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COVID-19: Financial support for people, businesses and organizations

The Government of Canada is taking immediate and significant action through the Canada's COVID-19 Economic Response Plan to support people, businesses and organizations facing hardship as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

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Support for people

People and families

  • Employment Insurance (EI) program

    We made temporary changes to the Employment Insurance (EI) program to better support Canadians who need financial assistance.

    Apply for Employment Insurance

    If you're not eligible for EI or if you've received the maximum number of weeks of EI regular benefits, you may be eligible for the following benefits:

  • Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit

    The Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit provides $300 a week to eligible workers who are unable to work due to a temporary local lockdown anytime between October 24, 2021 and May 7, 2022.

    The benefit is only available when a COVID-19 lockdown order is designated for your region.

    Apply to the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit

  • Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit

    The Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit provides $500 ($450 after taxes withheld) per week for up to a maximum of six weeks, for workers who:

    • are unable to work for at least 50% of the week because they contracted COVID-19
    • are self-isolated for reasons related to COVID-19
    • have underlying conditions, are undergoing treatments or have contracted other sicknesses that, in the opinion of a medical practitioner, nurse practitioner, person in authority, government or public health authority, would make them more susceptible to COVID-19.

    This benefit is available until May 7, 2022.

    Apply to the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit

  • Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit

    The Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit provides $500 ($450 after taxes withheld) for up to 44 weeks per household for workers:

    • unable to work for at least 50% of the week because they must care for a child under the age of 12 or family member because schools, day-cares or care facilities are closed due to COVID-19
    • because the child or family member is sick and/or required to quarantine or is at high risk of serious health implications because of COVID-19.

    This benefit is available until May 7, 2022.

    Apply to the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit

  • Provincial and territorial support

    Other supports may be available to you in your province or territory 

Find the support you need

Answer a few questions to get a list of benefits and support tailored to you

Support for businesses

Financial support

  • Wage and hiring support

    You may be eligible for a subsidy to cover part of your employee wages. This subsidy will enable you to re-hire workers, help prevent further job losses, and ease your business back into normal operations.

    For each applicable claim period, eligible employers can claim one of the following, whichever gives the highest amount:

    • Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program
    • Hardest-Hit Businesses Recovery Program
    • Canada Recovery Hiring Program
    • Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy

    Apply to the wage and hiring support

  • Rent and property expenses support

    You may be eligible for a subsidy to cover part of your commercial rent or property expenses.

    Depending on the period you are applying for, you may be eligible to claim your commercial rent or property expenses through one of the following:

    • Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy
    • Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program
    • Hardest-Hit Businesses Recovery Program

    Apply to the rent and property expense support

  • Jobs and Growth Fund

    The Jobs and Growth Fund is a $700-million program that supports regional job creation and positions local economies for long-term growth. This includes up to $70 million dedicated to businesses created after January 2020.

    The Fund will help businesses and organizations that:

    • support the transition to a green economy
    • foster an inclusive recovery
    • enhance Canada's competitiveness through digital adoption to improve productivity and manufacturing processes
    • strengthen capacity in sectors critical to Canada's recovery and growth

    Apply through your Regional Development Agency

  • Extending the Work-Sharing program

    We have extended the maximum duration of the Work-Sharing program from 38 weeks to 76 weeks for employers affected by COVID-19.

    Apply to the Work-Sharing program

  • Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program (HASCAP)

    The Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program provides businesses heavily impacted by COVID-19, access guaranteed, low-interest loans of $25,000 to $1 million to cover operational cash flow needs.

    HASCAP is available to businesses that operate in sectors such as tourism and hospitality, restaurants and those that primarily rely on in-person services.

    Business owners can apply for support until March 31, 2022

    Learn more about the Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability

  • Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF)

    The Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF) provides bridge financing to Canada’s largest employers, whose needs during the pandemic are not being met through conventional financing, in order to keep their operations going.

    The additional liquidity provided through LEEFF allows Canada’s largest businesses, their workers and their suppliers to remain active during this difficult time, and position them for a rapid economic recovery.

