Canada Rolls Out New Skilled Trades Supports With $5,000 Completion Bonus

By Tahani Elghazaly
Published September 18, 2026

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Canada is beginning to roll out the first programs under its Team Canada Strong initiative this fall, offering paid work placements for young people and a $5,000 completion bonus for apprentices who earn certification in an eligible Red Seal trade.

Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu announced Friday, September 18, that paid skilled-trades placements will become available to young Canadians beginning in early 2027. The placements will last up to four months and are intended to give participants hands-on construction and trades experience while helping them move toward registered apprenticeships. The program targets youth aged 15 to 30 and is backed by $880 million over five years.

A separate measure will provide a one-time $5,000 Red Seal Completion Bonus to apprentices who complete their training and obtain certification in an eligible Red Seal trade designated by their province or territory. Applications are expected to open later this fall, and people who received eligible certification on or after April 1, 2025, will also qualify.

The federal government also plans to launch the Build Canada Apprenticeship Service later this fall. The program will help connect apprentices with small and medium-sized employers, which may receive up to $10,000 for hiring a first-year apprentice in an eligible Red Seal trade.

Beginning in spring 2027, eligible apprentices attending mandatory in-class technical training will also be able to receive a $400 weekly top-up, paid in addition to Employment Insurance benefits. The support will apply to eligible technical training weeks beginning on or after January 3, 2027.

The measures are part of the federal government's $8 billion Team Canada Strong initiative, which aims to recruit, train and hire between 80,000 and 100,000 new Red Seal skilled trades workers by 2030–31. Ottawa is also discussing $2 billion in bilateral funding with provinces and territories to expand pre-apprenticeship and technical training capacity.

Federal projections indicate Canada could have more than 1.4 million skilled-trades job openings between 2024 and 2033, driven by demand for workers in housing, transit, energy and major infrastructure projects.