices and lessons learned to support Canada's progress in meeting them. The projects also help to bring the SDGs into local communities and support the core principle of the 2030 Agenda, leave no one behind. This is done by engaging with the whole-of-society in reporting on the SDGs through civil society organizations and the Together/Ensemble Conference. In addition, department-led engagement activities help to reach different segments of the population.
• The Social Finance Fund (SFF) supports this SDG by encouraging partnerships between social organizations, private companies and public institutions to create and fund solutions that support the SDGs. For example, through these partnerships capital is provided for projects that advance affordable housing projects (SDG 1- End poverty in all its forms everywhere), improve outcomes in Indigenous communities (SDG 3 - Good health and well-being and SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities), and supporting innovation in climate technology (SDG 13 - Climate action).

More information on Employment and Social Development Canada's contributions to Canada's Federal Implementation Plan on the 2030 Agenda and the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy can be found in our Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy.

Innovation

This year, we will keep supporting data and research projects, including creating a data and research strategy specific to Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC). In addition, under the Action Plan for Official Languages 2023 to 2028 we will support two ELCC initiatives in Francophone minority communities. The projects will focus on specialized training programs and creating a network of ELCC stakeholders to support initiatives for Francophone minority communities.

Program inventory

Social development is supported by the following programs:

• Accessible Canada Initiative
• Black-led Philanthropic Endowment Fund
• Early Learning and Child Care
• Enabling Accessibility Fund
• Indigenous Early Learning Child Care Transformation Initiative
• National School Food Program
• New Horizons for Seniors Program
• Social Development Partnerships Program
• Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy
• Strategic Engagement and Research Program
• Sustainable Development Goals Funding Program

Additional information related to the program inventory for Social development is available on the Results page on GC InfoBase.

Summary of changes to reporting framework since last year

• Program added: National School Food Program
• Program removed: Canadian Benefit for Parents of Young Victims of Crime

Core responsibility 2: Pensions and benefits

In this section

• Description
• Quality of life impacts
• Indicators, results and targets
• Plans to achieve results
• Planned resources to achieve results
• Related government priorities
• Program inventory
• Summary of changes to reporting framework since last year

Description

Assist Canadians in maintaining income for retirement, and provide financial benefits to survivors, people with disabilities and their families.

Quality of life impacts

Programs under this core responsibility contribute to several Quality of Life Framework for Canada domains and indicators, including:

Domain - Prosperity (indicators - Poverty, Household Income, Financial Wellbeing) through activities that provide Canadians with income for retirement, and financial benefits to people with disabilities, survivors of pension contributors and their families

Indicators, results and targets

This section presents details on the department's indicators, the actual results from the three most recently reported fiscal years, the targets and target dates approved in 2025 to 2026 for Pensions and benefits. Details are presented by departmental result.

• Notes:
  1. The year in parentheses is the most recent for which data is available.
  2. The official poverty line in Canada has been updated based on the 2018 Market Basket Measure income threshold. As a result, the seniors' poverty target was updated to ‘at most 7.3% of seniors living in poverty to be achieved by 2030'.
  3. This recognizes that not all people aged 65 years and older apply for Old Age Security (OAS) benefits when they first become eligible. Since 2013, seniors can choose to delay their OAS pension up to age 70, in exchange for a higher monthly benefit amount. As more people delay their applications for the OAS pension, there is likely a decrease in the OAS take-up rate. This is why a new indicator has been added to measure take-up of the OAS pension by eligible seniors aged 70 and over. In addition, there is a 3-year time lag in the availably of data for this indicator.
  4. The increase in the GIS earnings exemption in July 2020 has made more working, low-income seniors eligible for the GIS. This may have contributed to a lower ratio of ‘GIS recipients over eligible seniors'. In addition, the loss of income that some seniors experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic may have also contributed to an increase in eligible seniors, further decreasing that ratio. Through targeted outreach activities, the department reaches out to seniors who could be eligible for the GIS and invites them to apply for the benefit.

• Notes:
  1. Contributors have contributory eligibility for Canada Pension Plan Disability benefits when they have made valid Canada Pension Plan contributions in (i) 4 years of the last 6 years, or (ii) 3 years of the last 6 years for those who have contributed for at least 25 years.
  2. The result is reported based on calendar year, which may not align with the fiscal year used in previous reports. When new data becomes available, results are updated to match the closest fiscal year.
  3. This indicator specifically refers to beneficiaries aged 0 to 49 years.

• Notes:
  1. Service standards are published onTransparency - Canada.ca
  2. Canada Pension Plan Disability (CPPD) inventories have increased due to an increase in complex cases. Applications related to mental health, represent 34% of CPPD applications. A CPPD Action Plan has been implemented to improve service delivery results.
  3. Complex applications to the Old Age Security program increased since 2023 due to changing demographics (an aging population and more people having lived or worked abroad), which has reduced auto-enrolment rates. A strategy has been implemented to improve service delivery results.

Additional information on the detailed results and performance information for Employment and Social Development Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Plans to achieve results

The following section describes the planned results for Pensions and Benefits in 2025 to 2026.

Seniors have income support for retirement

We will continue delivering the Old Age Security (OAS) program and the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), which provided $137 billion in benefits to 8.5 million seniors and persons with disabilities in 2023 to 2024.

Canada Pension Plan (CPP) following the 2022 to 2024 Triennial Review. They took effect on January 1, 2025, and include:

• a new $2,500 top-up to the death benefit payable to the estate or other eligible individuals on behalf of the deceased contributor. This top-up is available if the contributor hasn't received any other CPP benefits (except for the orphan's benefit) and does not leave behind a survivor
• new monthly benefits of $150.89 starting in January 2025 for dependent children (aged 18 to 24 who are in part-time studies) of deceased or disabled CPP contributors
• technical amendments to the CPP related to its disabled or deceased contributor child benefits, and survivor pensions, to better define eligibility for those benefits
• extension of the plan's incapacity provision to the disabled contributor's child's benefit
• introduction of a condition of ineligibility for the survivor's pension in cases where there has been a division of unadjusted pensionable earnings with a deceased contributor
• clarification on the determination of the payee of the disabled contributor's child's benefit

We will continue to help seniors afford retirement through the Old Age Security (OAS) program. This includes:

• the basic OAS pension for everyone aged 65 or over who meet residence requirements
• extra support for low-income seniors through the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS)
• Allowances for low-income Canadians aged 60 to 64 who are spouses or common-law partners of GIS recipients, or who are widows or widowers

Persons with disabilities and their families have financial support

We will continue to improve the client experience for eligible Canadians with severe and prolonged disabilities, and their families, through the Canada Pension Plan - Disability Program. This year we will improve the client experience by:

• expanding our quality assurance for fair and consistent medical decisions and upgrading tools and training for medical decision-makers based on the evidence collected
• continuing the two-year Return-to-Work pilot project. This pilot is testing new work transition supports for CPP Disability clients who want return to work while still receiving the benefit. Some examples of supports that will be tested include extended work trial periods and the introduction of a "Return to Work Navigator" who helps clients navigate different options and tools in returning to work
• using technology, innovation, and evidence to identify future program enhancements in collaboration with stakeholders and partners
• completing the processing of re-assessment inventories and implementing preventative measures in support of effective and timely administration of the broader program. This includes oversight functions, new reporting and monitoring tools, and promising practices on how to reduce barriers, and increase incentives to labour market participation for CPP Disability recipients

We are implementing the new Canada Disability Benefit with funding of $6.1 billion over six years, starting in 2024 to 2025, and $1.4 billion each year after that. Following completion of the regulatory process and consultations with persons with disabilities, eligible Canadians will start receiving the benefit in July 2025. It will provide a maximum of $2,400 per year for low-income persons with disabilities between the ages of 18 and 64.

Clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs

This year eligible Canadians will receive the second enhanced portion of their Canada Pension Plan (CPP). The annual increase will be between $12 and $45 in this first year depending on the client situation and will continue to rise with each additional year of contributions after 2024. This increase is expected to benefit an estimated a half million eligible clients in 2025.

We are assisting Canadians with severe and long-term disabilities in accessing financial support through Canada Pension Plan Disability (CPPD). We will improve client awareness, uptake and experience by:

• simplifying the client journey by first reviewing earnings and contributions to determine eligibility, then request medical information if needed
• reducing the medical practitioner administrative burden as well as reducing the need for the client to gather and submit medical information prematurely. This will be done by reducing the amount of time it takes both potential beneficiaries and medical practitioners to complete the CPPD application
• making the benefits application easier to understand by providing clear guidance at each step with improved form completion
• aligning, simplifying, and clarifying language used to explain eligibility criteria on client facing communication and government sites to improve understanding for applicant and medical practitioner
• promoting e-services available on My Service Canada Account through the use of Quick Response (QR) codes and promotional boxes to forms and a social media campaign to alert the client to an alternate, more efficient avenue to apply for all pension benefits; not just CPPD

Planned resources to achieve results

Table 9 provides a summary of the planned spending and full-time equivalents required to achieve results.

Complete financial and human resources information for Employment and Social Development Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Related government priorities

Gender-based analysis plus

Changes to the Canada Pension Plan, in response to the 2022 to 2024 Triennial Review, will help people with disabilities, their children, as well as the children of deceased CPP contributors. Dependent children of deceased or disabled contributors attending school part-time are now eligible for a new monthly benefit. Children who would have lost access to a benefit because their disabled parent reached age 65 are now entitled to a full or part-time benefit depending on their age and whether they are enrolled in education on a full or part-time basis. Children who would have been previously denied a child's benefit while their parent was incapacitated will now be eligible. Disabled contributors and survivors with partial custody of a child will now be presumed to be the parent with decision-making responsibility and therefore eligible to the child benefit unless they have less than 20 percent of the parenting time with that child. Women will benefit the most from these improvements because they make up a larger share of CPP disability benefit recipients and have higher rates of post-secondary education enrolment.

Old Age Security (OAS) pension beneficiaries are fairly balanced between women (54%) and men (46%). However, more women (58%) than men (42%) receive the Guaranteed Income Supplement, and significantly more women (85%) than men (15%) receive the Allowances. Additionally, more women (56%) than men (44%) are receiving a higher pension amount as a result of the permanent increase to the OAS pension for seniors aged 75 and over, which started in July 2022.

The Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) will provide financial support and improve the financial security of low-income people with disabilities aged 18 to 64 years. We'll collect information on gender, ethnicity, location of residence, income range, disability severity and Indigeneity to conduct analysis and report on the CDB's reach to persons with disabilities with intersectional identities.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

End poverty in all its forms everywhere (SDG 1):

The Old Age Security (OAS) program will help to reduce low-income among seniors. OAS benefit amounts are indexed four times a year (January, April, July and October) based on the Consumer Price Index to keep up with the rising cost of living. The Guaranteed Income Supplement also helps to reduce poverty among seniors.

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls (SDG 5):

The Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) is a monthly payment to low-income OAS pensioners, supporting this SDG and SDG 1. In addition, the Allowances also support this SDG by helping low-income individuals aged 60 to 64 who are either the spouse or common-law partner of a GIS recipient, or who are widowed. Both the GIS and the Allowances are income-tested to give the most help to those with the lowest-income. These benefits help more women than men. For example, in 2022 to 2023, 58% of GIS recipients were women, and 85% of Allowance benefit were women.

Reduced inequalities (SDG 10):

The Canada Disability Benefit will help to advance this SDG and SDG 1. Starting this year, the benefit will provide monthly financial security support to people with disabilities who have a low-income and are aged 18 to 64 years old. The benefit will fill a gap in the federal social safety net, supporting those who are too old for the Canada Child Benefit and too young for Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement. The benefit will focus on those with lower incomes, meaning the less someone makes, the more they will receive.

