As an employer in Canada who has seen a drop in revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic, 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 (THRP) – Wage
Effective: October 24, 2021, to May 7, 2022 - Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program (HHBRP) – Wage
Effective: October 24, 2021, to May 7, 2022 - Canada Recovery Hiring Program (CRHP)
Effective: June 6, 2021, to May 7, 2022 - Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)
Effective: March 15, 2020, to October 23, 2021
Click here to find out who can apply for these subsidies.
Many of the eligibility and calculation rules for the wage subsidy under the THRP and the HHBRP are the same as they were for the CEWS, which ended effective October 23, 2021 and was replaced by 2 new programs. You may continue to apply for the claim periods that are still open, but there are no new CEWS periods after claim period 21, which ended on October 23, 2021. Starting on October 24, 2021, you may qualify for wage support through the:
- Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program (THRP);
- Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program (HHBRP); or the
- Canada Recovery Hiring Program (CRHP)
If you are eligible for both the CRHP and one of the other wage subsidies, apply for the subsidy that gives you the higher amount. If your business activities are significantly affected by a qualifying public health restriction, you may be eligible for support through the THRP even if you are not a qualifying tourism or hospitality entity. Many of the THRP and HHBRP rules about who can apply, which employees you can include, and how to calculate the subsidy are the same as they were for the CEWS.
- The THRP and the HHBRP also include a rent subsidy: If you are eligible to apply for both a wage subsidy and a rent subsidy, you must apply for them separately. Find out how the rent subsidy has changed.
- New rule for publicly traded companies: If you are a publicly traded company or a subsidiary of such a company, you are not entitled to any wage subsidy for a claim period in which you paid taxable dividends to an individual who is a holder of common shares of the company or of the subsidiary of the company. More details about this change will be provided soon.
