Ontario Job Grant 2026: How Ontario Employers Get Up to $10,000 per Trainee

The program Ontario employers knew as the Canada-Ontario Job Grant (COJG) now runs as the Ontario Job Grant (OJG), and it is taking applications again. The ministry is accepting applications from individual employers that involve training 25 or fewer participants. The core economics are familiar: up to $10,000 per trainee for third-party training, a lighter cost share for employers under 100 employees, and up to $15,000 per trainee with no minimum employer contribution when a small employer trains a previously unemployed new hire. The rules around quotes, providers and timing are stricter than many past applicants remember. This guide covers what changed, who should apply, how to scope training that qualifies, the funding math, and the mistakes that sink files.

Primary source: Ontario Job Grant, ontario.ca (updated August 31, 2026) and the OJG Application Guidelines (effective May 1, 2026). Checked October 7, 2026.

What changed

• The name. ontario.ca now uses "Ontario Job Grant (OJG)" throughout, and the old COJG page address redirects to the new OJG page. Funding is still provided in part by the Government of Canada, through the Canada-Ontario Labour Market Development Agreement.
• It is open again. Earlier in 2026 this article covered a pause in new intake. That is over: the ministry is accepting applications and assessing them on an ongoing basis.
• The 25-participant limit. The current intake is for individual employers training 25 or fewer participants. The Application Guidelines state that each application, and any resulting agreement, can support a maximum of 25 trainees.
• How you apply. Employers apply directly through the OJG Online application portal. If selected, you register in Transfer Payment Ontario (TPON) and finalize a Transfer Payment Agreement (TPA) with the ministry. After the ministry confirms it received your application, you are assigned an Employment and Training Consultant (ETC) as your main contact.
• Three quotes are mandatory. The guidelines require one quote from each of three different training providers, submitted with the application, and a written rationale if you do not choose the lowest.

What has not been published: the date intake reopened, an end date for the current intake, the total program budget, and any processing time. If someone quotes you a decision timeline, ask where it came from.

Who should apply

The OJG is a fit if all of the following are true:

The ministry gives highest priority to training that supports trainees in a new or better job, including retaining employees who have received a formal notice of layoff, and to employers that have not received OJG funding in the past six months. If you were funded recently, expect your file to be weighed against first-time applicants.

How to scope training that qualifies

Most rejected files are rejected on scope, not paperwork. Build the training plan around these rules.

1. Pick an eligible provider first

The provider must have a physical presence in Ontario for the whole training term (a P.O. box is not accepted) and must have been in the business of delivering that training for at least two years. It must also be one of these types:

• Publicly assisted college, university or Indigenous Institute in Ontario
• District School Board
• Career college or vocational program provider registered under the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005 (or exempt from registration under it)
• Union-based training centre
• Sector council
• Industry association

Finding an eligible provider is the applicant's responsibility. Where the provider is not a college, university, Indigenous Institute or school board, each instructor needs either 48 months of relevant work or teaching experience in the last 10 years, or 24 months plus a Canadian bachelor's degree (or equivalent), a certificate of qualification under the Building Opportunities in the Skilled Trades Act, 2021, or graduate status from a college, university, Indigenous Institute or registered career college.

2. Watch the vendor rule

A vendor cannot be funded to train your staff on the basic operation of the product or service it sold you. The guidelines allow product vendors to deliver "advanced" training, for example using equipment for something other than its intended purpose. If your plan is "the software company teaches us its software," find a different provider or expect a refusal.

3. Stay out of the excluded categories

The OJG will not fund:

• Training the employer is legally required to provide (for example, training required under the Occupational Health and Safety Act or the AODA)
• Executive or preparatory courses such as MBA, CFA, LSAT, MCAT or GMAT. The guidelines extend this to senior leader programs on leadership and strategic planning, change management, communications and emotional intelligence
• Business consulting services, conferences or workshops, and curriculum development
• Lobbyists or consultants to help with the OJG application
• Apprenticeship training (Level 1 in-class)
• Training longer than one year
• Membership, subscription or association fees
• Training for business owners, including controlling parties of a corporation

4. Show measurable outcomes

The assessment criteria reward a well defined curriculum with "measurable skill-based outcomes," training that leads to certification or has a strong link to retention, advancement or promotion, and costs that are justifiable against similar training. Write each trainee's line as: current role, skill gap, course, credential or outcome, and what changes in the job afterwards.

