Canada Summer Jobs 2025 : Backgrounder

Overview

Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) is part of the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, which is the Government of Canada’s commitment to help young people—particularly those facing barriers to employment—gain the skills, work experience and abilities they need to transition successfully into the labour market.

CSJ is delivered annually by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). Through CSJ, employers are provided funding to support quality summer work experiences for young people between the ages of 15 and 30. These jobs provide youth with opportunities to develop and improve their skills, respond to national and local priorities and improve access to the labour market for youth, especially those who face barriers to employment.
 

2025 application period

The CSJ employer application period is open from November 19, 2024, until 11:59 p.m. (PST) on December 19, 2024.

Not-for-profit employers can receive funding for up to 100% of the provincial or territorial adult minimum hourly wage and all associated mandatory employment related costs, such as Employment Insurance premiums and Canada Pension Plan contributions. Public- and private-sector employers are eligible to receive funding for up to 50% of the provincial or territorial minimum hourly wage.

To help persons with disabilities obtain employment, and to encourage employers to hire youth with disabilities, employers may be eligible for additional funding to accommodate youth with disabilities within the work environment.
 

Eligibility

Employers

Eligible Canadian employers can be from the not-for-profit, public or private sectors. Private sector employers must have 50 or fewer full-time employees across Canada at the time of application to be eligible (full-time employees are those working 30 hours or more per week).

Ineligible Canadian employers include members of the House of Commons and the Senate (and members of their immediate families), federal government departments and agencies, provincial departments and agencies, organizations that engage in partisan political activities and organizations that engage in activities that directly or indirectly infringe, undermine, weaken or restrict the exercise of human rights that are legally protected in Canada.

The safety of young people is paramount to the Canada Summer Jobs program. To be eligible to receive funding, employers must be able to provide youth with a job placement in a safe, inclusive and healthy work environment free from harassment and discrimination.

Projects and job activities

Projects and job activities are ineligible if they:

• have activities that take place outside of Canada, including youth teleworking 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 interested in applying for CSJ 2025 funding are encouraged to submit their applications electronically on the Grants and Contributions Online Services (GOCS) portal. Creating a GCOS account is a one-time process that allows organizations to apply for various ESDC funding opportunities in a secure web environment.

For additional information on how to fill out an application, eligibility requirements and assessment criteria, organizations can refer to the CSJ 2025 applicant guide. 

Service Canada will inform organizations of the status of their application starting in April 2025, and continuing into the summer months. CSJ-funded positions will automatically be posted on the Job Bank website and mobile app to help employers fill positions with qualified young people looking for work in their communities. Job Bank is the primary source of information for youth on the availability of CSJ-funded positions.