Canada Summer Jobs: can a restaurant get a wage subsidy for hiring young people?

Summer is when a restaurant needs more hands, from the patio to the dish pit. A federal program called Canada Summer Jobs can help with the cost of hiring young people for those jobs. It is not a guaranteed grant, and the rules change from year to year, so ask what applies to your restaurant before you plan around it.

Read the Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) applicant guide on canada.ca before you apply.

What is Canada Summer Jobs?

It is a federal wage subsidy program for employers who hire young people for summer jobs. Employers apply, ESDC decides which applications to fund, and funded employers receive a share of the wages they pay. Not-for-profit employers can receive a higher share than private-sector businesses.

What can a private-sector restaurant receive?

Guides to the program say that private-sector employers can receive up to 50 percent of the provincial or territorial minimum wage for each approved job, while not-for-profit employers can receive up to 100 percent. For a private-sector employer, no top-up for employer costs such as CPP, EI and vacation pay is described. Read the current guide for the exact formula and any cap on hours or weeks.

Who can apply?

A private-sector employer must have 50 or fewer full-time employees across Canada at the time of application, with full time meaning 30 hours a week or more. The young person you hire must be between 15 and 30 years old, a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or refugee with legal permission to work. Jobs must follow provincial employment standards and be safe and suitable.

When do you apply?

The program normally runs an application window in late autumn or early winter for the following summer. Check canada.ca now for the window for the coming summer. Applications are usually accepted online, and late applications are not considered.

What should you prepare?

1. Your business details. Legal name, address, number of full-time employees and a business number.
2. A description of each job. Duties, hours, rate of pay and the weeks you plan to hire.
3. Evidence of the work's value. What the young worker will learn and how the job supports your business.
4. Compliance with program values. The guide sets conditions on the job and the employer. Read them closely.
5. A plan to supervise. A named person who will train and support the worker.

What jobs fit a restaurant?

Typical examples are a server assistant, host, food runner, kitchen helper, dishwasher, takeout packer or café counter attendant. The job must be real, with clear tasks and a manager, not a make-work arrangement.

What happens if you are approved?

You receive an agreement that sets the number of jobs, the funded wage rate and the dates. You pay your worker the full wage as usual and claim your share of the subsidy according to the agreement. Keep timesheets, payroll records and proof of payment, because ESDC may ask for them.

What if you are not approved?

Funding is limited, and not every application is approved. Hire anyway if you need the staff, but budget as though the subsidy were not coming. Ask ESDC or your local Service Canada office for feedback so you can improve next year's application.

How do you run a summer hire well?

Plan the first week before the worker arrives. Choose a trainer, write a one-page checklist for each role and set a simple goal for the first fortnight. Pair the new hire with a patient colleague for their first few shifts. Check in after the first week and again at the midpoint of the summer. A young worker who finishes the season with a skill, a reference and a good story is far more likely to come back or to send a friend your way. Record what went well while it is fresh, so you can use it in next year's application.

Are you building a team that wants to come back next summer?

Young workers who learn well and earn fair tips are the ones who return. Mosey is a food discovery app where diners rate the dishes they ate, and its tools for businesses include a job board and rota planning. Nobody can pay to outrank you there, because Mosey Gold is earned from ratings alone.

More guides for your business:

• What Canada's counter-tariffs mean for restaurant food and packaging costs in 2026
• CPP and EI payroll costs for restaurants in 2026: what you pay on top of wages
• Hiring international students in a restaurant: the 24-hour weekly cap and what to check

More in the Canadian guides for food businesses.