We made temporary changes to the Employment Insurance (EI) program to better support Canadians looking for work.
As of September 27, 2020 you may be eligible for EI if you:
If you are eligible for EI benefits, you will receive a minimum taxable benefit at a rate of $500 per week, or $300 per week for extended parental benefits.
If you are not eligible for EI, you may be eligible for the new benefits:
The CRB provides $500 per week for up to 26 weeks for workers who have stopped working or had their income reduced by at least 50% due to COVID-19, and who are not eligible for Employment Insurance (EI).
Apply to the Canada Recovery Benefit
The CRSB provides $500 per week for up to a maximum of two weeks, for workers who:
Apply to the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit
The CRCB provides $500 per week for up to 26 weeks per household for workers:
Apply to the Canada Recovery Caregiver Benefit (CRCB)
The Canada Child Benefit young child supplement (CCBYCS) is providing temporary additional support in 2021 of up to $1,200 to families with children under the age of six.
You must be entitled to receive the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) in January, April, July or October 2021 to receive the CCBYCS.
If you already receive the CCB, you will not need to apply for this benefit.
Payment dates:
Find out more about the CCBYCS
Homeowners facing financial hardship may be eligible for a mortgage payment deferral of up to six months.
The deferral is an agreement between you and your lender. Typically, the agreement indicates that you and your lender have agreed to pause or suspend your mortgage payments for a certain amount of time. After the agreement ends, your mortgage payments return to normal and the deferred payments — including principal and accumulated interest – are added to the outstanding principal balance and subsequently repaid throughout the life of the mortgage.
To know if you are eligible for a mortgage payment deferral or to learn what options are available, contact your lender — your bank or your mortgage professional.
Learn more about mortgage payment deferral
During the pandemic, many seniors have faced economic challenges as they took on extra costs to stay safe. Additionally, many seniors are living longer and relying on monthly benefits to afford retirement. After a lifetime of hard work, they deserve a secure and dignified retirement. That is why the government is committed to increasing Old Age Security (OAS) benefits for seniors age 75 and older.
The government plans to implement this commitment in two steps.
Provincial and Territorial Support
Other supports may be available to you in your province or territory
We are covering up to 75% of an employee’s wages for qualifying eligible employers, with this subsidy rate in effect until June 2021. The wage subsidy supports you to keep and re-hire your employees and avoid layoffs.
The CEWS is available until June 2021.
Apply to the Work-Sharing program
The Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) provides a direct and easy-to-access rent and mortgage subsidy of up to 65% of eligible expenses to qualifying businesses, charities and non-profits. The subsidy rates are in effect until June 2021. This support is available directly to tenants.
Lockdown Support
Qualifying organizations that have been significantly restricted by a mandatory public health order issued by a qualifying public health authority can receive an additional 25% of rent support through the Lockdown Support.
The combined effect of the rent subsidy and the Lockdown Support is that hard-hit businesses, non-profits and charities subject to a lockdown can receive rent support of up to 90%.
The government has announced a proposed extension of the current CERS and Lockdown Support rate until June 5, 2021.
The Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) provides interest-free, partially forgivable, loans of up to $60,000, to small businesses and not-for-profits, that have experienced diminished revenues due to COVID-19 but face ongoing non-deferrable costs, such as rent, utilities, insurance, taxes and wages.
We have recently expanded CEBA to include an additional interest-free $20,000 loan, 50% of which would be forgivable if repaid by December 31, 2022.
This means the additional loan effectively increases CEBA loans from the existing $40,000 to $60,000 for eligible businesses, of which a total of $20,000 will be forgiven if the balance of the loan is repaid by December 31, 2022.
Business owners can apply for support until June 30, 2021 through their banks and credit unions.
We are providing over $1.5 billion through the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) to help more businesses and organizations in sectors such as manufacturing, technology, tourism and others that are key to the regions and to local economies. This fund is specifically targeted to those that may require additional help to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, but have been unable to access other support measures.
Apply to the RRRF through your local Regional Development Agency
An overview of the entire COVID-19 Economic Response Plan can be found here.
For information about benefits, emergency funds, and employment insurance related to COVID-19, see the Government of Canada's Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) – Benefits and services page.
| Mon: | 9:00AM-5:00PM |
| Tue: | 9:00AM-5:00PM |
| Wed: | 9:00AM-5:00PM |
| Thu: | 9:00AM-5:00PM |
| Fri: | 9:00AM-5:00PM |
| Sat: | Closed |
| Sun: | Closed |