    This program is delivered by the Canada Development Investment Corporation, in cooperation with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and the Department of Finance.

    Apply to the LEEF program

  • Additional support by sector
  • Provincial and territorial support

    Other supports for your business may be available to you in your province or territory

Self-employed workers

  • Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit

    The Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit provides $300 a week to eligible workers who are unable to work due to a temporary local lockdown anytime between October 24, 2021 and May 7, 2022.

    The benefit is only available when a COVID-19 lockdown order is designated for your region.

    Apply to the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit

  • Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit

    The CRSB provides $500 ($450 after taxes withheld) per week for up to a maximum of six weeks, for workers who:

    • are unable to work for at least 50% of the week because they contracted COVID-19
    • are self-isolated for reasons related to COVID-19
    • have underlying conditions, are undergoing treatments or have contracted other sicknesses that, in the opinion of a medical practitioner, nurse practitioner, person in authority, government or public health authority, would make them more susceptible to COVID-19.

    This benefit is available until May 7, 2022.

    Apply to the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit

  • Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit

    The CRCB provides $500 ($450 after taxes withheld) for up to 44 weeks per household for workers:

    • unable to work for at least 50% of the week because they must care for a child under the age of 12 or family member because schools, day-cares or care facilities are closed due to COVID-19
    • because the child or family member is sick and/or required to quarantine or is at high risk of serious health implications because of COVID-19.

    This benefit is available until May 7, 2022.

    Apply to the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit

Indigenous businesses

  • Supporting business through the pandemic and into recovery

    We are providing non-repayable financial contributions to help support operating costs for First Nation, Inuit and Métis community-or collectively-owned businesses and microbusinesses whose revenues have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The fund seeks to provide support for businesses that do not qualify for other Government of Canada COVID-19 relief measures.

    Apply to the Indigenous Community Business Fund

Indigenous peoples can also access all other benefits.

Find the support you need for your business


Support for sectors

Tourism

  • Tourism Relief Fund

    The Tourism Relief Fund will help position Canada as a destination of choice when domestic and international travel is deemed safe, by:

    • empowering tourism businesses to create new or enhance existing tourism experiences and products to attract more local and domestic visitors
    • helping the sector reposition itself to welcome international visitors, by providing the best Canadian tourism experiences we have to offer the world

    The Tourism Relief Fund provides non-repayable contributions up to $100,000 or repayable contributions up to $500,000 to businesses to enhance or create new tourism experiences. Not-for-profit organizations and Indigenous organizations, not generating profits, are also eligible for non-repayable contributions.

    Apply through your Regional Development Agency

  • Additional support for your business

Aquaculture and fisheries

  • Assisting the fish and seafood processing sector

    We are providing $62.5 million of new assistance to the fish and seafood processing sector through the Canadian Seafood Stabilization Fund.

    This will help businesses:

    • add storage capacity for unsold product;
    • comply with new health and safety measures for workers;
    • support new manufacturing/automated technologies to improve productivity and quality of finished seafood products; and,
    • adapt products to respond to changing requirements and new market demands.

    Regional Development Agencies are now accepting applications to the Fund.

  • Changes to Employment Insurance fishing benefits

    We will calculate Employment Insurance (EI) fishing benefits for self-employed fish harvesters and sharespersons using either their fishing earnings for their current claim, or their fishing earnings from their claim for the same season from the previous year, whichever is higher.

    Apply for EI fishing benefits

  • Additional support for your business

Culture, heritage and sport

  • Support for Booksellers

    The Support for Booksellers sub-component of the Canada Book Fund helps Canadian booksellers increase their ability to sell books online, in order to strengthen the sustainability of their operations in the wake of the COVID19 pandemic.

    The deadline to apply is April 25, 2022.

    Apply to the Support for Booksellers program

  • Community Sport for All Initiative

    The Community Sport for All Initiative component of the Sport Support Program will provide $80 million over two years to support organized sport at the community level to help Canadians and communities recover from the impacts of COVID-19.

