Canadian Employers Can Now Claim Up to $1,000 per Worker to Retrain Staff Through Work-Sharing

Canadian employers can now get up to $1,000 per participating employee to help cover training and administration costs when they reduce hours to avoid layoffs, after Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hajdu announced the launch of an online application form on October 22, 2026. The money comes through the new Workforce Retention and Retraining Program, which combines the Work-Sharing Program and the Retraining Grant, formerly the Worker Retention Grant, into one employer-facing scheme. Employers apply through a single application pathway, and workers benefit through a mix of EI Work-Sharing benefits and an income top-up for taking part in employer-provided training. For Metaintro readers in Canada facing a slower order book, or a manager who has floated shorter weeks, the federal pages spell out who qualifies, what a worker on reduced hours receives, and how an employer gets an agreement started.

What Did Ottawa Launch on October 22?

October 22 brought the launch of an online application form. The program itself was announced when, on August 25, 2026, the Government of Canada introduced a $3.5 billion investment in Rapid Response Supports for Workers and Employers, with this program inside it. That money was part of a $7.5 billion package of new and enhanced measures unveiled after new U.S. tariffs on $27.6 billion of Canadian goods took effect August 22.

Employers choose the training themselves, which can include technical training, digital and foundational skills training, peer-to-peer learning and on-the-job training. Hours can be split unevenly in the face of tariff disruptions, including through the temporary removal of the equal sharing of work requirement. Successive agreements are allowed in response to tariff disruptions, temporarily allowing for up to 152 cumulative weeks of support. The program is open to businesses across all sectors that need to transform, retool or diversify.

A business no longer needs a slump already on its books, because the tariff special measures extend eligibility to include businesses that need to transform, retool or diversify, even if they do not already have reduced business activity, as long as they are adapting or transforming their business because of tariff-related impacts and plan to provide training and other recovery measures.

How Does the Up to $1,000 per Worker Payment Work?

The training money sits in the Retraining Grant, which will also provide training funding of up to $1,000 per eligible participant to support training and administrative costs, subject to program requirements. The same grant pays for the worker top-up, so eligible costs are the income top-up supplement paid to eligible employees, the employer share of EI premiums and pension contributions on that top-up, and training design and delivery.

Training costs cover wages of staff involved in the design or delivery of the training, professional fees for outside instructors, presenters and facilitators, and materials and supplies, while administrative costs directly related to the project are capped at a maximum of 15% of total training funding requested. Ineligible training includes but is not limited to attending conferences and training that employers are legally required to provide. Ineligible costs, again not limited to these, include utilities, management consulting, travel and accommodation, capital cost (purchase of any equipment) and costs incurred before the agreement has been signed by ESDC and the organization, and any costs incurred prior to the establishment of a Retraining Grant agreement are incurred solely at your risk without obligation of reimbursement by ESDC.

Retraining Grant applications opened on February 16, 2026 and close on December 31, 2027, at 3 pm EST.

What Does a Worker on Reduced Hours Actually Receive?

On Work-Sharing, the employer pays wages for the hours employees work and Employment Insurance pays the employee directly the percentage of their benefit rate that corresponds with the hours missed due to Work-Sharing. The extra money is a weekly income top-up to workers who have reduced hours and are taking training, so a worker who does not take part in training does not get it. For workers who do train, the top-up will boost their income while on Work-Sharing, increasing their income replacement rate from 55% to about 70%. The top-up is the employer paid supplement per employee funded by the grant.

Under the standard rules, the average reduction in business activity must be no less than 10% and no more than 60%, and on a 40-hour week a 60% reduction represents 3 days (24 hours). The tariff special measures go further, extending eligibility to employers experiencing a decrease in work activity over the past six months of less than 10% and allowing Work-Sharing use to exceed 60%.

This additional top-up support will help workers keep their income closer to their normal wages while they participate in training opportunities, according to the Retraining Grant overview page.

The top-up goes only to an employee who is in receipt of EI Work-Sharing benefits, and it is not payable for any non-Work-Sharing weeks, for example plant shutdowns, weeks of sick or vacation leave. Statutory holidays occurring within a Work-Sharing period are not compensated by Employment Insurance and are the responsibility of the employer. The employer must maintain all existing employee benefits, for example health and dental insurance, pension benefits, vacation and group disability, though benefits calculated on earnings or hours may shrink. And Employment Insurance benefits are taxable income.

