Eligibility Past Subsidies
Eligibility for past subsidies
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Eligibility criteria
To be eligible for a wage or rent subsidy, you must have met:
- two general eligibility conditions that relate to all subsidies
- additional requirements that were specific to the subsidy you were applying for, and
- revenue drop requirements for the subsidy you were applying for
You could only apply for one wage or hiring subsidy and one rent subsidy per claim period.
General eligibility criteria
You must have met both an account-related condition and entity type condition to be eligible for any subsidy:
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You met one of these account-related conditions
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For any wage, hiring or rent subsidies: Option 1
You had an active payroll account on March 15, 2020, or another person or partnership made payroll remittances on your behalf
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For rent subsidies only: Option 2
You had a CRA business number on September 27, 2020
You may also have met this condition if you purchased the business assets of another person or partnership who met either the payroll account condition (wage, hiring and rent subsidies) or the business number condition (rent subsidies only), and made an election under the special asset acquisition rules.
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You were one of the following types of entities
- individuals (such as sole proprietors)
- corporations (or trusts) that are not exempt from income tax under Part I of the Income Tax Act
Note: Publicly traded companies and taxable dividends
For claim period 23 and onward, if you were a publicly traded company or a subsidiary of such a company, you were not entitled to any wage subsidy for that claim period in which you paid taxable dividends to an individual who is a holder of common shares. - the following persons that are exempt from income tax under Part I of the Income Tax Act:
- non-profit organizations
- agricultural organizations
- boards of trade
- chambers of commerce
- non-profit corporations for scientific research and experimental development
- labour organizations or societies
- benevolent or fraternal benefit societies or orders
- registered charities
- partnerships where all members are eligible entities
- the following prescribed organizations:
- certain Indigenous government-owned corporations that carry on a business
- partnerships consisting of eligible entities and certain Indigenous governments
- registered Canadian amateur athletic associations
- registered journalism organizations
- private schools or private colleges, and
- partnerships where at least 50% of the fair market value of all interests in the partnership are held by eligible entities throughout the claim period
Public institutions were not eligible for the subsidies. This includes municipalities and local governments, Crown corporations, public universities, colleges and schools, and hospitals.
Additional requirements for each subsidy
You must also have met the specific eligibility criteria for the subsidy you applied for.
Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program (THRP) eligibility Closed
There were two ways eligible organizations could qualify for the THRP:
Tourism, hospitality, arts, entertainment and recreation sectors: Option 1 of 2
The first way to have qualified for the THRP was by meeting the following three conditions:
- More than 50% of your total eligible revenue for the prior reference periods for CEWS claim periods 1 to 13 (but excluding one of either CEWS claim period 10 or 11) came from one or more of the tourism, hospitality, arts, entertainment, or recreation activities this program supported
- You had a 12-month average revenue drop from March 2020 to February 2021 of at least 40%
- You had a claim period revenue drop of at least 40%
Organizations affected by a qualifying full or partial public health restriction: Option 2 of 2
The second way to have qualified for the THRP was introduced as the Local Lockdown Program. It was available to eligible organizations regardless of sector.
The conditions to qualify depended on which claim period you were applying for.
For claim periods 24 to 26 (December 19, 2021, to March 12, 2022), you must have met the following two conditions:
- You were subject to either a qualifying public health restriction or a qualifying partial (capacity-limiting) public health restriction
- You had a claim period revenue drop of at least 25%
For claim periods 22, 23, 27 and 28, you must have met the following two conditions:
- You were subject to a qualifying public health restriction
- You had a claim period revenue drop of at least 40%
Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program (HHBRP) eligibility Closed
Eligible organizations, regardless of their sector, may have qualified for the HHBRP if they didn’t qualify for the THRP.
To qualify for the HHBRP, you must have met the following two conditions:
- You had a 12-month average revenue drop from March 2020 to February 2021 of at least 50%
- You had a claim period revenue drop of at least 50%
Canada Recovery Hiring Program (CRHP) eligibility Closed
Types of employers eligible for CRHP
All types of employers who were eligible for the wage or rent subsidies were eligible for CRHP, except some for-profit corporations and partnerships.
If you were a for-profit corporation, you must have been either:
- a Canadian-controlled private corporation (CCPC), or
- a cooperative corporation that was eligible for the small business deduction
If you were a partnership, at least 50% of the fair market value of the partnership’s interests must have been held (directly or indirectly) by employers eligible for the CRHP throughout the claim period.