The funding math by employer size

The ministry contribution is capped per trainee: $10,000 in most cases, $15,000 for previously unemployed new hires at employers with fewer than 100 employees. Employer contributions must be cash. Eligible costs are tuition or provider fees, mandatory student fees, exam fees, up to $500 per trainee for materials (textbooks, software, training clothing, tools, equipment) and up to $500 per trainee for travel where the trip is more than 24 km one way. Everything else, including trainee wages, is not an eligible cost.

The examples below use tuition only, to keep the arithmetic clean. They show the maximum ministry share under the published rules; the ministry decides the actual amount of reimbursable costs.

Two rules people miss. First, a 100-employee business is a large employer: the small employer terms apply to "fewer than 100." The published pages do not say how employees are counted (Ontario only or company wide, related companies or not), so confirm your count with the ministry at OntarioJobGrant@ontario.ca before you budget on the one-sixth share. Second, you cannot ask a trainee to pay any part of your contribution, directly or indirectly.

For a previously unemployed new hire, "unemployed" has a specific meaning: without work, available for work and actively seeking work before training. People working under an average of 20 hours a week, or who took an interim job after a layoff, can count. Seasonal workers and people on temporary layoff returning to the same employer do not. The ministry validates the status, and the hire needs a signed permanent or conditional job offer before training starts.

What to prepare

• Trainee list. Up to 25 names, with role, employment status and the skill gap each person is closing. Confirm residency, work authorization and status (citizen, permanent resident or protected person) for each.
• Job offers for new hires. A copy of the permanent or conditional offer for each new hire showing name, job title, employment start date and the trainee's signature. Only one new hire can be trained per offered position.
• Three quotes. One from each of three different eligible providers for the same training, with course descriptions, hours and cost. If you will not pick the lowest, write the rationale now.
• Provider details. Provider type, Ontario address, years delivering the training, instructor qualifications and an instructional plan. Career college users also attest to their relationship with the college and its registration status.
• Insurance. Proof of WSIB or private disability coverage and third-party general liability insurance. The ministry does not have to pay anything until it has proof of insurance.
• Conflict of interest declaration. Any actual or perceived conflict between you, your trainees and the provider. Employers and providers complete an attestation form.
• TPON details for later. Legal name, banking information for electronic funds transfer (void cheque or direct deposit form) and signing authority, if you are selected.
• Cash for your share. Budget your contribution as real cash, and budget the full cost of training in case the application is not approved.

Common mistakes

• Starting before the agreement. Costs incurred before the effective date of the TPA are not eligible for reimbursement, and Ontario does not reimburse costs if an application is not approved. Do not enrol, prepay or start training until the TPA is in place.
• One quote instead of three. Three quotes are mandatory. Fewer is considered only in exceptional circumstances with a rationale and supporting documents.
• Vendor basic training. Product onboarding by the company that sold you the product is ineligible.
• Leadership programs. Senior leader development on leadership, strategy, change management or communications falls under the executive training exclusion.
• Training the wrong people. Owners, controlling shareholders, family members, contractors and temporary foreign workers are ineligible trainees.
• Two applications at once. Concurrent applications are flagged and can hurt both.
• Double funding. If another government program already pays for the same training for the same trainees, the employer is ineligible.
• Programs that run long. Training must be completed within 52 weeks of its start date. Longer programs are excluded.
• Paying a consultant from the grant. OJG funds cannot pay consultants or lobbyists to help with the application. Any advisory fee is your own cost.

A realistic timeline

The ministry does not publish a processing time, so plan by stages rather than dates.

