Workforce Retention and Retraining Program launched to help employers keep their workforce while facing economic challenges

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Employment and Social Development Canada

Oct 22, 2026, 11:23 ET

GATINEAU, QC, Oct. 22, 2026 /CNW/ -- Canada's businesses and workers continue to adapt to evolving global trade pressures, including the impacts of tariffs, while building the foundation for future growth. 

In response, in August, the Government of Canada announced a $3.5 billion investment in Rapid Response Supports for Workers and Employers, including the new Workforce Retention and Retraining Program (WRRP), to help employers and workers respond to economic challenges and prepare for emerging opportunities.

Today, the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, announced the launch of an online WRRP application form. The program makes it easier for employers to keep workers on the job, avoid layoffs, and provide training that helps employees build new skills. It also supports businesses as they adapt to changing market conditions, pursue new opportunities and stay competitive.

Under the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program:

  • eligible employers will be supported to retain and retrain their skilled workers, with up to $1,000 per participating employee to help cover training and administration costs;
  • employers will be able to choose training that best fits their workplace and workforce needs. This can include technical training, digital and foundational skills training, peer-to-peer learning and on-the-job training;
  • eligible employees will maintain incomes closer to their normal levels while working reduced hours through a mix of EI Work-Sharing benefits and an income top-up for participating in employer-provided training;
  • employee work hours can be scheduled and distributed more flexibly to accommodate operational needs in the face of tariff disruptions, including through the temporary removal of the equal sharing of work requirement; and
  • employers and employees can enter into successive agreements in response to tariff disruptions, temporarily allowing for up to 152 cumulative weeks of support. 

The WRRP is open to businesses across all sectors that need to transform, retool or diversify, and is in place from October 2026 until March 2028.  Employers are invited to apply today at Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing - How to apply - Canada.ca

To ensure support continues to flow to workers who need it, the government is also extending temporary Employment Insurance (EI) measures by up to one year, which:

  • waive the one-week waiting period;  
  • provide an extra 20 weeks of EI for long-tenured workers;  and
  • temporarily suspend the rule on monies on separation so that workers can access EI benefits immediately following a job loss, even if they receive separation payments, such as severance or vacation pay.
  • Additionally, the government introduced a new EI measure temporarily simplifying rules on reasons for separation for one year so that workers who recently changed jobs are no longer penalized when accessing EI, as long as their most recent job loss is through no fault of their own.

Together, the WRRP and temporary EI measures are part of a broader set of actions by the Government of Canada to support workers and employers facing economic uncertainty.

Alongside these measures, the Regional Tariff Response Initiative (RTRI), delivered through Canada's regional development agencies, provides support to small and medium-sized businesses affected by tariffs. RTRI support will help strengthen competitiveness, address liquidity pressures, help businesses diversify into new markets, and build long-term resilience.  These measures will help protect jobs, support business continuity, and position Canadian businesses and workers for future growth.

The Government of Canada will continue to work with employers, workers, and communities to protect the jobs and build the skilled workforce Canada needs for the future.  

Quotes 

"Workers and businesses are at the heart of our economy, and of the communities where they live and work. That is why we are stepping up our support through the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program. This program will help employers keep the skilled people they depend on and give workers the chance to build new skills so they can meet today's challenges and seize tomorrow's opportunities."

-The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario  

Quick facts 

  • Employers currently participating in Work-Sharing or receiving support through the Worker Retention Grant do not need to apply and will be seamlessly transitioned to the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program.  
  • The WRRP is expected to help prevent an estimated 20,000 layoffs, with more than 2,300 employers supported, including close to 1,790 employers who receive income to offset training and associated administrative costs.
  • Since January 2025, temporary flexibilities to the Work-Sharing Program helped avert around 25,000 layoffs through approximately 1,600 Work-Sharing agreements.

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SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada

For media enquiries, please contact: Jennifer Kozelj, Senior Communications Advisor and Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Jobs and Families, [email protected], 343-540-6643; Media Relations Office, Employment and Social Development Canada, 819-994-5559, [email protected]

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Employment and Social Development Canada