The Government of Canada remains committed to supporting Canadian businesses in the face of the ongoing pandemic. With the recently announced Canada Recovery Hiring Program (CRHP), hard-hit businesses will be able to hire the workers they need to recover and grow as local economies reopen. The CRHP supports payroll as businesses grow, whether as a result of hiring staff, increasing shifts, or increasing overall pay.

The CRHP and the CEWS both support the payroll of eligible employers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, while the CEWS was designed to help eligible employers keep their employees on their payroll and help them rehire, the CRHP is designed to encourage businesses to (re)hire and grow as the economy recovers.

Try the news CRHP calculator today

The CRA launched an online calculator to help eligible employers prepare their CRHP applications. This calculator integrates the new CRHP with the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), automatically showing applicants which subsidy will provide them with more support, based on the information they enter.

The CRHP and the CEWS are both based on four-week claim periods. From June 6, 2021 to September 25, 2021 (claim periods 17 to 20), the subsidies overlap so that, as CEWS rates gradually decline, eligible employers would still be able to receive support through the CRHP, if they hire more workers or increase workers’ hours or wages. This will make it easier for eligible employers to hire new workers and do so at a pace that works best for them as different jurisdictions reopen their economies at different paces.

Apply for the CRHP or the CEWS!

Eligible employers will be able to apply for the CRHP as of July 7, 2021, when the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will open applications through My Business Account and Represent a Client. The CRA will begin to issue CRHP payments to eligible employers during the week of July 12, 2021.

For the four overlapping claim periods, eligible employers can apply for either subsidy, based on whichever subsidy provides the higher amount of support. An eligible employer must claim the greater of the CRHP and the CEWS for a particular claim period, but not both. The CRHP web pages launched today include detailed information about eligibility requirements, how payment periods are structured, and how the CRHP is calculated.

For information about this and other emergency benefits, including eligibility requirements, how to apply, and eligibility period dates, we encourage Canadians to visit the CRA’s webpages.

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