More information on Employment and Social Development Canada's contributions to Canada's Federal Implementation Plan on the 2030 Agenda and the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy can be found in our Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy.

Innovation

We will continue to run the Canada Pension Plan - Disability program's two-year pilot project. The project is testing new supports for clients who want to attempt to return to work. The goal is to help them feel more confident about work decisions, engage more positively with the program, and successfully return-to-work. The pilot will allow us to find the best combination of supports to help clients return to work.

The first phase of the new Personal Support Workers Retirement Savings Innovation Program will start in January 2025. This program will run until March 2028 and will provide up to $42.2 million to fund pilot projects. These projects will test new ways to help personal support workers save for retirement, especially those without a workplace retirement plan.

Since 2019, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Pensions has developed over 20 automation processes for the Old Age Security (OAS), Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Canada Pension Plan Disability (CPPD) programs. These automations have reduced the processing timeframes and improved client experiences. In 2025 to 2026 we are anticipating 6 new automation processes and 2 enhancements that will mainly focus on supporting CPP and CPPD inventories. Following the 2024 to 2025 success of the pilot automation utilising the Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven Optical Character Recognition (OCR), the AI OCR tool is being expanded upon and utilized in various ways to help reduce the CPP and CPPD national inventories. We will continue to explore utilizing these tools in 2025 to 2026. This means more types of work can be processed through automation as well as using this technology to increase the completion rate of benefits for Canadians.

Program inventory

Pensions and benefits is supported by the following programs:

• Canada Disability Benefit
• Canada Disability Savings Program
• Canada Pension Plan
• Old Age Security
• Personal Support Workers Retirement Savings Innovation Program

Additional information related to the program inventory for Pensions and Benefits is available on the Results page on GC InfoBase.

Summary of changes to reporting framework since last year

• Program added: Canada Disability Benefit
• Program added: Personal Support Workers Retirement Savings Innovation Program

Core responsibility 3: Learning, skills development and employment

In this section

• Description
• Quality of life impacts
• Indicators, results and targets
• Plans to achieve results
• Planned resources to achieve results
• Related government priorities
• Program inventory
• Summary of changes to reporting framework since last year

Description

Help Canadians access post-secondary education, obtain the skills and training needed to participate in a changing labour market, and provide supports to those who are temporarily unemployed.

Quality of life impacts

Programs under this core responsibility contribute to several Quality of Life Framework for Canada domains and indicators, including:

• Domain - Prosperity (Indicators - Postsecondary attainment, Youth not in employment, education or training [NEET], Child, student and adult skills, Protection from income shocks, Employment, Financial well-being, Labour underutilization) through programs that help Canadians access post-secondary education and assist Indigenous Peoples, youth, and other groups obtain the training they need to participate in the labour market or return to school. In addition, programs provide support to individuals who are temporarily unemployed and to employers with labour needs
• Domain - Society (Indicators - Knowledge of official languages, Sense of belonging to local community and Volunteering), through programs that help Canadians in second-language minority communities obtain the skills and training they need to find employment in their communities

Indicators, results and targets

This section presents details on the department's indicators, the actual results from the three most recently reported fiscal years, the targets and target dates approved in 2025 to 2026 for Learning, skills development and employment. Details are presented by departmental result.

• Notes:
  1. These results are for both Labour Market Development Agreements and Workforce Development Agreements. Results shown are from the previous year because there is a one-year lag in data availability.
  2. Provincially and territorially delivered programs set their own annual targets.
  3. This target includes the anticipated number of participants who find employment or return to school upon completion of one of the following federally funded programs: Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program 20,000; Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities 3,700; Youth Employment and Skills Strategy 73,144, (which includes ESDC-delivered Youth Employment and Skills Strategy Program 3,144 and Canada Summer Jobs 70,000); and Skills for Success 600. The Skills and Partnership Fund is not included in the target, but results will be provided for the performance indicator's actual results.
  4. This target includes the anticipated number of participants that will take training or receive employment supports through the following federally delivered programs: Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy 28,445; Community Workforce Development Program 520; Future Skills 91 460; Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program 40,000; Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities 6,200; Sectoral Workforce Solutions Programs 1,000; Student Work Placement Program (SWPP) 40,000 opportunities (20,000 from SWP and 20,000 from Innovative Work-Integrated Learning Initiative) - SWPP tracks the number of opportunities only, not the number of participants; Youth Employment and Skills Strategy 75,240, (which includes Youth Employment and Skills Strategy Program 5,240 and Canada Summer Jobs 70,000); Skills for Success 6,000.The Skills and Partnership Fund is not included in the target, but results will be provided for the performance indicator's actual results.

• Note:
  1. Many factors can affect employment rates within specific groups and affect groups differently. ESDC programming is not solely responsible for changes to the employment rate gaps. The data are based on the labour market participation of Canadians aged 15 to 64.

• Notes:
  1. Due to temporary changes made to the Employment Insurance Program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, no results are reported as the data was not collected, or incomplete, for this year.
  2. This result is higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic. It is impacted by the temporary changes to the EI Program in effect for claims between September 26, 2021 and September 24, 2022.
  3. The target is based on a 3-year average of the most recent results from the Employment Insurance Coverage Survey (2018, 2019 and 2022).

• Note:
  1. This indicator uses Canada Education Savings Program administrative data linked to the Longitudinal Administrative Databank on Statistics Canada's Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform. We used 2019 results for fiscal year 2021 to 2022, 2020 results for fiscal year 2022 to 2023 and 2021 results for fiscal year 2023 to 2024. 2022 results will be used for fiscal year 2024 to 2025.

• Note:
  1. There is a one-year lag in reporting for this indicator due to data availability.

• Notes:
  1. Service standards are published on Transparency - Canada.ca.
  2. Canada Student Financial Assistance Program service standards were streamlined to better align with today’s electronic online self-service model and outdated standards were removed. As a result, the total number of service standard for this indicator has been reduced.
  3. In 2021 to 2022, there was a historic sudden increase in requests for reconsideration due to the 1.9 million Employment Insurance Emergency Response Benefit overpayments that were sent to clients starting in November 2021. In addition, the request for reconsideration inventory has aged and 95% of the requests are 31 days or older. As a result, requests for reconsideration are being processed past the 30-day speed of service target. Measures implemented in 2024 to 2025 will continue in 2025 to 2026 to improve the speed of service.

Additional information on the detailed results and performance information for Employment and Social Development Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Plans to achieve results

The following section describes the planned results for Learning, Skills Development and Employment in 2025 to 2026.

Canadians access education, training, and lifelong learning supports to gain the skills and work experience they need

We will continue to expand and diversify the Canada Service Corps (CSC) program to increase civic engagement among youth, especially Indigenous and underserved youth. This year, up to 8,000 service opportunities will be created, including service placements and micro-grants. These opportunities help youth develop a variety of transferable skills while giving back to their communities.

Through our Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program (SWSP), which includes the Sustainable Jobs Training Fund, approximately 22 projects will be funded to:

• address workforce issues in residential construction and related to artificial intelligence, and other key economic sectors such as transportation, manufacturing, natural resources and energy, agriculture and agri-food, and tourism
• help workers develop skills for jobs in the low-carbon economy

We will fund the Supports for Student Learning Program to help over 40,000 equity-deserving students who face challenges completing their studies. This program will help them complete their transition to post-secondary education and/or employment.

In 2025-2026, our Skills for Success Program will support over 35 projects aimed at creating assessment tools, training resources, and providing training. These projects will help about 6,000 Canadians build foundational and transferable skills, particularly those in vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities, racialized communities, newcomers, Indigenous populations, and Official Language Minority Communities. The program also funds innovative research to enhance skill development for under-represented groups in the workforce.

We will invest $2.86 billion under the Labour Market Development Agreements (LMDA) and Workforce Development Agreements (WDAs) in partnership with provinces and territories. It is expected that 800,000 Canadian will benefit from services in the form of training and employment supports to help them find and keep good jobs in support of the Government of Canada's labour market priorities. These agreements allow people who are eligible for Employment Insurance to get skills training, employment supports, and wage subsidies through the Employment Benefits and Support Measures. Employment Assistance Services support all workers with employment counselling, job search assistance and needs assessments. Job seekers who are the most disconnected from the workforce can get support through the WDA program.

The Community Workforce Development Program helps communities create local plans for economic growth and connects employers with training providers to upskill and reskill workers to fill jobs in demand. It will provide about 520 workers with training this year.

Increase employment opportunities for youth

We will lead the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) and collaborate with 11 other federal departments, agencies, and Crown Corporations to deliver it. YESS provides supports to youth aged 15 to 30 (including those facing employment barriers) to prepare them to enter the labour market and gain work experience in key sectors including STEM, housing, agriculture and agri-food, and sustainable jobs.

Supports include: paid work opportunities, skills development, training, and tailored assistance. Together with its partners, this year, the department will support at least 90,000 youth, including 75,240 supported directly through the Employment and Social Development Canada YESS Program (5,240) and Canada Summer Jobs (70,000).

Our Student Work Placement Program will support up to 40,000 Work-Integrated Learning opportunities. This includes:

• 20,000 Work-Integrated Learning opportunity providing post-secondary students across Canada with paid work experience related to their field of study
• 20,000 Innovative Work-Integrated Learning opportunities focused on short-term, high intensity, technology assisted experiences

We will help youth find quality work opportunities by showing all positions funded by Canada Summer Jobs on Job Bank. We will significantly improve the Career Quizzes self-serve tool and create one new self-serve tool to help job seekers improve their career and labour market outcomes. These tools help youth to explore the Canadian labour market and make informed decisions relating to career, education, and training.

Support apprenticeship training and access to skilled trades

Under the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy - Sustainable Job Stream, we expect to fund up to 20 projects to provide green training for journeypersons and apprentices in Red Seal trades. This will help reduce carbon emissions and strengthen the trades and apprenticeship training ecosystem in Canada.

The government will invest in high-demand high impact activities to create a more diverse and certified skilled trades workforce through the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy. The goal is to maximize the impact of program funding for apprentices that supports their progression and certification.

We will help first year apprentices in eligible Red Seal trades, including from equity seeking groups, by supporting small and medium-sized employers in creating work placements.

We will also develop standards and exams to improve labour mobility, align apprenticeship training, and ensure uniform certification tools for the trades. This will be done in collaboration with the provinces and territories as part of the Red Seal Program. This year, five interprovincial standards and 24 examinations will be finalized for seven trades.

Canadians participate in an inclusive and efficient labour market

This year, we will continue to work with Indigenous partners to co-develop and complete the first evaluation of the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training (ISET) Program. The ISET program provides funding to Indigenous organizations and governments to offer skills training and supports to their communities. It supports over 40,000 Indigenous people each year and aims to help at least 16,500 of them to find jobs.

Through the Skills and Partnership Fund, we will work with Indigenous partners and stakeholders to set regional priorities, respond to economic opportunities, and improve the project intake process. This program funds partnerships between Indigenous organizations and employers to provide training for Indigenous people that help them find employment.

This year, we will keep investing in the Indigenous Labour Market Information Survey and Skills Inventory to help First Nations collect and analyze local labour market and skills information. This initiative will support over 200 First Nations communities to identify skills gaps, tailor programs to local needs, and support job matching and economic development.

We will also continue to fund Engagement Protocol Agreements with national Indigenous partners who have a mandate to collaborate with the Government of Canada to engage First Nations, Inuit and Métis governments and rights holders. This funding supports collaborative work with Indigenous partners to improve policies and programs, including Indigenous labour market programs.

