Deadline: 24 February 2020
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.
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).
Quality job Placements
Through the Canada Summer Jobs program, the Government of Canada provides employers wage subsidies to create quality job placements for youth in safe, inclusive and healthy work environments free from harassment and discrimination.
Your application should demonstrate the quality of your proposed job placement(s) in a number of ways:
- For example, your job placement may invest in youth by paying above the minimum wage in your province or territory, or by committing to retain the youth as an employee beyond the period of the Canada Summer Jobs Agreement;
- Through your supervision plan, you should demonstrate how you will support the youth during their work placement through observing, evaluating, and providing feedback on job performance;
- Through your mentoring plan, you should demonstrate how you will support the youth by providing guidance related to professional and career-development;
- Through providing an opportunity for youth to develop the skills needed for employment;
- Through your health and safety practices, you should demonstrate that you have implemented measures to ensure that your work environment is safe;
- Through your work environment policies and practices, you should demonstrate that you have implemented appropriate measures to provide a work environment free from harassment and discrimination, including non-discriminatory hiring practices.
Eligibility Criteria
Not-for-profit employers
- Entities under the “not-for-profit” category are established for purposes other than financial gain for their members. This category includes:
- Community, charitable or voluntary organizations, including faith-based organizations (for example, churches, synagogues, temples, mosques);
- Associations of workers or employers as well as professional and industrial organizations;
- Indigenous not-for-profit organizations;
- Non-governmental organizations;
- Unions;
- Sector councils; and,
- Not-for-profit Band Councils.
Public sector employers
Public sector employers include public health and public educational institutions and municipal governments. This category includes:
- Public community colleges and vocational schools;
- Public health, including public hospitals, nursing homes, senior citizen homes, rehabilitation homes;
- Public degree-granting universities and colleges;
- Municipal governments and agencies, including regional legislative bodies and departments;
- School boards and elementary and secondary institutions; and,
- Territorial governments.
Private Sector Employers
Private sector entities are established in order to generate a profit or to provide an economic advantage to their proprietors, members or shareholders. Private sector employers must have 50 or fewer full-time employees across Canada to be eligible for Canada Summer Jobs funding. Full-time employees are those working 30 hours or more per week.
This category includes:
- Bodies, incorporated or unincorporated, including partnerships and sole proprietorships financial Institutions
- Business, incorporated or unincorporated bodies, which include:
- Federal Crown corporations operating in a competitive environment and not ordinarily dependent on appropriations for operating purposes as indicated in Schedule III, Part II of the Financial Administration Act;
- Provincial and territorial Crown corporations recognized as operating in a competitive environment and not ordinarily dependent on appropriations for operating purposes;
- Private health and educational institutions; and,
- Independent owners of franchises (franchise operators are eligible if there are 50 or fewer full-time employees working full-time in the franchise owner’s operations across Canada, regardless of the number of business numbers involved).
- Indian band corporations;
- Private Band Councils; and,
- Private universities or colleges.
Ineligible employers
- Members of the House of Commons and the Senate;
- Federal Government Departments and Agencies;
- Provincial Departments and Agencies; and,
- Organizations that engage in partisan political activities.
Eligible Projects
- Provide full-time work experience from May to August in Canada for a minimum of six weeks;
- Provide a work experience in an inclusive non-discriminatory work environment that respects the rights of all Canadians; and,
- Support skills acquisition and development.
Ineligible projects and job activities:
- Projects consisting of activities that take place outside of Canada;
- Activities that contribute to the provision of a personal service to the employer;
- Partisan political activities;
- Fundraising activities to cover salary costs for the youth participant or;
- Projects or job activities that:
- 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
What Youth Participants are Eligible?
To be eligible, youth must:
- Be between 15 and 30 years of age at the start of the employment;
- Be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person to whom refugee protection has been conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act for the duration of the employment; and
- Have a valid Social Insurance Number at the start of employment and be legally entitled to work in Canada in accordance with relevant provincial or territorial legislation and regulations;
- The youth must be 15 years of age at the beginning of the employment period. The youth may be more than 30 years of age at the end of the employment period as long as the youth was 30 at the beginning of the employment period;
- International students are not eligible participants. International students include anyone who is temporarily in Canada for studies and who is not a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person who has been granted refugee status in Canada;
- Youth awaiting a refugee status ruling, as well as those who hold a temporary visitor visa, youth visa or work visa are ineligible. As the objective of the Canada Summer Jobs program is to support youth entering the Canadian labour market, the temporary nature of an international student’s time in Canada does not allow for a long-term connection to the labour market.
Other Conditions of Youth Eligibility
- Youth hired for a Canada Summer Jobs-funded job cannot displace or replace existing employees or volunteers, employees that have been laid-off and are awaiting recall, employees absent due to an industrial dispute, employees on vacation, or employees on maternity or parental leave;
- No cost incurred by the Employer in relation to a Participant who is a member of the Immediate Family of the Employer or who is a member of the Immediate Family of an officer or director of the Employer, is eligible for reimbursement under the Agreement. If Canada is satisfied, and agrees in writing before the commencement of the Job, that the hiring of the Participant was not the result of favouritism by reason of membership in the Immediate Family of the Employer, officer or director, as the case may be, the costs may be eligible for reimbursement;
- Program funding cannot be used for self-employment, and the employer must establish an employer-employee relationship with the youth participant.
How to Apply
Applications may be submitted in several ways:
- Using an online fillable application;
- Using Grants and Contributions Online Services;
- In person;
- By mail;
- Applications received by fax or by email will not be considered.
For more information, visit https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/funding/canada-summer-jobs/apply.html