Funding: Canada Summer Jobs – Overview

1. Overview

This applicant guide provides information to help you complete your Canada Summer Jobs application.

Read the following guide and the Articles of Agreement in their entirety before you start your application for funding, as they contain important details on the information and supporting documentation that Service Canada requires to assess your application.

Canada Summer Jobs program objectives

Canada Summer Jobs is an initiative of the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, which aims to provide flexible and holistic services to help all young Canadians develop the skills and gain paid work experience to successfully transition into 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. Funded employers are not restricted to hiring students — all youth aged 15 to 30 years may be eligible participants.

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). For more details on the information collected through the application process, consult Section 5 – Apply.

The Application Form and the Applicant Guide have been updated to support you in submitting a complete application.

Canada Summer Jobs 2021

Employer Flexibilities

For CSJ 2020, the Department introduced temporary flexibilities to respond to the needs of employers and youth in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The program will continue to offer these temporary flexibilities for 2021 in order to continue to support employers and youth. The following temporary flexibilities will be in place for CSJ 2021:

• Wage subsidies: Funded public and private sector employers will be eligible to receive a wage subsidy reimbursement of up to 75% of the provincial or territorial minimum hourly wage. Under regular rules, private and public sector employers are only eligible to receive up to 50% of the provincial or territorial minimum wage.
• Part-time employment: All funded employers may offer part-time placements (for example, fewer than 30 hours per week). Under regular rules, all CSJ-funded employment has to be full time (a minimum of 30 hours per week).
• Employment period: All funded employers may offer job placements between April 26, 2021 and February 26, 2022. Under regular rules, all CSJ-funded positions have to be completed during the summer months.
• Changes to project and job activities: All funded employers may amend project and job activities if the proposed project is impacted by COVID-19 restrictions after an agreement is signed. In such cases, the employer should contact Service Canada to discuss potential amendments. All changes must be approved by Service Canada.

How to submit your application

You can submit your application(s) in several ways:

• Using an online fillable application;
• Using Grants and Contributions Online Services (GCOS);
• In person; and,
• By mail.

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

Key dates

Please note the following key dates:

1. Applications are due by January 29, 2021
2. The earliest job start date is April 26, 2021
3. The latest job start date is January 15, 2022
4. The latest job end date is February 26, 2022
5. The latest date to submit a payment claim is 30 days following the completion of the Canada Summer Jobs-funded work placement

Important: Activities cannot begin before your project is approved and an agreement has been signed by both the recipient and Service Canada. The receipt of a completed application does not in itself constitute a commitment on the part of Service Canada. Do not assume any commitment on the part of Service Canada until funding has been approved and a formal agreement has been signed by a Service Canada representative.

Notification of results

Each year, applications for funding exceed the available funding. Due to oversubscription, not all eligible projects are funded. Furthermore, organizations that receive funding may not receive the level of funding requested, the amount of funding received in previous years, or the number of weeks requested. Note that in 2020, the average funded job duration was 8 weeks and 35 hours per week.

Funds are distributed among the successful applicants based on the results of Service Canada’s assessment of applications, and from feedback provided by Members of Parliament during their review of the list of projects eligible for funding in each constituency.

Service Canada will inform you of the status of your application starting in April 2021. All eligibility and funding decisions will be confirmed in writing. You can also check the status of your application through GCOS if you applied via GCOS.

Funded employers and youth participants will be asked to complete questionnaires to provide Service Canada with feedback on their Canada Summer Jobs experience. The mandatory employer questionnaire 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 through the Canada Summer Jobs program, although completion of the youth questionnaire remains voluntary. Both questionnaires will be provided to funded employers during the notification phase.

Job Bank will continue to 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.

Related Links

• CSJ Applicant guide 2021 (PDF)
• Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) Contact information