We will expand the Foreign Credential Recognition Program to launch at least 5 projects in the residential construction and health care sectors. This will help people trained abroad join the Canadian workforce to build more homes and meet the demand for health care workers.

This year, the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities program will support 118 ongoing projects advancing the goals of the Employment Strategy for Canadians with Disabilities. These projects improve employment opportunities for persons with disabilities by empowering employers to create more inclusive workplaces.

These projects aim to:

• help about 6,200 persons with disabilities gain skills and work experience to find and keep jobs or advance their career
• support about 2,000 employers make workplaces more accessible and inclusive for persons with disabilities

We are also funding projects to deliver employment assistance services to Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs) through the Enabling Fund for OLMCs. These services will help about 43,000 people living in OLMCs find, obtain, or maintain employment.

To help Canadian employers temporarily fill labour and skills shortages, we are working with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to create a new foreign worker stream for agriculture and fish processing. We are consulting stakeholders to understand the unique needs of employers and temporary foreign workers in these sectors. Consultations started in March 2024 and are ongoing, with feedback collected on topics such as accommodation, wages, deductions, and healthcare. The feedback will help us finalize the program's features, implementation timelines, and transitional measures. We are aiming to confirm these details in 2025 and implement the program as early as in 2027.

We will support Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan commitment to reduce temporary resident levels to 5% of Canada's population by the end of 2026. We will ensure that only genuine employers with real labour needs can access the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. At the same time, we will continue to protect foreign workers' rights, ensure safe work environments, monitor employers to prevent abuse, and curb Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) misuse by suspending positive LMIAs in cases of suspected misuse of the program, thereby preventing these employers from hiring additional temporary foreign workers.

Canadians receive financial support during employment transitions such as job loss, illness, or maternity/parental leave

We will continue providing up to 5 extra weeks of Employment Insurance (EI) benefits to seasonal workers in 13 regions until October 2026. This measure is expected to help 62,000 seasonal workers this year.

We will also continue to implement the new 15-week shareable Employment Insurance adoption benefit. This will help approximately 1,700 parents (including surrogates), each year, by giving them more time and flexibility when they welcome a new child.

We are working to improve the Employment Insurance program to ensure it works well in all labour markets, is financially sustainable, supports workforce development and adapts to changes in the economy. This work is based on lessons learned from the pandemic, two years of feedback from Employment Insurance consultations, and ongoing engagements.  

Students, including those from low and middle-income families, are provided with federally funded supports to help them participate in post-secondary education (PSE)

We will implement Budget 2024 measures to introduce automatic enrolment for the Canada Learning Bond (CLB) and extend the eligibility age for a beneficiary to claim the CLB from age 20 to 30. Caregivers will be notified by mail that their child(ren) may be eligible for automatic enrolment if a Registered Education Savings Plan has not been opened by age four. These Budget 2024 measures will come into effect in 2028.

Student borrowers are able to repay their federal student debt

We will provide financial assistance to approximately 700,000 post-secondary students through non-repayable Canada Student Grants and interest-free Canada Student Loans under the Canada Student Financial Assistance (CSFA) Program.

We will also expand eligibility of the Canada Student Loan (CSL) Forgiveness benefit to include 10 new occupations, helping to improve access to health care and social services in rural communities. Currently available only to family doctors and nurses, it will be expanded to include early childhood educators, dentists, dental hygienists, pharmacists, midwives, teachers, social workers, psychologists, personal support workers, and physiotherapists, who choose to work in rural and remote communities in 2025 to 2026.

Clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs

The Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) process plays a crucial role in aligning temporary foreign workers hiring with the needs of the Canadian job market. It also sets rules to protect these workers and prevent abuse. The program maintains its commitment to provide LMIAs promptly to employers in priority sectors, while also conducting a more thorough evaluation for high-risk employers.

We will keep improving the process for appealing Employment Insurance (EI) benefit decisions to make it more responsive and user-friendly. This is being done through the new EI Board of Appeal (BOA), which represents the interests of government, workers, and employers. Appellants can choose their hearing format, including virtual (videoconference or phone) or in-person. First-level appeals will be heard by regional three-member panels to ensure decisions are made by people with ties to the same region as the client.

We are improving the Integrated Workload Workforce (IWW) model to better match our workforce with the workload and optimize client service. The IWW will enhance collaboration between Processing and Call Centre teams in the EI program, making the network more agile and responsive to client needs. This will help us serve clients more efficiently by aligning the right skills to the work and making dynamic adjustments. This work will support Canadians by:

• exploring better scheduling strategies to optimize the EI network
• upskilling and cross-training officers to handle more tasks and improve first contact resolution
• creating a unified training strategy to ensure consistent service delivery

The department also continues to explore automation, including Machine Learning and Robotic Process Automation to streamline processes and identify service efficiencies.

Planned resources to achieve results

Table 16 provides a summary of the planned spending and full-time equivalents required to achieve results.

Complete financial and human resources information for Employment and Social Development Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Related government priorities

Gender-based analysis plus

We surveyed temporary foreign workers in 2023 to evaluate the Migrant Worker Support (MWS) Program. The results show that community supports are effective, with 79% of respondents likely to exercise their rights after receiving information from a community organization. However, there is still a need for language training, transportation assistance, help with government processes, and legal services. The survey results have been shared with internal partners, MWS program organizations, industry stakeholders, and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program partners. These findings will guide future initiatives to ensure supports and services meet workers' needs and improve compliance and protection efforts.

We will keep working with stakeholders, including Indigenous Peoples, to understand barriers to accessing the Canada Learning Bond. This will help us improve communication and outreach to expand access to the bond.

We will also look at the barriers to volunteering for Indigenous and underserved youth. We will use disaggregated data to assess the volunteer rates among target groups, including Indigenous, Black and racialized youth, youth with disabilities, youth living in rural or remote areas, 2SLGBTQI+ youth, low-income youth, newcomer youth, and Official Language Minority Communities youth. All Canada Service Corps funded projects must aim for at least 50% of participants from these groups.

Additionally, with our Supports for Student Learning Program, we will work to increase equity for all students by providing supports to youth who need it the most. This includes, but is not limited to, Indigenous students, Black and racialized students, those from low-income households and students with disabilities. Furthermore, surveys will be used before and after participation to help measure the program's impact on participants.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Quality Education (SDG 4):

• The Canada Student Financial Assistance Program will advance this SDG, and the crosscutting objective of leaving no one behind, by expanding student loan forgiveness to 10 additional occupations, including early childhood educators, dentists, dental hygienists, pharmacists, midwives, teachers, social workers, personal support workers, physiotherapists, and psychologists in 2025 to 2026.
• The Canada Service Corps will support this SDG, and truth and reconciliation, by promoting lifelong learning opportunities for youth, especially Indigenous and under-served youth, during their service opportunities. This includes removing barriers to service and helping youth gain valuable skills and experience.
• The Supports for Student Learning Program will also support this SDG by providing after-school supports to equity-deserving students who are at greater risk of withdrawing from education.

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls (SDG 5):

• The Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy's Women in the Skilled Trades Initiative continues to fund projects that recruit, retain, and help women apprentices succeed in 39 eligible Red Seals trades. These trades are mainly in construction and manufacturing, where women are under-represented. 10,500 women are expected to benefit over four years (2023-2024 to 2026-2027).
• Employment Insurance maternity benefits will continue to help women recovering from pregnancy and childbirth. We will also provide parental benefits to support parents caring for their child and to empower women economically.
• Employment Insurance benefits will also continue for caregivers who take time off work to support adult family members or children who are critically ill or injured and those needing end-of-life care. As noted in the 2022 to 2023 Employment Insurance Monitoring and Assessment Report, women make up more than half of the claimants for these benefits. These benefits recognize and value of care and domestic work.

Decent work and economic growth (SDG 8):

• The Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy's Sustainable Jobs Training Initiative contributes to SDG 10 by helping unions develop green training for workers in the Red Seal trades. About 20,000 apprentices and journeypersons are expected to benefit between 2025-2026 and 2028-2029.
• The Labour Market Agreements advance this SDG, SDG 4 (quality education) and SDG 10. (reduced inequalities) by improving access to skills training and employment supports. They help workers upgrade their skills to meet the changing needs of the labour market.
• The Workforce Development Agreements help people who are under-represented in the labour market (e.g. persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples, and recent immigrants) to prepare for, find, and keep jobs. Participants in Workforce Development Agreement programs often come from equity groups with higher-than-average poverty rates. The support they receive allow them to get education, build skills, earn credentials, and prepare for the job market. These agreements help reduce poverty and create a more inclusive workforce, supporting SDGs 4 (Quality education), 8, and 10 (Reduced inequalities).
• The Enabling Fund for OLMCs is helping official language minority communities (OLMCs) grow and thrive. Through this program, we will fund organizations to build partnerships and improve their community economic and human resources development. The program will also expand to fund OLMC organizations to provide employment assistance services to individuals living in OLMCs. These services will help up to 43, 372 people living in OLMCs annually find, obtain, or maintain employment. 
• The Indigenous Skills and Employment Training (ISET) Program contributes to this SDG and the Federal Implementation Plan for the 2030 Agenda's objectives of leaving no one behind and advancing reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. Through this program, we will fund over 115 Indigenous organizations to provide skills and employment training through more than 650 points of service across the country. This will help First Nations, Inuit, Métis as well Urban/Unaffiliated Indigenous Peoples develop skills and find jobs. These organizations can design their own programs to meet community needs. This can include wrap around supports, such as childcare, that remove barriers to participation in training and employment. This program contributes to the Government of Canada's efforts to build renewed partnerships with Indigenous Peoples and support reconciliation.
• We also contribute to Canada's efforts related to SDG 8, by working to better protect temporary foreign workers from instances of mistreatment and abuse. The Migrant Worker Support (MWS) Program funds organizations to help temporary foreign workers learn about and exercise their rights while in Canada. Currently, the MWS Program supports 10 community-based organizations and over 100 sub-recipients.
• Furthermore, as of November 8, 2024, the hourly wage threshold to determine whether a Labour Market Impact Assessment application is under the Low-Wage or High-Wage Stream has increased by 20%, raising the High-Wage threshold by $5 to $8 per hour, depending on the province or territory. More jobs will now follow stricter low-wage rules, including additional employer requirements for accommodation, transportation and recruiting workers already in Canada.

Reduced inequalities (SDG 10):

Through the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS), we will advance this SDG by providing tailored supports and skills training to youth from GBA Plus equity group. This includes youth with disabilities, Indigenous youth and racialized youth to help them successfully transition into the labour market. YESS also supports SDG 8 by helping young people (aged 15 to 30 years), particularly those who are facing barriers to employment, get the information, skills and work experience they need to successfully enter the labour market.

More information on Employment and Social Development Canada's contributions to Canada's Federal Implementation Plan on the 2030 Agenda and the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy can be found in our Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy.

Innovation

The Recognized Employer Pilot (REP) is testing a new application process for repeat employers in high-demand sectors to make it easier to apply. This pilot offers Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIA) valid for up to 36 months, while maintaining strong protections for temporary foreign workers. Although REP intake closed on September 16, 2024, recognized employers can continue to access simplified LMIAs until December 31, 2026. We will keep collecting data to assess the REP's efficiency and guide future programs.

The Supports for Student Learning Program will use surveys before and after participation to gather direct feedback from students, helping to address knowledge gaps and guide program improvements based on evidence. It will also work with Statistics Canada to better understand the impacts and effectiveness of the supports offered to youth.

Finally, the Community Workforce Development Program helps communities with workforce planning and skills training to meet local economic needs. It encourages collaboration between employers, training providers and community organizations to provide skills training to help workers transition to new jobs. This year, we will continue to test a model to help workers affected by mass layoffs that significantly impact the community. Data from this trial will inform future program directions.