1. Scoping. Identify trainees and skill gaps, confirm each trainee's eligibility and your employer size.
2. Quotes. Request three quotes from eligible providers and check instructor qualifications. This usually takes the longest, because providers have to send course details, not just a price.
3. Application. Submit through the OJG Online portal. Questions before you apply go to OntarioJobGrant@ontario.ca; portal problems go to the Employment Ontario Contact Centre at 1-800-387-5656.
4. Review. The ministry assesses the file and may contact you, your providers or your trainees. An ETC is assigned once receipt is confirmed. All applicants are told the outcome.
5. Agreement. If selected, register in TPON, finalize training activities and budget, and sign the TPA. Training can start after the TPA's effective date.
6. Training and payment. Training must finish within 52 weeks of its start date. Funds flow under the TPA's terms, and the ministry does not have to pay any instalment until it is satisfied with training progress.
7. Reporting. Activity, financial and final reports under the TPA, trainee data in the Employment Ontario information system, and follow-ups with trainees at exit, 3, 6 and 12 months. An employer survey is required at the end. Recipients of $150,000 or more need a third-party auditor's report.

Stacking with other workforce programs

The OJG's published stacking rule is narrow. You are ineligible if your organization already receives other government funds for the same or substantially similar training for the same trainees. A trainee is ineligible if another government training program, such as Better Jobs Ontario or the Skills Development Fund, already funds the same tuition, books or other training costs.

The OJG pages say nothing about wage subsidies or tax credits. Programs such as the Student Work Placement Program and Digital Skills for Youth fund wages, not training costs, so they do not trigger the OJG's same-training rule. Whether a combination is allowed is decided by each program's own terms. Check them before you build a budget that depends on both, and be candid in every application about other government funding.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Ontario Job Grant the same program as the Canada-Ontario Job Grant?

Ontario now calls the program the Ontario Job Grant (OJG), and the old Canada-Ontario Job Grant page on ontario.ca redirects to the OJG page. It is still funded in part by the Government of Canada through the Canada-Ontario Labour Market Development Agreement.

Is the Ontario Job Grant accepting applications?

Yes. As of the ontario.ca page updated August 31, 2026, the ministry is accepting applications from individual employers that involve training 25 or fewer participants. Applications are accepted year-round and assessed on an ongoing basis, but the budget is fixed and meeting the requirements does not guarantee funding.

How much funding can an employer get per trainee?

Up to $10,000 per trainee. Employers with 100 or more employees pay half of the training costs. Employers with fewer than 100 employees pay at least one-sixth. Employers with fewer than 100 employees training previously unemployed new hires can receive up to $15,000 per trainee with no minimum employer contribution.

Can I start training before my application is approved?

You can, but you will pay for it yourself. Costs incurred before the effective date of the Transfer Payment Agreement are not eligible for reimbursement, and Ontario does not reimburse costs if an application is not approved.

Who can deliver Ontario Job Grant training?

A third-party provider with a physical presence in Ontario that has delivered the training for at least two years and is a publicly assisted college, university or Indigenous Institute, a District School Board, a registered or exempt career college, a union-based training centre, a sector council or an industry association. Vendors cannot be funded for basic training on their own products.

Can I train more than 25 people, or apply as a group of employers?

Not under the current intake as published. The ministry is accepting applications from individual employers training 25 or fewer participants, each application is limited to 25 trainees, and an employer can only have one application in at a time. No consortium or multi-employer route is published on the current OJG page.

Can I combine the Ontario Job Grant with other funding?

Not for the same training. An employer receiving other government funds for the same or substantially similar training for the same trainees is ineligible, and trainees funded for the same costs through programs such as Better Jobs Ontario or the Skills Development Fund are ineligible. The OJG rules do not address wage subsidies or tax credits, so check those programs' own terms.

Bottom line

The Ontario Job Grant is open, and the economics are good, especially for employers under 100 employees. The files that get funded are scoped tightly: eligible trainees, an eligible provider, three real quotes, measurable outcomes and a start date after the agreement is signed. Use the Grant Finder to compare it with other Ontario programs, or see the Ontario Job Grant program page for the summary fields.