Which Employers and Workers Qualify?

Under the standard rules, a business must be a year-round business operating in Canada for at least 2 years and show a decrease in overall work activities of at least 10% in the last 6 months caused by factors beyond its control, and that decrease cannot be limited to financial factors such as sales or revenues. It must also be a private business, a publicly held company or a certain type of non-for-profit, have recovery measures in place to return employees back to normal staffing levels and regular work hours by the end of an agreement, and have at least two eligible employees in the Work Sharing unit that must share the available work equitably. The tariff special measures loosen that. An employer with a decline in business activity attributable to the threat or potential realization of tariffs may qualify if it is operating in Canada for a minimum of 1 year and has a minimum of 2 EI eligible employees who agree to a reduction in hours and to share any available work.

Those measures also open the door to non-profit and charitable organizations experiencing a reduction in revenue levels as a direct or indirect result of the tariffs and to cyclical or seasonal employers.

Public sector employers, including government or publicly owned corporations, such as crown corporations, are not eligible. Under the standard rules, a business is also not eligible if its reduced activity is due to a labour dispute, including work slowdowns, strikes, lockouts and work stoppages, a cyclical or seasonal shortage of work, the decrease in available work due to an increase in the number of employees, or business decisions (for example, to increase efficiencies or profits by reducing staffing levels), though the tariff measures re-admit cyclical or seasonal employers. Also excluded are an employer who operates solely for the purpose of carrying out the administration of a government program/activity, such as municipalities or Government Agencies, and the self-employed.

Workers in the unit must be year-round, permanent, full-time or part-time employees needed to carry out the day-to-day functions of the business, be eligible for EI, and agree to reduce their normal working hours by the same percentage and to share the available work equitably. Under the standard rules, excluded groups include seasonal employees (for example, lifeguards, ski resort employees), students hired for a co-op term, employees hired on a casual or on-call basis, and contracted temporary help agency workers, the self-employed, and employees needed to generate work, for example, senior management, technical employees engaged in product development, marketing and sales agents, as well as those responsible for the direction of the company and who hold more than 40% of the voting shares in the business and/or who are investors. Under the tariff special measures, eligibility also extends to employees who are not year-round, permanent, full-time or part-time employees, specifically seasonal or cyclical employees, and to employees assisting the employer recovery efforts.

Core staff recently laid off may be included in the Work-Sharing unit.

What Kind of Training Counts?

Employers can choose training most relevant to their business, including those related to business adaptation, transformation, diversification, recovery, and worker retention. Eligible training examples include widely applicable foundational skills such as digital and AI literacy, workplace safety, linguistic proficiency, problem-solving and numeracy, and there is no set delivery format required for eligible training.

Employers must offer training for at least 40% of the Grant agreement period, for example a minimum of 30 weeks of training offerings for a 76 week agreement, and must offer the training to all eligible employees in the Work-Sharing Unit. Workers must participate in training offered during their non-working hours. A training project must not exceed 152 weeks duration and be no longer than the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement, and must be completed by Saturday, March 25, 2028, at the latest. An employer that extends its agreement must re-commit to providing training in a similar proportion for the period of the extension.

Employers can work with employees, unions, and provincial and territorial representatives to identify appropriate training, and further resources, including no-cost options, can be found at Training Finder on Job Bank.

How Does an Employer Apply?

Employers must apply for the Work-Sharing before applying for the Retraining Grant, and those without an existing agreement will need to register for the Government of Canada's Grants and Contributions Online Services (GCOS) first. Employers already in Work-Sharing or the Worker Retention Grant do not need to apply and will be seamlessly transitioned.

The start date must be a Sunday, a minimum of 10 business days from the date the completed application is submitted, and retroactive start dates aren't possible under the Work-Sharing Program. The application form asks for the number of employees from your Work-Sharing unit(s) that you estimate you'll have to temporarily layoff if the agreement is not approved. Without a tracking number or an acknowledgement email, the application has not been successfully submitted.

For organizations located and operating in Alberta or Quebec, a selected project may be required to obtain approval from the Alberta or Quebec government before accepting funding from the federal department, and Quebec employers use a separate calculator tab for the correct Mandatory Employment Related Costs (MERCs) rates.