Program inventory

Learning, skills development and employment is supported by the following programs:

• Canada Apprenticeship Strategy
• Canadian Benefit for Parents of Young Victims of Crime
• Canada Education Savings Program
• Canada Service Corps
• Canada Student Financial Assistance Program and Canada Apprentice Loans
• Community Workforce Development Program
• Employment Insurance
• Enabling Fund for Official Language Minority Communities
• Foreign Credential Recognition Program
• Future Skills
• Indigenous Skills and Employment Training (ISET) Program
• Job Bank
• Labour Market Development Agreements
• Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities
• Pandemic-related Benefits
• Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program
• Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship (Red Seal Program)
• Skills and Partnership Fund
• Skills for Success
• Student Work Placement Program
• Supports for Student Learning Program
• Temporary Foreign Worker Program
• Workforce Development Agreements
• Youth Employment and Skills Strategy

Additional information related to the program inventory for Learning, skills development and employment is available on the Results page on GC InfoBase.

Summary of changes to reporting framework since last year

• Program added: Canadian Benefit for Parents of Young Victims of Crime
• Program added: Pandemic-related Benefits
• Program removed: Canada Emergency Response Benefit
• Program removed: Canada Recovery Benefit
• Program removed: Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit

Core responsibility 4: Working conditions and workplace relations

In this section

• Description
• Quality of life impacts
• Indicators, results and targets
• Plans to achieve results
• Planned resources to achieve results
• Related government priorities
• Program inventory

Description

Promotes safe, healthy, fair and inclusive work conditions and cooperative workplace relations.

Quality of life impacts

Programs under this core responsibility contribute to several Quality of Life Framework for Canada domains and indicators, including:

• Domain - Health (Indicator - Functional health status), through programs aimed at ensuring safe and healthy work conditions
• Domain - Good Governance (Indicators - Canada's place in the world, Cyberbullying, Resolution of serious legal problems, Access to fair and equal justice, Elimination of Discrimination and unfair treatment, and Representation in senior leadership positions), through programs promoting fair and equitable treatment of workers, supporting labour standards enforcement, addressing discrimination and harassment in the workplace, and ensuring fair work standards in other areas of the world
• Domain - Prosperity (Indicator - Protection from income shock), through programs designed to safeguard workers in cases of workplace injuries or when affected by workplace bankruptcy, protecting them from sudden income loss

Indicators, results and targets

This section presents details on the department's indicators, the actual results from the three most recently reported fiscal years, the targets and target dates approved in 2025 to 2026 for Working conditions and workplace relations. Details are presented by departmental result.

• Notes:
  1. Fewer workplace inspections and investigations were conducted in 2021 to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  2. Numbers have been rising since 2022 to 2023. This higher number of violations does not indicate a decline in safety performance among federally regulated employers. Instead, it reflects the increased number of interventions completed compared to the previous year, due to the full resumption of operations.

• Note:
  1. Data for 2021 to 2024 was taken from Labour Application (LA) 2000 and from the Integrated Labour System (ILS) case management system, which was adopted in June 2022. Given the learning curve with the new system, there is a concern that not all violations were correctly recorded, resulting in this lower value. We have updated the guidance for ILS which should result in greater assurance for future results.

• Notes:
  1. Service standards are published on Transparency - Canada.ca.
  2. The adoption of the new Integrated Labour System case management system and employee turnover has affected our ability to meet the target.
  3. Before 2022, the total volume of resolved complaints did not include cases where Labour Affairs Officers (LAO) used Alternate Dispute Resolution to settle complaints of unjust dismissal. Since 2022, inclusion of these cases has impacted the percentage of unjust dismissal complaints that are resolved within 180 days.
  4. In 2023 to 2024, LAOs faced an increasing workload due to the need to investigate complaints involving new Labour Standards (e.g. paid medical leave, new hours of work provisions, and a prohibition on the misclassification of workers). It has been harder to resolve all unjust dismissal complaints in a timely manner.

Additional information on the detailed results and performance information for Employment and Social Development Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Plans to achieve results

The following section describes the planned results for Working Conditions and Workplace Relations in 2025 to 2026.

Workplaces are safe and healthy

We will implement amendments to the Canada Labour Code (the Code) that provide employees in the federally regulated private sector a three-day paid leave following a pregnancy loss. This will give employees time away from work to support their recovery without worrying about job security or income.

We will also strengthen harassment and violence prevention measures in federally regulated workplaces. We regularly review and update the "Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention" interpretations, policies and guideline documents. In 2026, we will begin a review of the violence and harassment prevention framework under the Code. The review will assess the framework's success and identify any gaps or changes needed to improve it.

In addition, we will track the 7 new projects funded by the Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Fund in 2023 to 2024. These projects have a total funding commitment of $10.7 million over 3 years. The funded projects will offer tools and clear steps for both employers and employees on how to address incidents and promote culture change in federally regulated workplaces. This protects employees, and helps workplaces to comply with the Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations.

Work Conditions are fair and inclusive

We will work to implement amendments to the Code to ensure equal pay and fair treatment for employees, especially those in temporary or insecure jobs. The changes will:

• ensure that all employees, no matter their job status, are informed about job openings and promotion opportunities
• stop employers from paying an employee less than others who do the same kind of work, just because of their job status
• require temporary help agencies to pay their employees the same rate as the client's employees for similar work
• give additional protections specific to employees working for federally regulated temporary help agencies. For example, charging a fee for becoming its employee and assigning them work for a client

Amendments to the Employment Insurance Act will add a new 15-week adoption benefit that parents can share. Every year, this will give around 1,700 Canadian families more time and flexibility when they welcome a new child through adoption or surrogacy. Changes to the Code will also allow employees to take up to 16 weeks of leave from work while receiving this Employment Insurance benefit.

In 2024, we created a team to address the misclassification of workers in the road transportation industry. Some employers have avoided classifying workers as employees, which denies them important rights and benefits. The team will continue to hold awareness sessions for organizations, associations, and employers. If employers don't comply, the team can use enforcement tools, such as legal orders or fines. We are also working with the Canada Revenue Agency to share information and prevent employee misclassification.

In 2024, the Code was amended to require employers in federally regulated private sector workplaces to create "right to disconnect" (RTD) policies in consultation with employees. These policies will be required to set a general rule respecting work-related communications outside of scheduled work hours, as well as explain any exceptions to the rule and the reasons behind them. This will help employees balance work and personal life. The RTD amendments will be brought into force by Order-in-Council in 2025. Additionally, regulatory work is underway to develop regulations that will support the implementation of the new requirement related to right to disconnect policies.

The Employment Equity Act aims to correct disadvantages and remove barriers in federally regulated workplaces for: women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities and visible minorities. This year, we will introduce legislation to modernize the Act, including by expanding designated equity groups, to cover Black people and 2SLGBTQI+ people. Changes will be based on the Employment Equity Act Review Task Force's report and stakeholder consultation. A modernized Employment Equity Act will reflect today's workforce so everyone has a fair and equal chance to reach their full potential.

The department will continue to support the Canada Indo-Pacific Strategy which outlines how Canada will work with allies and partners to shape the region's future. We will help Indo-Pacific trading partners enforce labour provisions in current and future free trade agreements to improve respect for fundamental labour rights.

Labour relations are cooperative

For the federally regulated sector, we will continue to support cooperative workplace relations by offering joint training workshops and mediating discussions between parties during the collective bargaining process. In addition, we will appoint mediators and conciliators to provide training and support negotiations between unions and employers at the bargaining table.

We will continue to support the work of the West Coast ports Industrial Inquiry Commission. Launched by the Minister of Labour in April 2024, the Commission will evaluate the issues in dock work labour disputes at Canada's West Coast ports and submit a final report with its findings and recommendations by May 2025.

Clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs

We will keep raising awareness of the Wager Earner Protection Program (WEPP) and provide timely financial support to former employees who are owed wages, vacation pay, severance pay and termination pay from employers who are either bankrupt or in receivership. In addition, we will update the program's information products such as the WEPP website and pamphlets provided to potential clients, to make the steps of applying to the program easier to understand and follow. The department will continue to ensure that the service standards to process and issue WEPP payments are met to provide citizens with timely payments.

To meet Canada's commitment to uphold labour rights and improve Canada's global competitiveness, we will continue to analyse forced labour risks and labour exploitation in international supply chains. This analysis will be used to inform federal initiatives against exploitation in global supply chains.

Planned resources to achieve results

Table 21 provides a summary of the planned spending and full-time equivalents required to achieve results.

Complete financial and human resources information for Employment and Social Development Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Related government priorities

Gender-based analysis plus

We are conducting a GBA plus analysis to improve the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) initiative. Most PPE is designed based on the measurements of a young, average-sized Caucasian male, often ill-fitting for women or people of different body shapes across different ethnic populations. This initiative aims to ensure that all employees, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, or body dimensions, have properly fitting PPE for equal protection.

The Hazardous Substances regulatory initiative will benefit employees who are at a higher risk from hazardous substances such as those who are pregnant, aged 45 years or older, or those with pre-existing medical conditions. For example, pregnant women who are exposed to engineered nanomaterials face a risk that exposure during pregnancy could affect their offspring and are also more susceptible to heat related illnesses. The initiative will also benefit men, who make up the majority of the workforce in federally regulated sectors such as aircraft servicing, pipeline manufacturing, research laboratories, air transport, long shoring, energy, and the mining sectors. These are sectors where engineered nanomaterials are used or where there is a higher risk of exposure to hot or cold thermal conditions.

Data collected under the Employment Equity Act (the Act) will continue to track differences between men and women within key groups: Indigenous, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities. This data highlights gaps in representation, pay, and job types, helping employers identify and make changes to improve equity, as required by the Act. The data is available to the public on the Equi'Vision website, allowing employees to push for specific actions. We have also started research to check the quality of this data and the way it's collected through self-identification, which will guide efforts to improve equity practices and data collection.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Decent work and economic growth (SDG 8):

• We will continue working to stop the misclassification of employees in the road transportation industry by raising awareness and enforcing rules to ensure employees receive the benefits they are entitled to.
• Our Workplace Equity Programs, including the Legislated Employment Equity Program, Federal Contractors Program, and Workplace Opportunities: Removing Barriers to Equity, aim to achieve goals of the Employment Equity Act by reducing inequality in the work place. In addition to SDG 8, the programs support SDG 5 (Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls), SDG 10 (Reduced inequalities).
• The Labour Program will keep working towards SDG 8, especially Goal 8.7, to eliminate forced and child labour. They will research and analyze forced labour and exploitation in global supply chains. This research will support other federal initiatives to address exploitation abroad.
• Groups affected by forced labour and other types of labour exploitation in global supply chains include women, children and youth, low-income individuals, informal workers, Indigenous Peoples, racialized individuals, persons with disabilities, immigrants, and 2SLGBTQI+ individuals. The Labour Program also provides technical assistance to developing trade partners to promote compliance with internationally recognized labour standards. Since 2015, over $5 million has been provided to projects addressing forced and child labour in countries like Colombia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, and Vietnam. This support promotes labour rights and reduces labour exploitation in global supply chains.

More information on Employment and Social Development Canada's contributions to Canada's Federal Implementation Plan on the 2030 Agenda and the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy can be found in our Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy.

Innovation

We are testing if sending informational letters with tips to employers improves compliance with federal labour standards. To measure the impact, we will compare complaints from employees about employers who received the letters with those who did not. Results are expected later this year. If successful, we could expand this initiative to proactively inform employers about their obligations and help prevent labour standards complaints.

