Kelowna 
Ottawa is adding $7.5 billion in new and expanded support for Canadian workers and businesses affected by U.S. tariffs. The package builds on nearly $25 billion in assistance introduced over the past 18 months, with much of the new funding aimed at workers, small and medium-sized businesses, and companies trying to keep projects and jobs moving during the trade disruption.
The announcement, made Tuesday, came as part of Canada’s response to the latest round of U.S. tariffs, combining new countermeasures with billions of dollars in support for workers and businesses caught in the middle.
Here is what Ottawa is doing to support workers:
- $3.5 billion for workers and employers: The new Rapid Response Supports for Workers and Employers will provide income assistance, employment support and workforce-retention measures. The package is designed to help workers bridge periods of unemployment while giving employers more options to keep staff rather than lose trained employees.
- EI waiting period waived for another year: The temporary Employment Insurance measure removing the usual one-week waiting period will continue for another year, allowing eligible workers who lose their jobs to begin receiving EI benefits sooner.
- Severance will no longer delay EI temporarily: For another year, workers will be able to receive EI without first exhausting separation payments such as severance or vacation pay. That means those payments will not have to run out before EI benefits can begin.
- Long-tenured workers get extended EI: A temporary measure providing 20 additional weeks of regular EI benefits for long-tenured workers will be extended by eight months, giving eligible Canadians more time to find another job if tariffs disrupt their employment.
- New EI flexibility for workers who previously quit: For one year, workers who voluntarily left a job in recent months will not automatically be penalized when seeking EI, provided their most recent job loss happened through no fault of their own.
- Job matching will be expanded: Ottawa will increase support through JobBank.gc.ca, including highlighting employment opportunities connected to major projects, Build Canada Homes and defence procurement. The goal is to help displaced workers move into new jobs more quickly.
- New Workforce Retention and Retraining Program: The existing EI Work-Sharing program and Worker Retention Grant will be combined into one program. Employers will also be eligible for up to $1,000 per participant to help cover employee training and administrative expenses.
In addition, the federal government is creating a new stream within the Strategic Response Fund, $2 billion Canada Strong Diversification Fund. It will support tariff-affected companies, including medium-sized firms, with shovel-ready capital maintenance projects. Ottawa says it will use a “fast-track, one-step project review and approval process” to move applications faster.
Large companies will also get more loan flexibility. The $10 billion Large Enterprise Tariff Loan facility, administered by the Canada Enterprise Emergency Funding Corporation, will be adjusted. Liquidity support will increase from 24 to 36 months of company needs, while the maximum loan term rises from 10 to 15 years.
The measures focus on keeping workers connected to income and employment while giving tariff-affected businesses more room to manage cash flow, maintain operations, and continue planned investments.