    Organizations have until April 4, 2022, to submit an application.

    Apply to the Community Sport for All Initiative

  • Major Festivals and Events Support Initiative

    The Major Festivals and Events Support Initiative is a two-year, $200-million national fund to help Canadian festivals survive and adapt to the pandemic.

    Eligible activities are recurring festivals and events with annual revenues exceeding $10 million.

    Apply to the Major Festivals and Events Support Initiative

  • Support for Independent production companies

    The Short-Term Compensation Fund for Canadian audiovisual productions (STCF), administered by Telefilm Canada, provides a temporary measure to help minimize the consequences of the lack of insurance coverage for filming interruptions and the abandonment of productions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the sector of audiovisual production.

    The STCF is extended until March 31, 2023 and is budgeted at up to $150 million.

    Apply to the Short-Term Compensation Fund

  • Additional support for your business

Energy

  • Launching the Emissions Reduction Fund

    We are providing up to $750 million to create a new Emissions Reduction Fund to support workers and reduce emissions in Canada's oil and gas sector, with a focus on methane.

    This fund will provide primarily repayable contributions to conventional and offshore oil and gas firms to support their investments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Of this amount, $75 million will be allocated to the offshore sector.

    Learn more about the Emissions Reduction Fund

  • Additional support for your business

Transportation

  • Regional Air Transportation Initiative (RATI)

    The Regional Air Transportation Initiative (RATI) provides support over two years to eligible regional businesses and airports that directly contribute to regional air transportation.

    The initiative will help ensure that regional air connectivity and services, which are critical to economic growth, are maintained and that regional routes are reconnected across the country. RATI is being delivered by Canada's six regional development agencies (RDA).

    Contact your RDA to apply

  • Additional support for your business

Aerospace

  • Aerospace Regional Recovery Initiative

    The Aerospace Regional Recovery Initiative provides $250 million over three years to help the Canadian aerospace sector emerge from the pandemic and continue to compete on the global stage.

    Businesses operating in the aerospace industry, and the organizations that support them through supply chains, are eligible to apply for funding for projects that will:

    • help them green their operations and adopt environmentally sustainable practices;
    • improve productivity and strengthen commercialization; and/or
    • strengthen integration into regional and global supply chains.

    Apply through your Regional Development Agency

  • Additional support for your business

Support for communities

Communities and organizations

  • Addressing immediate needs in Indigenous communities

    We launched a distinctions-based Indigenous Community Support Fund to address immediate needs in First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Nation communities.
    These funds could be used for measures including, but not limited to:

    • support for Elders and vulnerable community members
    • measures to address food insecurity
    • educational and other support for children
    • mental health assistance and emergency response services
    • preparedness measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19

    Apply to the Indigenous Community Support Fund

  • Canada Community Revitalization Fund

    The Canada Community Revitalization Fund provides up to $750,000 or $1 million to not-for-profit organizations, municipalities, public institutions and Indigenous communities for projects to revitalize communities across Canada.

    The funding covers up to 75% of the total project costs. Indigenous community projects may qualify for funding to cover 100% of total project costs.

    To apply for funding, projects must aim to:

    • adapt community spaces and assets so that they may be used safely in accordance with local public-health guidelines
    • build or improve community infrastructure to encourage Canadians to re-engage in and explore their communities and regions
    • reinvent outdoor spaces
    • create green infrastructure
    • increase the accessibility of community spaces

    Apply to the Canada Community Revitalization Fund through your Regional Development Agency

  • Investing in public transit systems

    The Government of Canada intends to introduce legislation to invest up to $750 million to support municipalities facing transit operating shortfalls, in collaboration with provinces and territories. This one-time payment would help cities maintain service levels despite decreased ridership as a result of the pandemic.

    Funding would be conditional on provincial and territorial governments matching this federal contribution and accelerating their efforts to improve housing supply, in collaboration with municipalities.

    More information will be available soon.

  • Additional support for your organization

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