We are developing new data projects to better understand, and address risks faced by federally regulated workers. By analyzing both administrative complaint and Statistics Canada survey data, we aim to better understand labour standards and workplace health and safety conditions. Using advanced analytic techniques such as data mapping and machine learning, we will identify high-risk areas to support enforcement efforts to protect workers and improve compliance.

We will launch a pilot project to improve how policies and services work together. We will ask compliance officers for feedback to shape future policies, using methods like user research and design thinking. The goal is to make policies and services more connected from the beginning, leading to better outcomes for Canadians. If successful, this approach could be used more widely to support labour policy development.

Program inventory

Working Conditions and Workplace Relations is supported by the following programs:

• Federal Workers' Compensation
• International Labour Affairs
• Labour Relations
• Labour Standards
• Occupational Health and Safety
• Wage Earner Protection Program
• Workplace Equity

Additional information related to the program inventory for Working Conditions and Workplace Relations is available on the Results page on GC InfoBase.

Core responsibility 5: Information delivery and services for other government departments

In this section

• Description
• Quality of life impacts
• Indicators, results and targets
• Plans to achieve results
• Planned resources to achieve results
• Related government priorities
• Program inventory

Description

Provide information to the public on the programs of the Government of Canada and the department and provide services on behalf of other government departments.

Quality of life impacts

Programs under this core responsibility contribute to several Quality of Life Framework for Canada domains and indicators, including:

• Domain - Good Governance (Indicators - Confidence in institutions, Misinformation/trust in media) through activities that provide information to the public on services offered by various levels of government
• Domain - Society (Indicators - Indigenous languages, Knowledge of official languages) through programs that involve collaborating with Indigenous organizations, as well as provinces and territories, to deliver services and information to the public in the official language of their choice

Indicators, results and targets

This section presents details on the department's indicators, the actual results from the three most recently reported fiscal years, the targets and target dates approved in 2025 to 2026 for Information delivery and services for other government departments. Details are presented by departmental result.

• Notes:
  1. Longer wait times (mainly in urban centres) are due to officers spending more time with clients to provide improved client service. For example, when providing Passport services. We have also seen a shift in the most common types of service requests at our in-person network. For instance, client volumes for Passport were up proportionally in 2023 to 2024 compared to the prior year, Passport also has the longest average interview duration of the program offerings.
  2. Service standards are published on Transparency - Canada.ca.
  3. When pandemic restrictions eased and travel increased significantly in spring 2022, demand for passports surged. As a result, service standards related to passports were not met.
  4. There were previously 5 service standards for this target. Two of these standards were combined, leaving 4.

• Note:
  1. During the first two years of the pandemic, passport renewals/new applications were down 80% (i.e. 3 million). When health and travel restrictions eased in spring 2022, demand for passports surged. Applications by mail nearly doubled, with a significant number for new passports (which take longer to process than renewals). This surge exceeded our processing capacity, leading to a backlog and reduced service standards. This backlog was resolved by the end of 2022 to 2023.

Additional information on the detailed results and performance information for Employment and Social Development Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Plans to achieve results

The following section describes the planned results for Information Delivery and Services for Other Government Departments in 2025 to 2026.

Clients receive high quality, timely and accurate government information and services that meet their needs

Accessibility

As part of our Accessibility Plan, we will continue to make it easier for clients to use our three service channels: in-person, online, telephone. This includes:

• using social media and networks of persons with disabilities to share information about our services
• simplifying the process for an approved third-party to make changes on behalf of a client
• simplifying the process for clients to provide feedback on service improvements

To support the Accessible Canada Act, the Video Remote Interpretation service has expanded to the Community Outreach and Liaison Service, improving service for sign language users. Other initiatives include upgrading office technology, such as:

• Wayfinding Beacons to provide clients with cellular phone navigational information
• Talk Perfect systems to make speech louder and minimize background sound
• accessible keyboards

We will also work with community organizations to support hard-to-reach individuals. We aim to increase community organization participation in the Service Referral Initiative by 10% by October 2025. This initiative connects individuals with a Service Canada representative who can help them apply for benefits.

In 2025 to 2026, we will continue to offer bilingual services in Service Canada Centres, including Passport Services. As part of the Official Languages Regulations Reapplication Exercise, an additional 62 offices will be offering bilingual services, allowing more Canadians to be served in the official language of their choice.

Community Outreach

Our Community Outreach and Liaison Service (COLS) will continue to provide direct support to populations who face geographical, cultural, or other barriers to accessing information on programs, services, and benefits. We will:

• work with community organizations and Indigenous communities to raise awareness and offer tailored support to clients, through outreach activities and the Service Referral Initiative
• collaborate with other government organizations, especially provinces and territories, to host events that provide tailored and comprehensive support for hard-to-reach individuals
• support employers and workers facing labour market adjustments to promote programs and services

We will strengthen community outreach through our Outreach Support Centre by partnering with organizations like United Way 211 and Canada Revenue Agency's Client Assistance Referral and Enquiry Service (CARES). These partners can warm transfer clients to the Outreach Support Centre for help with ESDC's services. A warm transfer means the contact centre employee stays on the line with the client (with their consent) to ensure a smooth transition to another call centre.

Telephone General Enquiries Program

Through our general enquiries telephone program, we will continue to answer calls quickly and give clients helpful, accurate information of equal quality in both official languages. Through 1-800-O-Canada, we aim to:

• answer 80% of calls within 18 seconds
• maintain a minimum rating of 85% for completeness, relevancy and accuracy of information provided during calls, as measured through a quality monitoring program

We will also update our telephone platform so that it can continue to provide reliable service to Canadians and leverage modern service capabilities as required in the years to come.

In 2024, a pilot project tested international and Indigenous language interpretation services for 1 800 O-Canada. Based on feedback, we plan to keep this service to improve access to Government of Canada services for more Canadians, including vulnerable groups.

Government of Canada Digital Presence

The Government of Canada website (Canada.ca) will continue to provide information on services from ESDC and other government departments and agencies. This year, we will:

• ensure Canada.ca remains available, reliable, secure and a trusted source of authoritative government information
• support 78 federal departments and agencies in delivering information through social media, and 84 through the Government of Canada digital newsroom
• continue to support 41 departments whose service information is hosted on Canada.ca, while continuing to onboard new departments. We will ensure the availability and security of Canada.ca. We will also support system upgrades and apply design and accessibility updates across Canada.ca. In addition, we will maintain this important website used by departments and the public 24 hours a day/7 days a week that includes information that is easy to understand and use
• support major Government-wide initiatives and campaigns advertised to the public

We will also improve the Government's digital presence by:

• updating the design of Canada.ca for better navigation based on user testing
• providing departments and agencies with data and digital analytics tools to help measure and improve online services

Canadians can obtain a passport within Canada in a timely manner

We will work closely with partners, including Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Canada Post Corporation, community organizations and Members of Parliament (can accept passport applications from their constituents and drop them off at a Service Canada location or mail them directly to the Passport program) to explore new ways to improve the quality, accessibility, and client experience of passport services across all regions, including rural, remote and northern communities.

We will keep working with IRCC to improve the new passport platform, reduce outages, and support employees in adapting to the new systems. We will also help IRCC roll out online passport applications. A soft launch began on December 11, 2024, with a small group of eligible applicants and only a few applications accepted each day. This new service will expand gradually throughout 2025, allowing more people to apply for a passport online from anywhere in the country. Key features include uploading documents, making payments, and tracking applications in real time.

Service Delivery Partnerships Program

We will work with federal, provincial, territorial, municipal, and Indigenous partners to provide client services to Canadians. This year, we will help:

• Health Canada with the Canadian Dental Care Plan by onboarding eligible Canadian adults, aged 18 to 64, and introducing a renewal process for existing clients
• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada with the ongoing delivery of the In-Canada Biometrics Collection Service, now in its fifth year

Planned resources to achieve results

Table 24 provides a summary of the planned spending and full-time equivalents required to achieve results.

Complete financial and human resources information for Employment and Social Development Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Related government priorities

Gender-based analysis plus

We use GBA Plus so that digital services meet diverse needs. For example, GC Design System, GC Notify and GC Forms are digital platforms that will continue to offer adjustable options to better serve Canadians in multiple languages, reflecting linguistic and cultural diversity across Canada.

In addition, we also continue to collect more data on gender and diversity through user satisfaction surveys on Canada.ca. We plan to increase collection by including demographic characteristics such as disability and regional access differences, so we can better understand these issues and make our services more inclusive.

Feedback is also being collected through an online questionnaire for our service channels such as 1 800 O-Canada, Service Canada Centres and eServiceCanada. This will help us to gather data about the population using the service so that we can better understand and serve their needs.

We are also collecting data on behalf of IRCC for the Passport Program to ensure inclusive, equitable and fair access to passport services for all Canadians.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

End poverty in all its forms everywhere (SDG 1):

Our Service Referral Initiative connects at-risk and hard-to-reach people with Service Canada, so they can get tailored assistance to access government programs, services and benefits they may be eligible for.

Peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG 16):

• We are making it easier for Canadians to communicate with the government through GC Notify and GC Forms. For example, GC Notify provides timely reminders and updates on service applications, empowering marginalized groups by reducing barriers such as accessibility.
• We also plan to expand the GC Design System to make digital services easier to access and more consistent across federal departments, supporting both SDG 16 and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

More information on Employment and Social Development Canada's contributions to Canada's Federal Implementation Plan on the 2030 Agenda and the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy can be found in our Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy.

Innovation

We are improving service quality through data-driven design. For example, GC Sign In, a single sign-in portal, will simplify access to government services. User testing will refine the platform before nationwide rollout to ensure it meets user preferences and is easy to use.

We are also trying a new way to improve Canada.ca with 'life event' navigation, organizing services around milestones like having a baby or applying for permanent residency. We will test it for ease of use, gather feedback, and continuously improve based on user needs.

The Canada Pension Plan Disability (CPPD) program helps beneficiaries return-to-work with support, including a 3-month work trial, as well as job training and support while maintaining benefits. This year, we are testing a new project, based on research and consultations, to find the best ways to support beneficiaries who want to return to work. The return-to-work (RTW) pilot is testing three supports for CPPD clients: Return to work Navigator, Extended 12-month Work Trial and enhanced vocational rehabilitation. The RTW pilot project will run until March 2026, a formal evaluation report will be ready by mid-2026.

We will explore the use of Video phones or other technology to connect clients in a Service Canada Office with employees in another location. We will pilot this in several Service Canada Offices to see if it improves the client experience by reducing wait times and serving clients in their requested Official Language.

Program inventory

Information Delivery and Services for Other Government Departments is supported by the following programs:

• Citizen Service Network
• Canadian Digital Service
• Government of Canada Internet Presence
• Government of Canada Telephone General Enquiries Services
• Passport
• Service Delivery Partnerships

Additional information related to the program inventory for Information Delivery and Services for Other Government Departments is available on the Results page on GC InfoBase

Internal services

In this section

• Description
• Plans to achieve results
• Planned resources to achieve results
• Planning for contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses

Description

Internal services are the services that are provided within a department so that it can meet its corporate obligations and deliver its programs. There are 10 categories of internal services:

• management and oversight services
• communications services
• legal services
• human resources management services
• financial management services
• information management services
• information technology services
• real property management services
• materiel management services
• acquisition management services

Plans to achieve results

Below are highlights of activities planned for 2025 to 2026.

