Funding: Canada Summer Jobs – Overview

Objectives of the Canada Summer Jobs Program

Canada Summer Jobs is an initiative of the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, which aims to provide flexible and holistic services to support all young Canadians develop the skills and gain paid work experience to successfully transition in the labour market.

The Canada Summer Jobs program objectives align with the redesigned Youth Employment and Skills Strategy and are as follows:

• provide quality work experiences for youth
• respond to national and local priorities to improve access to the labour market for youth who face unique barriers
• provide opportunities for youth to develop and improve their skills

The program provides wage subsidies to employers from not-for-profit organizations, the public-sector, and private sector organizations with 50 or fewer full-time employees, to create quality summer work experiences for young people aged 15 to 30 years. As in 2019, funded employers are no longer restricted to hiring students: all youth aged 15 to 30 years may be eligible participants.

Not-for-profit employers are eligible to receive funding for up to 100% of the provincial or territorial minimum hourly wage. Public and private sector employers are eligible to receive funding for up to 50% of the provincial or territorial minimum hourly wage.

Canada Summer Jobs 2020

In delivering on the program objectives, the Government of Canada aims to ensure that youth job opportunities funded by the program take place in safe, inclusive, and healthy work environments free from harassment and discrimination. To support Service Canada in screening and assessing the eligibility and quality of each project, the Application Form collects information from you such as your organization’s health and safety practices, work environment policies, supervision and mentoring plans, skills development plan, and other details related to both your organization and the proposed job(s).

The Application Form and the Applicant Guide have been updated to support you in submitting a complete application. For more details on the information collected through the application process, consult Section 5 – Apply. Please review the updated guidance prior to completing your Application and contact Service Canada if you have any questions.

In 2020, Job Bank will be the primary source for information for youth on the availability of positions funded through the program. All Canada Summer Jobs-funded positions will automatically be posted on Job Bank to help youth find, and employers to fill those jobs. Youth will be actively encouraged to search Canada Summer Jobs-funded positions on Job Bank while they are advertised.

Employers and youth participants will once again be asked to complete questionnaires to provide Service Canada with feedback on their Canada Summer Jobs experience. The employer questionnaire is mandatory and must be completed prior to submitting a payment claim. It is also mandatory for employers to provide the youth participant questionnaire to youth employees funded by Canada Summer Jobs, although completion of the youth questionnaire remains voluntary. Both questionnaires will be provided to funded employers during the notification phase.

How to submit your application

Applications may be submitted in several ways:

1. using an online fillable application
2. using Grants and Contributions Online Services(GCOS)
3. in person
4. by mail

Please review Section 5 – Apply for more detail on each of these application methods.

Application deadlines

Please note the following key dates:

• applications are due by February 28, 2020
• the earliest job start date is May 11, 2020
• the latest job start date is Monday, July 20, 2020
• the latest job end date is Friday, August 28, 2020
• the latest date to submit a payment claim is 30 days following the completion of the Canada Summer Jobs-funded work placement

Please note that activities cannot begin before your project is approved and an agreement has been signed by both the recipient and Service Canada. The receipt of an application does not in itself constitute a commitment on the part of Service Canada. You should not assume any commitment on the part of Service Canada until funding has been approved and a formal agreement has been signed by a representative of Service Canada. Service Canada will notify you in writing of the outcome of your application.