As a Canadian employer whose business has been affected by COVID-19, you may be eligible for a subsidy of 75% of employee wages for up to 12 weeks, retroactive from March 15, 2020, to June 6, 2020 up to a maximum of $847 per week per eligible employee.
This wage subsidy will enable you to re-hire workers previously laid off as a result of COVID-19, help prevent further job losses, and better position you to resume normal operations following the crisis.
You can find all the details at the website below.
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/subsidy/emergency-wage-subsidy.html
Who is an eligible employer
To be eligible to receive the wage subsidy, you must:
- be an eligible employer
- have experienced an eligible reduction in revenue, and
- have had a CRA payroll account on March 15, 2020
Eligible employers include:
- individuals (including trusts)
- taxable corporations
- persons that are exempt from corporate tax (Part I of the Income Tax Act), other than public institutions:
- non-profit organizations
- agricultural organizations
- boards of trade
- chambers of commerce
- non-profit corporations for scientific research and experimental development
- labour organizations or societies
- benevolent or fraternal benefit societies or orders
- registered charities
- partnerships consisting of eligible employers
Who are eligible employees
An eligible employee is an individual employed in Canada by you (the eligible employer) during the claim period, except if there was a period of 14 or more consecutive days in that period in respect of which they were not paid eligible remuneration by you.
Employee eligibility is based on whether the person is employed in Canada, not where they live.
What is eligible remuneration
Eligible remuneration includes amounts you paid an employee as salary, wages and other taxable benefits, fees, and commissions. These are amounts employers would be required to make payroll deductions on to be remitted to the CRA.
Severance pay and items such as stock option benefits or the personal use of a corporate vehicle are not part of eligible remuneration.
Baseline remuneration
When calculating the wage subsidy, you will need to determine an employee’s baseline remuneration. Baseline remuneration is considered to be the average weekly eligible remuneration paid to an employee during the period of January 1, 2020, to March 15, 2020. However, you may exclude from your calculation any period of seven or more consecutive days in respect of which the employee was not paid.
What is an eligible revenue reduction
You must determine if your reduced revenue makes you eligible to apply for the wage subsidy in a particular period.
If you determine that you qualify for the CEWS for one claim period, you will automatically qualify for the following claim period.
Calculate your reduction by comparing your eligible revenue for the starting month of the claim period with your baseline revenue. Your baseline revenue is either:
- the revenue you earned in the corresponding month in 2019, or
- the average of the revenue you earned in January and February 2020
You must choose one of these baseline revenue options for your method of comparison and will not be able to change it for your subsequent calculations for the other 2 periods.
Eligibility periods for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy
| Period dates | Baseline revenue | Eligibility period revenue | Required reduction |
| March 15, 2020 to April 11, 2020 | March 2019, or Average of January and February 2020 | March 2020 | 15% |
| April 12, 2020 to May 9, 2020 | April 2019, or Average of January and February 2020 | April 2020 | 30% |
| May 10, 2020 to June 6, 2020 | May 2019, or Average of January and February 2020 | May 2020 | 30% |