Management and oversight services

Access to information

We will continue to promote openness and transparency per the Access to Information Act (ATIA) and provide timely access to records under both the ATIA and the Privacy Act. We will do this by:

• modernizing Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) technology and processes to improve the client experience
• responding to ATIP requests within legislated timeframes and managing workload efficiently
• proactively publishing information as required under the ATIA and supporting the government in making departmental information more open, available, and accessible
• providing employees with resources and training to improve openness and transparency to the public
• developing a plan to support the objectives of the Government of Canada Trust and Transparency Strategy

Privacy

We will continue to protect the privacy of Canadians. This includes:

• using privacy-by-design processes in new projects and initiatives. This means making sure privacy protection is built into systems, processes, or services from the start, rather than an afterthought. We are doing this with the Benefits Delivery Modernization Programme, service delivery improvements, and the ESDC Data Strategy
• creating privacy policy instruments and tools to support ESDC programs, including a Privacy Framework that will provide a standardized approach to implementing policies for the responsible collection, use, disclosure, safeguarding and retention of personal information

Data

We will keep focusing on innovative and responsible data and analytical methods. This includes using our strategies for data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support responsible use of data, analytics, technologies, and tools. This will help with data-sharing and data-driven decision making to improve policies, programs, and services for all Canadians. More specifically, we will:

• update the Enterprise Data Foundations Platform to provide employees the data and analytics tools needed to find, access, and analyze reliable data. This platform will use the department's data collection to support decision-making for its policies and services, while safeguarding the privacy and security of Canadians' information
• use data analytics to solve business problems. Our Data Inventory allows employees to access data and use it for their work. For example, evaluating Labour Market programs, and Employment Insurance (EI) policy development and forecasting
• partner with Statistics Canada, the Canada Revenue Agency, and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to develop Joint Data Strategies to improve data sharing between departments
• leverage the ethical, responsible, and human-centric adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to gain insights, make operations more efficient, and improve services. This includes:
  • using our new AI Oversight Board to guide when and how we use AI. This will ensure that data used in our AI systems is appropriate and used in ways that promote fairness and freedom from bias
  • continue to improve the data and AI Literacy program and provide data and AI literacy products and initiatives for all employees
  • using advanced methods and technologies, such as Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Natural Language Processing (NLP), and Generative AI to improve operational efficiency and service delivery

Evaluation services

We will continue to improve evaluation services by:

• collaborating within the department to provide timely and relevant evaluation evidence for policy decisions
• working with Indigenous partners on co-developed evaluations of Indigenous programs, in support of reconciliation
• using innovative approaches to assess program impacts

Research and Innovation

We will continue to strengthen the evidence base to inform policy, program development and service delivery, as outlined in the Departmental Research Plan. We will continue to work on more than 100 research projects to produce accurate, timely, and accessible evidence.

Our research will consider cross-cutting issues such as GBA plus and other emerging challenges. Projects are guided by departmental and Government of Canada's priorities, focused on themes such as:

• families and children
• seniors
• poverty and inequality
• labour market outcomes and pressures
• accessibility and persons with disabilities
• equitable, diverse, and inclusive service delivery

Our Innovation Lab will continue to apply principles from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Declaration on Public Sector Innovation. The Lab will undertake innovation projects, offer seed funding for employee-led innovations, and foster learning and collaboration through the department-wide Innovation Network. This work will help us innovate so we can serve Canadians better.

Security

To protect our department's information, assets, and employees, we will:

• participate in government-wide exercises to validate our capacity for emergency response
• conduct training for building emergencies, evacuations, and business continuity to safeguard the delivery of continued service to Canadians
• promote training materials to raise security awareness among employees including awareness of internal risks and provide tools for early reporting and response

Human resources management services

We are committed to fostering a healthy workplace that promotes employees' well-being and reflects Canada's diversity. We will focus on:

• initiatives like the Employment Equity Groups Inventory and the Retention and Advancement of Black and Persons with Disabilities Initiative to attract underrepresented talent. We will also support hiring managers to increase Indigenous representation
• advancing our commitment to Reconciliation by applying a Reconciliation lens to our diversity, equity, and inclusion work for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis employees. A dedicated team will review policies and practices to remove barriers for Indigenous Peoples
• promoting inclusive leadership through training and mentoring programs like the Mosaic Leadership Development Program, which supports the career advancement of racialized and Indigenous employees into senior management positions
• ensuring our policies reflect the diverse needs of different demographic groups by using survey results, consulting with employment equity networks, and leveraging tools like Gender-Based Analysis Plus. We will contribute to government-wide reporting on the Clerk's Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion in the Federal Public Service

Information management services

We will work to develop modern, reliable and secure information management systems to support services for Canadians by:

• launching the ESDC Data Science and Machine Learning Platform to use ESDC's databases for training AI models to improve service delivery
• expanding the use of ESDC's Virtual Assistant (EVA) to provide Service Canada employees with answers to frequently asked questions in both official languages
• continuing to digitize information and services to reduce paper use, provide greater digital access, reduce the office footprint, and promote environmentally sustainable information management

Information technology services

We will improve service sustainability and delivery through improvements to Information Technology. This includes:

• expanding self-serve options in My Service Canada Account (MSCA), including a new notification service to help Canadians to track their requests
• improving the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) by starting to pay the second enhanced portion of the CPP
• implementing the IT solutions for issuing Canada Disability Benefit payments
• introducing new digital tools to bring more services and forms online
• improving our cloud environment with an emphasis on security, automation, and improving cloud cost management
• upgrading the platform that supports 1-800-O-Canada with new capabilities to enhance the overall client experience in the long term
• enhancing collaboration tools for responding to citizen requests

We will also strengthen cyber security by modernizing processes and implementing new tools and services to protect Canadians' information and the delivery of services and programs.

Finally, we will lead the IT Apprenticeship Program for Indigenous Peoples and increase the representation of Indigenous Peoples in the Government of Canda's digital workforce.

Financial management services

We will continue to manage our resources responsibly. This includes activities related to Responsible Government Spending commitments announced by the government. Good budgeting, planning and reporting are essential. We will be agile and innovative in using new technology and practices in financial management.

Investment and project management will continue to improve by:

• getting more value for money by using ideas and lessons learned from our Investment Fund
• building on our past successes by supporting ongoing development for people, processes, and technologies in investment planning and project management

These actions will increase the performance of investments so that they are delivered on time, on scope, and on budget.

Real property management services

We will continue to help employees deliver services for the Government of Canada by:

• meeting targets from the Budget 2024 announcement on Office Portfolio Reduction Plans. This will be done while also making sure the department is able to meet directions on the Prescribed Presence in the Workplace
• continuing to modernize the workplace and spaces to serve clients in-person (at Service Canada Centres) for flexibility, accessibility and inclusivity

Planned resources to achieve results

Table 25 provides a summary of the planned spending and full-time equivalents required to achieve results.

Complete financial and human resources information for Employment and Social Development Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Planning for contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses

We will keep using our Indigenous procurement strategy and the Indigenous Business Directory to make sure at least 5% of our annual contract value goes to Indigenous businesses. We will invite Indigenous businesses to bid when we make purchases through the Centralized Professional Services System. Given our high number of professional services contracts, this should result in more contracts being awarded to Indigenous businesses. Also, employees will use updated processes to ensure that Indigenous businesses are considered when buying goods and services.

We will continue to promote Indigenous Set-Asides for large purchases, this means that only Indigenous businesses can bid on certain contracts. A Request for Information on the Government Electronics Tendering System, CanadaBuys, was used to get ideas on how to increase participation and engagement from the Indigenous community in buying processes. We will study these responses to see if can make additional changes.

We want to keep exceptions to the 5% contract target for Indigenous businesses as low as possible. For example, our largest program, Benefits Delivery Modernization (BDM) has existing contracts that pre-date the 5% target. To make up for this, the department introduced Indigenous sub-contracting into the BDM project which will be enforced this fiscal year.

Table 26 presents the current, actual results with forecasted and planned results for the total percentage of contracts the department awarded to Indigenous businesses.

Overall risks and mitigation strategies

We are committed to providing high-quality, efficient, and accessible programs and services that meet Canadians' needs. We continually evaluate our work and use risk management practices and mitigation strategies to address risks before they become a problem.

Below are 11 key departmental risks and how we plan to manage them.

1. Benefits Delivery Modernization

   Benefits Delivery Modernization (BDM) will transform how we deliver Old Age Security, Employment Insurance and Canada Pension Plan benefits to Canadians through a common benefit delivery platform by 2030. As with any transformation of this magnitude, there is a risk of unforeseen technical issues that could prevent timely and accurate payments to Canadians. This risk is mitigated through various measures including: testing, pay verification exercises, pilots to assess technical and business readiness, a comprehensive change management strategy supported through training and contingency planning, and through investments in business readiness and continuous assurance work.

2. Cybersecurity

   There is a risk that our information technology and assets could be compromised by external cyberattacks or insider threats. This could lead to the loss of confidentiality, integrity or availability of the asset(s) and impact the delivery of services. We are working with partners to address this risk by focusing on security controls, monitoring and incident response. We are also raising awareness about these risks with employees.

3. Fraud and Wrongdoing

   There is a risk that bad actors may commit fraud or wrongdoing in our programs and operations. To reduce this risk, we have measures in place to monitor, prevent, detect and respond to threats and incidents. This is further supported by employee training and awareness activities.

4. Technical Debt

   Technical debt is the gap between the technology we have and what we need. If not addressed, our old systems may fail to meet current or future needs. To mitigate this risk, we are upgrading our applications, hardware, software and the network used to deliver services and programs and advancing the digitalization of the workplace.

5. Service Delivery Network Implementation

   For Service Canada, we have launched a service transformation initiative to provide a seamless client experience across all service channels. As with any large-scale organizational change, there is a risk that the adoption of new ways of working may not occur efficiently across the service delivery network. To mitigate this risk, we will continue to use comprehensive change management strategies to ensure employees are actively engaged to support a smooth and efficient transition.

6. Timely Resource Allocation

   There is a risk that resources required for critical departmental initiatives might not be provided or used on a timely basis. To address this risk, we have developed resource plans, capacity management strategies and improved forecasting. We are also using existing governance structures to guide resource allocation, ensuring decisions are strategic, transparent, and aligned with organizational priorities.

7. Workforce

   There is a risk we might not have the personnel with the necessary skills to support transformation initiatives and new ways of working. To mitigate this risk, we have developed a learning strategy for emerging skills needs, along with workforce planning activities, talent management and succession planning to ensure a skilled and adaptable workforce for the future.

8. Information for Oversight and Decision-Making

   We use data to deliver programs and services, measure performance, and find ways to improve. There is a risk that accurate and relevant data may not be available for oversight and decision-making. To address this risk, we have created a data strategy and data governance and classification mechanism to improve data organization, quality, visibility and accessibility.

9. Service Delivery

   We face the risk of not fully anticipating and responding to evolving needs for service delivery. To mitigate this, we are enhancing planning processes, aligning resources with the identified needs of Canadians, and establishing change management functions to help teams navigate an increasingly complex environment.

10. Artificial Intelligence

    There is a risk that we might not use Artificial Intelligence (AI) effectively for service delivery while addressing the risks associated with using this new technology. As a result, we are developing new strategies to support the adoption of this technology and conducting research and tests to evaluate how AI can be incorporated into our work.

11. Project and Programme Management

    There is a risk that our project and programme management capacity may be insufficient to successfully implement projects. To mitigate this risk, we are improving our project management skills and resource models and ensuring there are controls in place to support effective project prioritization and oversight. We are also putting in place innovative solutions to be agile and adapt to changing priorities.

Planned spending and human resources

This section provides an overview of Employment and Social Development Canada's planned spending and human resources for the next three fiscal years and compares planned spending for 2025 to 2026 with actual spending from previous years.

