Canada Retraining and Opportunities Initiative – funding program

Who can apply

Not-for-profit organizations, for-profit organizations, municipal governments, Indigenous organizations or governments, and educational institutions.

To be an eligible applicant, your organization must belong to one of the following categories :

1. not-for-profit organizations
2. for-profit organizations if the nature and intent of the activity is:
3. non-commercial
4. not intended to generate profit, and
5. supports program priorities and objectives
6. municipal governments
7. Indigenous organizations or governments (Indigenous organizations may include, but are not limited to, incorporated for profit and not-for-profit Indigenous controlled organizations, Indigenous controlled unincorporated associations, Band Councils, Tribal Councils, and Indigenous self-government entities)
8. educational institutions (universities, colleges, CÉGEPs, school boards/school districts)

Note to organizations located in and operating in Quebec

Ministère du Conseil exécutif (M-30)

1. the Quebec National Assembly adopted the Act respecting the Ministère du Conseil exécutif (M-30) . The provisions of this Act include certain conditions on Quebec government bodies and certain other entities wanting to contract with the federal government
2. you may wish to review the provisions of M-30 at the following website before submitting your Expression of Interest form to make sure you comply with the Act
3. any entity that is subject to the Act must obtain authorization from the Government of Quebec before signing any agreement with the Government of Canada
4. if your proposed project is successful, ESDC will allow a reasonable amount of time for you to obtain the authorization from the Government of Québec. If you are unable to get the required authorization in a reasonable amount of time, your application may not be funded, even if it meets the Program's eligibility requirements.

To be eligible for funding, a mass layoff must meet all of the following requirements.

1. Criterion 1: Mass layoff has occurred on or after April 1, 2024, and is a permanent layoff of 50 or more employees in one establishment, in one community within a 4-week period. A permanent layoff is considered a termination of employment when the employer has no intention of recalling the employee to work
2. Criterion 2: Mass layoff represents at least 5% of the sub-industry's, to the 3-digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code, total employment in the community.
3. There are 2 scenarios where this criterion is not required:
4. the affected community has a population of less than 10,000
5. the mass layoff event involves greater than or equal to 250 individuals
6. Criterion 3: Local labour market conditions make it difficult for affected workers to transition to new jobs.
7. in your expression of interest, please include the following:
8. indicators of these local labour market conditions . These could include higher than average unemployment rate, skills mismatches, low job vacancy, among others
9. why these local labour market conditions pose a unique challenge to the community in its ability to transition affected workers to new jobs