How Long Can the Support Last?

A standard agreement must have a minimum duration of 4 weeks and can last up to 26 weeks, with an extension of up to 12 weeks bringing the initial agreement to a maximum total of 38 weeks. Under the tariff special measures, agreements may be extended, to a maximum total of 152 weeks, after which a 38-week mandatory cooling-off period must be served.

The program as a whole is in place until March 31, 2028.

Keeping skilled workers during slow times means that businesses can retain talent, and it helps workers weather tough times for their employers, Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hajdu said in August, according to the CBC report on the tariff package.

What Changed for Workers Who Lose Their Jobs Anyway?

The government is also extending temporary Employment Insurance (EI) measures by up to one year. Those measures waive the one-week waiting period, provide an extra 20 weeks of EI for long-tenured workers, and suspend the monies-on-separation rule so workers can access EI benefits immediately following a job loss, even if they receive separation payments, such as severance or vacation pay. The end dates were set in August, with separation payments covered until Oct. 10, 2027 and the extra 20 weeks for long-tenured workers available until June 2027.

For one year, the government is temporarily simplifying rules on reasons for separation so that workers who recently changed jobs are no longer penalized when accessing EI, provided the latest job loss was through no fault of their own. And a Work-Sharing worker who is later laid off can apply to convert their claim to Employment Insurance regular benefits.

How Much Has Work-Sharing Done So Far?

Since January 2025, temporary flexibilities to the Work-Sharing Program helped avert around 25,000 layoffs through approximately 1,600 Work-Sharing agreements, the government says. Applications roughly doubled in 2025 relative to the previous year, with more than 2,000 applications, and approximately 80 per cent of all applications referred to tariffs, figures the department reported in February.

The new program is expected to help prevent an estimated 20,000 layoffs, with more than 2,300 employers supported, and up to 66,000 workers are expected to benefit, including approximately 50,000 workers expected to receive retraining supports. Of those employers, close to 1,790 are expected to receive income to offset training and associated administrative costs. All of these are projections, not results. The Retraining Grant was formerly the Worker Retention Grant, which opened in February with about $102.7 million over two years.

The program opens as Canada's September jobs data showed education and public sector staff hit hardest, though for Work-Sharing public sector employers, including government or publicly owned corporations, are not eligible. The grant is meant for all sectors, including businesses in high tariff-exposed sectors (for example, steel, softwood lumber, auto parts), and manufacturing jobs were hit by U.S. tariffs in January.

What This Means for Canadian Workers and Employers, and What Should You Do Next?

For a worker, Work-Sharing with training differs from a layoff in three ways. You stay employed, the employer must maintain all existing employee benefits (though ones calculated on earnings or hours may shrink), and the top-up helps keep income closer to normal wages while you train. It is not a job guarantee, since an employee can still be laid off during or at the end of a Workforce Retention and Retraining Program agreement if the business does not recover. The deal needs consent from the employer and the employees involved, and the union, if applicable.

• If your employer proposes shorter weeks, know the rules. Employees who decline are still required to reduce their hours of work equitably with participating staff, so saying no does not protect your hours.
• File your EI claim on time. Each worker must apply for EI using the reference code on the document the employer provides, and that code is only valid during the dates listed.
• Take the training to get the top-up. The top-up goes to workers who have reduced hours and are taking training, training runs during non-working hours, and options include digital and AI literacy.
• Employers should start the clock now. Because retroactive start dates aren't possible, every week of delay pushes the start back, and grant applications close on December 31, 2027.
• Watch the special measures. The tariff flexibilities are temporary, and special measures are extended to March 31, 2028.

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People Also Asked

Q: Can workers apply for the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program themselves?

A: No. Employers apply, and the program provides employers with integrated workforce retention and retraining supports through a single application pathway, while workers on an approved agreement then file their own EI claims.

Q: How much does the Retraining Grant pay per worker?

A: It provides training funding of up to $1,000 per eligible participant for training and administration, plus a weekly top-up for workers on reduced hours who take part in training that raises income replacement from 55% to about 70%.

Q: When does the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program end?

A: The program is in place until March 31, 2028, but Retraining Grant applications close December 31, 2027.

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