In this section

• Spending
• Funding
• Future-oriented condensed statement of operations
• Human resources

Spending

Employment and Social Development Canada planned spending for the fiscal year 2025 to 2026

For fiscal year 2025 to 2026, the department’s planned expenditure on programs and services total $208.2 billion. Of that amount, $199.7 billion (95.9%) will benefit Canadians through statutory and voted transfer payments. These include Employment Insurance (EI), the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Old Age Security (OAS), the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program and Canada Apprentice Loans, the Canada Education Savings Program, the Canada Disability Benefit Program, the Canada Disability Savings Program, the Early Learning and Childcare Program, and the Workforce Development Agreements.

Text description of Figure 2

This pie chart shows a breakdown of planned spending for fiscal year 2025 to 2026 and the percentage that each spending category represents.

• Consolidated total: $208,226.1 million
• Old Age Security; Guaranteed Income Supplement; Allowances: $85,477.0 million (41.0%)
• Canada Pension Plan: $68,841.7 million (33.1%)
• Employment Insurance: $27,688.3 million (13.3%)
• Canada Student Financial Assistance; Other statutory payments: $6,017.6 million (2.9%)
• Gross operating expenditures: $5,790.2 million (2.8%)
• Voted Grants and Contributions: $11,647.0 million (5.6%)
• Other - EI and CPP charges and other recoveries: $2,764.3 million (1.3%)

Text description of Figure 3

This table shows planned expenditures for fiscal year 2025 to 2026 in millions of dollars.

ESDC gross operating planned budgetary

1. Net operating costs: $2,600.3 million [note: Net operating costs include $1,299.7 million in net voted operating expenditures, $423.3 million in contributions to employee benefit plans, $478.2 million for delivery service to the public on behalf of partners under the Department of Employment and Social Development Act, $197.2 million in vote 10 - Debt write-off, $104.7 million in statutory administrative fees related to Canada Student Financial Assistance Program and Canada Apprentice Loans, $65.3 million in pandemic-related benefits integrity and collection activities, $31.4 million in net expenditures for Federal Workers' Compensation and $0.5 million for other items.]

Add recoveries in relation to:

• Canada Pension Plan: $534.6 million
• Employment Insurance Operating Account: $2,654.4 million
• Government Employee Compensation Act: $0.9 million
• Sub-total recoveries: $3,189.9 million

Total gross operating planned spending: $5,790.2 million

ESDC transfer payments - Planned spending

Voted grants and contributions: $11,647.0 million

Old Age Security / Guaranteed Income Supplement / Allowance

• Old Age Security: 64,702.0 million
• Guaranteed Income Supplement: 20,139.0 million
• Allowance: 636.0 million

Old Age Security / Guaranteed Income Supplement / Allowance total: 85,477.0 million

Canada Student Financial Assistance/Other statutory payments

• Canada Student Financial Assistance Program and Canada Apprenticeship Loans: 3,171.0 million
• Canada Education Savings Program: 1,297.0 million
• Canada Disability Benefit: 750.0 million
• Canada Disability Savings Program: 741.8 million
• Wage Earner Protection Program: 49.3 million
• Other Specified Purpose Accounts – including Government Annuities Account and the Civil Service Insurance Fund: 8.5 million

Canada Student Financial Assistance / Other statutory payments total: $6,107.6 million

Canada Pension Plan benefits: 68,841.7 million

Employment Insurance benefits

• Employment Insurance – Part I: 25,586.9 million
• Employment Insurance – Part II: 2,101.4 million

Employment Insurance benefits total: 27,688.3 million

Total transfer payments planned spending: 199,671.6 million

Others – EI and CPP changes and other recoveries: 2,764.3 million [note: Other costs include administrative costs of other government departments charged to the EI Operating Account and the Canada Pension Plan. It also includes EI doubtful accounts and recoveries from other government departments.

ESDC 2025 to 2026 total planned spending: 208,226.1 million

• Notes:
  1. Net operating costs include $1,299.7 million in net voted operating expenditures, $423.3 million in contributions to employee benefit plans, $478.2 million for delivery service to the public on behalf of partners under the Department of Employment and Social Development Act, $197.2 million in vote 10 - Debt write-off, $104.7 million in statutory administrative fees related to Canada Student Financial Assistance Program and Canada Apprentice Loans, $65.3 million in pandemic-related benefits integrity and collection activities, $31.4 million in net expenditures for Federal Workers' Compensation and $0.5 million for other items.
  2. Other costs include administrative costs of other government departments charged to the EI Operating Account and the Canada Pension Plan. It also includes EI doubtful accounts and recoveries from other government departments.

The following table reconciles gross planned spending with net planned spending of Employment and Social Development Canada for the upcoming three fiscal years. Please refer to the ESDC's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.

ESDC's Financial Framework

The department has a complex financial structure, with various funding mechanisms used to deliver its mandate. The department is funded by 4 main sources of funds:

1. Appropriated funds from the Consolidated Revenue Fund
2. The Employment Insurance (EI) Operating Account
3. The Canada Pension Plan (CPP)
4. Other government departments and Crown corporations

Planned expenditures related to the EI Operating Account and the CPP, as well as planned expenditures that are recovered from Crown corporations and other government departments for the administration of the Government Employee Compensation Act, are excluded from ESDC's Main and Supplementary Estimates and net planned spending because they are not voted by Parliament.

EI and CPP benefits and related administrative costs are charged against revenues earmarked in separate specified purpose accounts.

• the EI program provides financial support and other assistance to eligible workers and is entirely funded by contributions from employees and employers
• the CPP is an income security plan which is funded by the contributions of employees, employers, and self-employed persons and by the revenue earned on plan investments. It provides partial income protection in the case of the retirement, disability or death of a contributor to virtually all employed and self-employed persons in Canada, excluding Quebec, which operates its own comprehensive pension plan

Administrative costs incurred by the department in the delivery of programs related to EI and CPP are charged to their respective specified purpose accounts and reported as revenues netted against expenditures under the department.

The Department of Employment and Social Development Act was amended in June 2018 to broaden the department's mandate to include service delivery to the public with a view to improve services to Canadians. The department has the legislative authority to deliver services to the public for partners on a cost-recovery basis as well as to deliver select services for the Government of Canada, such as passport services and Canada Dental Care Plan.

These items are included in the department’s gross planned spending to provide readers with the full cost of the resources managed by ESDC to deliver its mandate. In addition, spending by other departments and crown corporations for the administration of EI and CPP is also included in order to present a complete picture of costs associated with the department’s programs and services.

The sources of funds, including specified purpose accounts, for each of the Department's core responsibilities are as follows:

Core Responsibility 1: Social Development

• Consolidated Revenue Fund

Core Responsibility 2: Pensions and Benefits

• Consolidated Revenue Fund
• CPP (in gross planned spending only for CPP benefits and related administrative costs)

Core Responsibility 3: Learning, Skills Development and Employment

• Consolidated Revenue Fund
• EI Operating Account (in gross planned spending only for EI benefits and related administrative costs)

Core Responsibility 4: Working Conditions and Workplace Relations

• Consolidated Revenue Fund
• Crown corporations and other departments (in gross spending only for the administration of the Government Employee Compensation Act)

Core Responsibility 5: Information Delivery and Services for Other Departments

• Consolidated Revenue Fund
• Revenues from partners using legislative cost-recovery authority to deliver programs and services on their behalf

Internal Services

• Consolidated Revenue Fund
• CPP (in gross planned spending only for CPP administrative costs)
• EI Operating Account (in gross planned spending only for EI administrative costs)
• Revenues from partners using legislative cost-recovery authority to deliver programs and services on their behalf

Actual spending summary for core responsibilities and internal services

The following tables show information on spending for each of Employment and Social Development Canada's core responsibilities and for its internal services for the previous three fiscal years. Amounts for the current fiscal year are forecasted based on spending to date. This first table shows the gross amounts, while the second table shows the net amounts. Please refer to the ESDC's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.

• Note:
  1. Other costs include administrative costs of other government departments charged to the EI Operating Account and the Canada Pension Plan. It also includes EI doubtful accounts and recoveries from other government departments.

Analysis of the past three years of spending

The department expects an overall increase of $24.6 billion in gross spending from fiscal year 2022 to 2023 to fiscal year 2024 to 2025. This can be primarily attributed to the increase in Old Age Security (OAS) and Canada Pension Plan (CPP) benefits, due to the growing number of beneficiaries resulting from the aging population and an increase in benefits.

Below is a summary of the main reasons for the overall spending increase from fiscal year 2022 to 2023 to fiscal year 2024 to 2025:

• an increase of $11.5 billion in OAS benefits, including Guaranteed Income Supplement and Allowances, mainly attributable to an increased population of seniors and projected consumer price inflation, to which benefits are fully indexed
• CPP benefits are expected to increase by $9.0 billion from fiscal year 2022 to 2023 to fiscal year 2024 to 2025, also mainly attributable to an increased population of seniors and projected consumer price inflation, to which benefits are fully indexed
• EI benefits are estimated at $25.2 billion in fiscal year 2024 to 2025, an increase of $3.3 billion from the 2022 to 2023 spending of $21.9 billion, mainly attributed to increased regular benefits attributable to an unemployment rise and an increase in average weekly benefits^{Footnote 1}
• A net increase of $0.8 billion for other departmental spending, representing less than 1% of the overall increase in planned gross spending

More financial information from previous years is available on the Finances section of GC Infobase.

Budgetary planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services

The following tables shows information on spending for each of Employment and Social Development Canada 's core responsibilities and for its internal services for the upcoming three fiscal years. This first table shows the gross amounts, while the second table shows the net amounts. Please refer to the ESDC's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.

• Note:
  1. Other costs includes administrative costs of other government departments charged to the EI Operating Account and the Canada Pension Plan. It also includes EI doubtful accounts and recoveries from other government departments.

Analysis of the next three years of spending

The department expects an overall increase of $13.6 billion in gross planned spending from fiscal year 2025 to 2026 to fiscal year 2027 to 2028. This can be primarily explained by annual increases to CPP and OAS benefits.

Below is a summary of the main reasons for the overall increase in funding over the planning years:

• planned OAS benefits, including Guaranteed Income Supplement and Allowances, are expected to reach $94.6 billion in fiscal year 2027 to 2028, which represents an increase of $9.1 billion from the 2025 to 2026 planned spending of $85.5 billion. This variance is mainly explained by an increased number of beneficiaries due to the aging population and an increase in benefits, resulting from the indexation.
• planned CPP benefits are estimated at $76.5 billion in fiscal year 2027 to 2028, an increase of $7.7 billion from the 2025 to 2026 planned spending of $68.8 billion, mainly attributed to inflation assumptions. It is also associated with a higher number of beneficiaries due to the aging population.
• an increase of $0.4 billion to Canada Disability Benefits which aims to alleviate poverty for persons with disabilities that are in the lowest income thresholds by providing a payment of up to $200 per recipient per month starting in July 2025.

Offsetting these increases are some decreases from fiscal year 2025 to 2026 to fiscal year 2027 to 2028, which contribute to the variance. This includes the following:

• EI benefits are expected to decrease by $2.4 billion from fiscal year 2025 to 2026 to the fiscal year 2027 to 2028, based on the Department of Finance labour market forecast included in the 2024 Fall Economic Statement (FES) and Statistics Canada information on the Canadian labour market as of November 1, 2024. These projections do not take into account any scenarios of the impact of the US tariffs on the Canadian economy
• a decrease of $0.6 billion in planned voted grants and contributions, mainly related to the sunsetting of funding for programs such as Student Work Placement Program and the Canada Summer Jobs program
• other decreases in statutory and voted planned spending, totalling $0.6 billion

Planned spending currently included in this Departmental Plan reflects authorities approved as of tabling in Parliament. As priorities shift and evolve, additional funding will be sought and approved for fiscal year 2025 to 2026 and future years through Estimates.

