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Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) – March 2020 to June 2021

Published on December 16, 2020 PDF(opens a new window)

Providing a wage subsidy to employers with reduced revenues due to COVID.

The subsidy is available for wages paid in sixteen 4-week periods from 15 March 2020 to June 2021. The subsidy rate for March 2021 is assumed to also apply for the April to June 2021 periods. Consistent with the magnitude of the Department of Finance’s estimates, it is assumed that for April to June of 2021, revenues will be compared to a reasonably constant baseline unaffected by COVID-19.

The revenue decline required for eligibility is 15% for March, and 30% for April, May and June 2020. For July onwards, employers are eligible for the subsidy if in a period they have any revenue decline. The revenue decline is measured relative to either the average of January/February 2020 or the corresponding month in the previous year. The subsidy rate that an employer will receive depends on the extent of the employer’s revenue losses in the corresponding calendar month. The employee remuneration eligible for subsides is capped at $1,129 per week. For Periods 1 to 4, the subsidy is 75% of wages up to the lesser of the weekly cap and wages actually paid. For new employees, the subsidy is 75% of wages paid up to the cap.

For employees on leave with pay, employers can also recover 100% of employer-paid contributions to Employment Insurance, the Canada Pension Plan, the Quebec Pension Plan, and the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan.

Eligible employers include individuals, taxable corporations, partnerships, non-profit institutions and registered charities; public bodies are not eligible.

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