Claim period revenue drop required
- Period 17
- No minimum revenue drop required
- Periods 18 and later
- Minimum revenue drop of more than 10% required
Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) eligibility Closed
There was a minimum claim period revenue drop required to qualify for a CEWS amount for some claim periods:
- Period 5 to 17
- No minimum revenue drop required
- Periods 18 and later
- Minimum revenue drop of more than 10% required to qualify for the subsidy for active employees, although you may have still qualified for a CEWS amount for your employees on leave with pay if your revenue drop was 10% or less
If you need information about qualifying for the CEWS period 1 to 4, refer to the CEWS technical questions and answers.
Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) eligibility Closed
There was a minimum claim period revenue drop required to qualify for a CERS amount for some claim periods:
- Periods 1 to 10
- No minimum revenue drop required
- Periods 11 to 14
- Minimum revenue drop of more than 10% required
Revenue drop requirements
Each claim period, you needed to know how much your eligible revenue dropped since before the pandemic.
For the THRP and HHBRP, you also needed to know your 12-month average revenue drop. This was a one-time calculation.
The online calculators are still available for historical information purposes. The calculators include a link to the 12-month average revenue drop calculator in step 2.
Wage and hiring subsidy calculator
If you use the online calculator, it will use built-in formulas to calculate your amounts based on the information you provide. If you want to see the formulas, you can read the details about how the revenue drops are calculated.
Eligibility for rent subsidy lockdown support top-up
To have qualified for the rent subsidy lockdown support top-up, you must have had:
- at least the minimum revenue drop that was required for the claim period
- one or more locations temporarily closed, or have activities stopped for a week or longer due to a COVID-19-related public health order
- the minimum lockdown period can span across two different claim periods
Example – Gloria’s Gift Shop
Gloria owns a gift shop in Ontario.
Her location was closed due to a COVID-19 related public health order from May 4, 2021 to May 12, 2021 inclusive. Claim period 8 ended on May 8, 2021.
This means her location was locked down for 9 days total, but:
- 5 days occurred in claim period 8
- 4 days occurred in claim period 9
- the minimum lockdown period can span across two different claim periods
You did not qualify for a lockdown support top-up if you were already restricted or closed because you failed to comply with a previous public health order or decision.
Public health orders applicable to the rent support top-up
A public health restriction is an order that meets certain conditions. It must:
- be based on an order or decision issued by a federal, provincial, or municipal government, or a local health authority in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
- be limited in scope based on one or more factors such as:
- geographical boundaries
- type of business or other activity
- risks associated with a particular location
- result in sanctions or be an offence if you do not comply
- require you or your non-arm's-length tenant to stop some or all regular activities at the qualifying property for at least 7 days in a row
- the activities that were stopped must account for at least approximately 25% of the eligible revenues earned during the prior reference period from or in connection with the affected qualifying property
An order that restricts or reduces activities but doesn’t require you to close or stop certain activities does not qualify for a lockdown support top-up.
Examples of restrictions that did not qualify for a lockdown support top-up
- travel restrictions that reduce the number of clients
- rules about when you can perform your regular activities, such as restricted or reduced service hours or hours of operation
- any other restrictions that do not specifically order you to stop or close an activity, such as reduced seating capacity or other physical distancing strategies
Eligible employees
In a wage or hiring subsidy claim, only certain employees and their wages were eligible to include in your calculation.
Read about which employees qualified
Eligible rent and property expenses
In a rent subsidy claim, only certain rent or property expenses were eligible to include in your calculation.
Read about which rent or property expenses you could claim
If your business, registered charity, or non-profit was related to another eligible entity, you may have been considered to be part of an "affiliated group". This may have affected your calculations for your rent subsidy amounts.
Learn more about affiliated groups and the rent subsidy
If you were affiliated with other businesses, registered charities, or non-profits who were also applying for a rent subsidy, you must have agreed on how you would split the maximum amounts for eligible expenses.
You entered the percentages you agreed to claim in the application form.
The application form had space for up to 10 eligible entities in the affiliated group. If you had more than 10, you should have entered the ones with the highest allocations (percentages) and kept a full list for your records.
Examples of affiliated groups are the same as they are for the wage subsidies.
Confirming your eligibility
If we notice a mistake in your application, we will work with you to correct it. If you realize you made a mistake in your application, you can request a change to your previous claim.
We will review your claim and confirm the information you submit.
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