More financial information from previous years is available on the Finances section of GC Infobase.

The following table reconciles gross planned spending with net planned spending for the fiscal year 2025 to 2026 for each of Employment and Social Development Canada 's core responsibilities and for its internal services. Please refer to the ESDC's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.

• Note:
  1. Other costs include administrative costs of other government departments charged to the EI Operating Account and the Canada Pension Plan. It also includes EI doubtful accounts and recoveries from other government departments.

Information on the alignment of Employment and Social Development Canada's spending with Government of Canada's spending and activities is available on GC InfoBase.

Funding

This section provides an overview of the department's voted and statutory funding for its core responsibilities and for internal services. For further information on funding authorities, consult the Government of Canada budgets and expenditures.

The following graph presents planned spending (voted and statutory expenditures) over time.

Text description of Figure 4

Year	2022 to 2023	2023 to 2024	2024 to 2025	2025 to 2026	2026 to 2027	2027 to 2028
Statutory	$76,489,375,962	$82,840,593,310	$87,958,582,842	$92,589,411,733	$97,164,227,381	$101,757,631,874
Voted1	$11,662,861,369	$11,602,787,404	$11,681,560,865	$13,143,978,207	$12,283,046,722	$12,089,842,394
Total	$88,152,237,331	$94,443,380,714	$99,640,143,707	$105,733,389,940	$109,447,274,103	$113,847,474,268

• Note:
  1. Voted expenditures or planned spending include debt write-offs in the fiscal years 2022 to 2023, 2023 to 2024 and 2025 to 2026.

Estimates by vote

Information on Employment and Social Development Canada 's organizational appropriations is available in the 2025 to 2026 Main Estimates.

Future-oriented condensed statement of operations

The Consolidated Future-Oriented Condensed Statement of Operations provides a general overview of ESDC's operations. The forecast of financial information on expenses and revenues is prepared on an accrual accounting basis to strengthen accountability and to improve transparency and financial management.

Because the Consolidated Future-Oriented Condensed Statement of Operations is prepared on an accrual accounting basis, and the forecast and planned spending amounts presented in other sections of the Departmental Plan are prepared on an expenditure basis, amounts may differ.

The Consolidated Future-Oriented Condensed Statement of Operations includes the transactions of the Employment Insurance Operating (EIO) Account, a consolidated specified purpose account which includes revenues credited and expenses charged under the Employment Insurance Act. The accounts of the EIO Account have been consolidated with those of ESDC and all inter-organizational balances and transactions have been eliminated. However, the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is excluded from ESDC's reporting entity because changes to the CPP require the agreement of two thirds of the provinces and therefore, the CPP is not controlled by ESDC.

A more detailed Consolidated Future-Oriented Statement of Operations and associated notes, including a reconciliation of the net cost of operations to the requested authorities, are available on ESDC's website.

Analysis of forecasted and planned results

The increase of $6,050.7 million in the 2025 to 2026 planned results of the net cost of operations, when compared to the 2024 to 2025 forecast results, is primarily driven by:

• an increase of $5,339.3 million in Pensions and Benefits expenses mainly due to an increase in the number of Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement beneficiaries due to an aging population and an increase in benefits due to indexation
• an increase of $1,315.9 million in Social Development expenses mainly due to increases in Early Learning and Child Care Program payments to provinces and territories
• an increase of $948.0 million in Employment Insurance (EI) revenues mainly due to the increase in total EI insurable earnings, driven by forecasted growth in maximum insurable earnings, wages and paid workers

Human resources

This section presents an overview of the department's actual and planned human resources from 2022-2023 to 2027-2028.

The following table shows a summary of human resources, in full-time equivalents (FTEs), for Employment and Social Development Canada 's core responsibilities and for its internal services for the previous three fiscal years. Human resources for the current fiscal year are forecasted based on year to date.

Analysis of human resources over the last three years

For 2024 to 2025, the department plans a decrease of 1,018 full-time equivalents over 2022 to 2023. The decrease is primarily due to the sunsetting of temporary resources received in 2022 to 2023 for the processing and payments sectors and for the operation and maintenance spending, such as information technology related expenditures.

The following table shows information on human resources, in full-time equivalents (FTEs), for each of Employment and Social Development Canada 's core responsibilities and for its internal services planned for 2025 to 2026 and future years.

Analysis of human resources for the next three years

Planned full-time equivalents (FTEs) in fiscal year 2025 to 2026 are 1,617 lower compared to forecasted FTEs in fiscal year 2024 to 2025. This decrease is mainly attributed to:

• a reduction in planned FTEs for the delivery of Passport services and other service delivery partnerships on behalf of other government departments, such as the Canadian Dental Care Plan, impacting the planned FTEs in future years.
• lower FTEs for specific measures including the processing and payments of Employment Insurance and Old Age Security benefits.

The overall decrease of 5,090 planned full-time equivalents (FTEs) from fiscal year 2025 to 2026 to fiscal year 2027 to 2028 is mainly explained by:

• a reduction in temporary resources provided for the delivery of various departmental programs and initiatives such as Employment Insurance, Old Age Security and CPP processing and payments, as well as the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and Canada Summer Jobs
• modernization efforts and other efficiencies aimed at delivering Passport services and the Canadian Dental Care Plan, as well as partnership agreements to be renewed
• a decrease of FTEs for internal services, mainly explained by reductions in permanent funding and the sunsetting of funding for the corporate costs associated with various initiatives

Statutory Annual Reports

Employment Insurance Part II

Activities under Part II of the Employment Insurance Act help individuals across Canada prepare for, find, and maintain employment. These activities are delivered through the bilateral Labour Market Development Agreements (LMDAs) with provinces and territories. Each year, under the LMDAs, over $2 billion is provided for individuals and employers to receive training and employment supports:

• Employment benefits include training, self-employment supports, and wage subsidies designed to help workers enhance their skills, secure employment, or adapt to changes in a changing labour market
• Support measures include Labour Market Partnerships, Research and Innovation initiatives, and Employment Assistant Services such as job counselling, job search assistance, and needs assessments

Part II of the EI Act also includes the framework for the Government of Canada's pan-Canadian programming and the functions of the National Employment Service. Through pan-Canadian programming, the Government of Canada plays a leadership role in responding to labour market challenges that extend beyond local and regional markets, funding activities that deliver federal Labour Market Partnerships and Research and Innovation projects.

For more detailed information on Employment Insurance Part II, please visit our website or refer to Chapter 3 of the annual Employment Insurance Monitoring and Assessment Report (MAR) which also includes information on pan-Canadian programming.

2025 to 2026 Employment Insurance Part II Expenditure Plan

For fiscal year 2025 to 2026, the total EI Part II expenditure authority of $2.131 billion represents approximately 0.23% of total estimated insurable earnings of $911.0 billion in 2025 to 2026. This represents a lower level of expenditure than the 0.8% ceiling imposed under the EI Act, which is estimated at $7.3 billion for 2025 to 2026.

• Note:
  1. The amount for Pan-Canadian Activities includes the ongoing envelope of $181,277,575 minus the permanent conversion to operating of $24,317,698 and a temporary conversion of $5,518,000 of Employment Insurance Part II Pan-Canadian program funds to operating funds for 2025 to 2026 to fund the Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform.

Corporate information

Departmental profile

Appropriate minister:

The Honourable Parry Hajdu

Institutional head:

Paul Thompson, Deputy Minister, Employment and Social Development

Ministerial portfolio:

Minister of Jobs and Families

Enabling instrument(s): Department of Employment and Social Development Act (S.C. 2005, c. 34); additional information on acts and regulations can be found on the Employment and Social Development Canada website

Year of incorporation / commencement: 2005

Other: For more information on the department's role, please visit the Employment and Social Development Canada website.

Departmental contact information

Mailing address:

Portage IV

140 Promenade du Portage

Gatineau, QC  K1A 0J9

Telephone: 1-800-622-6232

TTY: 1-800-622-6232

Email: NC-SPR-PSR-CPMD-DPMG-GD@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

Website(s): www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development.html

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on Employment and Social Development Canada's website:

• Details on transfer payment programs
• Gender‑based analysis plus
• Horizontal initiatives
• Up-front multi-year funding

Information on Employment and Social Development Canada's departmental sustainable development strategy can be found on Employment and Social Development Canada's website.

Federal tax expenditures

Employment and Social Development Canada's Departmental Plan does not include information on tax expenditures.

The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures.

This report also provides detailed background information on tax expenditures, including descriptions, objectives, historical information and references to related federal spending programs as well as evaluations and GBA Plus of tax expenditures.

Definitions

appropriation (crédit)

Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)

Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, departments or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)

An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)

A report on the plans and expected performance of an appropriated department over a 3year period. Departmental Plans are usually tabled in Parliament each spring.

departmental result (résultat ministériel)

A consequence or outcome that a department seeks to achieve. A departmental result is often outside departments' immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.

departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)

A quantitative measure of progress on a departmental result.

departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)

A framework that connects the department's core responsibilities to its departmental results and departmental result indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)

A report on a department's actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.

full-time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)

A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person-year charge against a departmental budget. For a particular position, the full-time equivalent figure is the ratio of number of hours the person actually works divided by the standard number of hours set out in the person's collective agreement.

gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS Plus])

Is an analytical tool used to support the development of responsive and inclusive policies, programs, and other initiatives. GBA Plus is a process for understanding who is impacted by the issue or opportunity being addressed by the initiative; identifying how the initiative could be tailored to meet diverse needs of the people most impacted; and anticipating and mitigating any barriers to accessing or benefitting from the initiative. GBA Plus is an intersectional analysis that goes beyond biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences to consider other factors, such as age, disability, education, ethnicity, economic status, geography (including rurality), language, race, religion, and sexual orientation.

Using GBA Plus involves taking a gender- and diversity-sensitive approach to our work. Considering all intersecting identity factors as part of GBA Plus, not only sex and gender, is a Government of Canada commitment.

government priorities (priorités gouvernementales)

For the purpose of the 2025-26 Departmental Plan, government priorities are the high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the most recent Speech from the Throne.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)

An initiative where two or more federal departments are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

Indigenous business (entreprise autochtones)

For the purpose of the Directive on the Management of Procurement Appendix E: Mandatory Procedures for Contracts Awarded to Indigenous Businesses and the Government of Canada's commitment that a mandatory minimum target of 5% of the total value of contracts is awarded to Indigenous businesses, a department that meets the definition and requirements as defined by the Indigenous Business Directory.

non‑budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)

Non-budgetary authorities that comprise assets and liabilities transactions for loans, investments and advances, or specified purpose accounts, that have been established under specific statutes or under non-statutory authorities in the Estimates and elsewhere. Non-budgetary transactions are those expenditures and receipts related to the government's financial claims on, and obligations to, outside parties. These consist of transactions in loans, investments and advances; in cash and accounts receivable; in public money received or collected for specified purposes; and in all other assets and liabilities. Other assets and liabilities, not specifically defined in G to P authority codes are to be recorded to an R authority code, which is the residual authority code for all other assets and liabilities.

performance (rendement)

What a department did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the department intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)

A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of an department, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.

plan (plan)

The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how a department intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally, a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)

For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in Main Estimates.

A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

program (programme)

Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

program inventory (répertoire des programmes)

Identifies all the department's programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department's core responsibilities and results.

result (résultat)

A consequence attributed, in part, to a department, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single department, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the department's influence.

statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)

Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

target (cible)

A measurable performance or success level that a department, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.

voted expenditures (dépenses votées)

Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an appropriation act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.