Canada Summer Jobs 2026: Applications Open

Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) applications for 2026 are open. Applications are due December 11, 2025 at 11:59pm PST. As always, charity leaders will need to make up their own minds as to whether they are comfortable with the terms and conditions attached to CSJ funding. To help you decide, we’ll look at the requirements for 2026 as set out in the Applicant Guide and the Articles of Agreement.

Key Dates

• December 11, 2025 – deadline to apply
• April 20, 2026 – earliest job start date
• July 20, 2026 – latest job start date
• August 29, 2026 – latest job end date

Funding confirmation will be sent to employers starting in April 2026 and will continue into the summer months.

Quick Overview

Most of the program requirements are the same as the 2025 CSJ Program requirements. The Applicant Guide has been rewritten in plain language and restructured n helpful ways, with more information placed in the relevant sections as it walks applicants through the process of completing the application form. There are small changes, like a separate section ensuring Workers’ Compensation is in place and that applicants “must” give notification of changes to the contact person instead of “please inform”.

There is more detail about who fits into the category “youth who face barriers to employment” and more detail about the skills youth can expect to develop.

The Guide helpfully reminds applicants that constituency boundaries changed in 2025. Ensure that the location for job activities properly aligns with the redrawn boundaries.

Eligibility Criteria

Most of the eligibility criteria is UNCHANGED for 2026 including:

Eligible employers

Not-for-profit employers remain eligible and faith-based organizations are explicitly mentioned as eligible

Ineligible employers

This includes organizations that engage in activities that “directly or indirectly infringe, undermine, weaken, or restrict the exercise of human rights legally protected in Canada.” What does this mean? According to the Guide it means to “weaken or limit a woman’s ability to access sexual and reproductive health services” (sexuality education, family planning, prevention and response to sexual and gender-based violence, safe and legal abortion, and post-abortion care)

Eligible Projects

Projects must still meet 15 requirements and the conditions in the Articles of Agreement

• Submit before the deadline
• Check attestation box
• Provide a complete application
• Employer is eligible
• Project activities are eligible
• Job is 6-16 consecutive weeks
• Job is 30-40 hours per week
• Declare other sources of funding
• Salary must respect minimum wage requirements
• Declare money owing to the Government of Canada
• Demonstrate adequate health and safety measures relative to job and activities
• Demonstrate harassment and discrimination-free hiring, work environment
• Outline a supervision plan
• Outline a mentoring plan
• Past results of CSJ applications

Ineligible Projects & Activities

The list of ineligible projects and activities remains the same. Ineligible projects and activities includes: activities outside of Canada, that are of personal service to an employer, are partisan political activities, that are fundraising activities to cover the youth’s salary and, project or job activities that:

• Restrict access to programs, or 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, and/or prejudice; or
• Actively work to undermine or restrict a woman’s access to sexual and reproductive health services

The Attestation

The 2025 Attestation remains the same. The applicant must attest that he or she:

• Has read, understood and will comply with the CSJ Articles of Agreement;
• Has the necessary authority, permission and approvals to submit the CSJ application;
• Certifies that the application information is true, accurate and complete;
• Confirms that neither the job activities nor any of the activities of my organization which are directly or indirectly supported by the job activities in any way infringe, undermine, weaken, or restrict the exercise of rights legally protected in Canada.
• Recall that the fourth statement was added to the 2024 guide, kept in 2025 and remains for 2026

Assessment Criteria *MODIFIED

Applications are assessed against three main criteria (the underlined criteria have changed):

1.Provide quality work experiences for youth (30 points)

• Provide a salary above minimum wage (10)
• Retain the youth as an employee after the CSJ agreement (5)
• Youth receives supervision (15)

2.Provide opportunities for youth to develop and improve their skills (40 points; reduced from 45)

• Youth receives mentoring (13; reduced from 15)
• Youth will develop transferable skills through work experience (27; reduced from 30)

What are those skills? The list has been slightly modified.

The skills listed on the application form have stayed the same with one deletion: reading and/or writing. This skill was added for 2025 but removed for 2026. For 2026, each skill has a more detailed description and examples.

3.Respond to national and local priorities to improve access to the labour market for youth who face unique barriers (30 points; increased from 25 points)

A. Youth facing barriers to employment (10 points; new as standalone consideration)

Youth facing barriers to employment is a new category. In the past it has been folded into national priorities but is now a standalone consideration. Applicants will be use checkboxes to select which of the following youth, if any, will be prioritized during recruitment:

• Indigenous youth
• Racialized youth
• Black youth
• Youth with disabilities
• Youth in rural, remote, Northern or fly-in communities
• Youth in an official language minority communities
• 2SLGBTQI+ youth.

Applicants will also be asked to select from a list as to how these youth will be prioritized during recruitment. If you do prioritize recruiting youth facing barriers, your recruitment and hiring plans could be monitored to ensure they align with the commitment made in your application. Ensure you carefully review this section and be sure to follow through in your recruitment.

B. National priorities (10; reduced from 15)

There are three national priorities for 2026, a reduction from the usual five. This is likely due to the restructured points allocation whereby hiring youth facing barriers to employment is its own criteria, rather than a national priority that changes from year to year. The three priorities are:

1. Jobs related to construction
   • This can include affordable housing, community development initiatives, housing advocacy efforts, labour and structural work, etc.
2. Jobs related to environmental protection and/or green jobs
   • This can include jobs that contribute to protecting the environment, conservation or restoration
3. Jobs that provide exposure to technology and digital skills, including AI in the workplace

C. Local Priorities (10)

Local priorities continue to be used to assess applications. Those vary from constituency to constituency.

What to do?

This year the proposed target is 100,000 jobs funded for CSJ 2026, an increase of from the 70,000 jobs funded for CSJ 2025. It is always a competitive program with more applications than funds and it can be hard to precisely identify why some applications are successful and others are not, and whether religious discrimination is at work.

As always, charity leaders need to make up their own minds as to whether they are comfortable with the terms and conditions attached to CSJ funding. From a CCCC perspective, we’re still of the view that the phrasing of the Attestation ought not deny the right of religious organizations to speak or teach or live their religious views, even if that doesn’t line up with the government’s worldview. And therefore, as the Guide notes, not-for-profit employers, including “faith-based organizations (for example, churches, synagogues, temples, mosques)” are eligible to apply for CSJ 2026.

If your charity is interested in CSJ 2026, ensure your application is complete, that it meets as many of the listed priorities as possible, and that your charity is prepared for the possibility of additional scrutiny and questions. If you are a CCCC member with questions or needing support, please feel free to reach out to us! Our Member Support Team is here for you!

Important CSJ 2026 Links

• 2025 Applicant Guide
• Articles of Agreement
• Application
• Employee Consent Form
• Employer and Employee Declaration