Backgrounder: Canada Summer Jobs 2022

Program overview

Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) is part of the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, which is the Government of Canada’s commitment to help young people—particularly those facing barriers to employment—get the information and gain the skills, work experience and abilities they need to transition successfully into the labour market. CSJ is delivered by Employment and Social Development Canada.

The program provides wage subsidies to private sector organizations with 50 or fewer full-time employees, not-for-profit organizations, and public sector organizations to create quality summer work experiences for young people between the ages of 15 and 30. CSJ provides them with opportunities to develop and improve their skills. It also responds to national and local priorities and improves access to the labour market for youth.

CSJ 2022 youth hiring period

The hiring period for CSJ 2022 is underway and will run until July 24, 2022. More than 140,000 job placements that matter to young people and to our communities will be posted on the Job Bank website and mobile app, and will be updated on a regular basis. We encourage young people to keep checking for updates on placements available in their communities.

Important reminders

The safety of young people is paramount. To be eligible to receive CSJ funding, employers must be able to provide a job placement in a safe work environment. In the current context of COVID-19, employers are responsible to stay informed about provincial and territorial guidance on essential services and municipal, provincial, territorial and federal public health information.

In addition to guidance published by municipal, provincial and territorial governments, the federal government has published the following resources to support employers and employees:

• Managing your business during COVID-19
• Reducing COVID-19 risk in community settings: A tool for operators

National priorities for CSJ 2022

To help persons with disabilities obtain employment, and to encourage employers to hire them under this program, employers may be eligible for additional funding to remove barriers in the workplace for young people with disabilities. This additional funding may be used for personal tools and adaptations that the employee requires to accomplish tasks.

The national priorities for this year will support projects that reach young people facing barriers to employment and jobs in small businesses and the not-for-profit sector, specifically: 

• youth who are early leavers of high school and not in employment, education or training;
• Black and other racialized youth;
• youth with disabilities;
• Indigenous youth; and
• small businesses and not-for-profit organizations that self-report as having leadership from groups that are under-represented in the labour market.

Eligibility criteria

Employers:
Eligible Canadian employers are from the not-for-profit, public and private sectors. Private sector employers must have 50 or fewer full-time employees across Canada to be eligible (full-time employees are those working 30 hours or more per week).

***The employer application period is now closed for CSJ 2022. Employers interested in applying for CSJ funding next year are encouraged to open an account on the secure Grants and Contributions Online Services portal.

Ineligible projects and job activities

Ineligible Canadian employers include members of the House of Commons and the Senate, federal government departments and agencies, and provincial departments and agencies.

Otherwise, projects and job activities are ineligible if they:

• have activities that take place outside of Canada;
• include activities that contribute to the provision of a personal service to the employer;
• involve partisan political activities;
• involve fundraising activities to cover salary costs for the youth participant;
• restrict access to programs, services, or employment, or otherwise discriminate, contrary to applicable laws, on the basis of prohibited grounds, including sex, genetic characteristics, religion, race, national or ethnic origin, colour, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression;
• advocate intolerance, discrimination and/or prejudice; or
• actively work to undermine or restrict a woman’s access to sexual and reproductive health services.