Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) is part of the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, a federal commitment to help young people gain employment information, skills and experience. The strategy aims to support young people, particularly those from communities facing barriers to employment, as they transition into the labour market.
CSJ is delivered by Employment and Social Development Canada. The program provides wage subsidies to private-sector organizations with 50 or fewer full-time employees, employers from not-for-profit organizations, and the public sector. Through CSJ, employers are encouraged to create quality summer work experiences for young people between the ages of 15 and 30. It provides youth with opportunities to develop and improve their skills, responds to national and local priorities, and improves access to the labour market for youth, including those who face barriers to employment.
The CSJ employer application period is open now and will close at 11:59am PT on January 12, 2023. This year, public and private sector employers will be eligible to receive funding for up to 50% of the provincial or territorial minimum hourly wage. As in previous years, not-for-profit employers will continue to receive up to 100% of the provincial or territorial minimum hourly wage for each employee.
To help persons living with disabilities obtain employment, and to encourage employers to hire them under this program, employers may be eligible for additional funding to remove barriers in the workplace for young persons living with disabilities within the work environment. This additional funding may be used for personal tools and adaptations that the employee requires to accomplish tasks.
The national priorities for this year have been established to prioritize job opportunities for youth facing barriers to getting a first job, as well as jobs in small business and the not-for-profit sector, specifically:
- Youth with disabilities;
- Black and other racialized youth;
- Indigenous youth;
- Small businesses and not-for-profit organizations that self-report as having leadership from groups that are under-represented in the labour market;
- Small business and not-for-profit organizations in environmental sectors.
Eligibility
Employers
Eligible Canadian employers are from the not-for-profit, public and private sectors. Private sector employers must have 50 or fewer full-time employees across Canada to be eligible (full-time employees are those working 30 hours or more per week).
Ineligible Canadian employers are 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.
Projects and job activities
Projects and job activities are ineligible if they:
- have activities that take place outside of Canada;
- include activities that contribute to the provision of a personal service to the employer;
- involve partisan political activities;
- include fundraising activities to cover salary costs for the youth participant;
· 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 or prejudice; or
- actively work to undermine or restrict a woman's access to sexual and reproductive health services.
How to apply
Employers can submit their applications electronically via either the online fillable application or by signing up on the secure Grants and Contributions Online Services portal. Registration for the portal is a one-time process that allows employers to apply and track application status, sign agreements, and submit their applications for CSJ funding and other funding opportunities offered through Employment and Social Development Canada.
The safety of young people is paramount to CSJ. To be eligible to receive funding, employers must be able to provide youth with a job placement in a safe and inclusive work environment. In the current context of COVID-19, employers are responsible for staying informed of provincial guidance on essential services and municipal, provincial and federal public health information.
