What’s happened.
On October 22, 2026, Employment and Social Development Canada opened the online application for the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program, or WRRP — a federal program that pays employers to keep people on the payroll on shorter hours rather than lay them off. It is part of a $3.5 billion package of what Ottawa calls Rapid Response Supports for Workers and Employers, announced in August in response to tariffs, the border taxes the United States charges on goods coming from Canada.
The terms are specific. Employers get up to $1,000 per participating employee to cover training and the paperwork that goes with it. Workers on reduced hours keep income closer to normal through a mix of Employment Insurance Work-Sharing benefits and an income top-up for taking the training. You choose the training: technical skills, digital and basic skills, peer-to-peer learning or on-the-job coaching. Hours can be scheduled unevenly across the crew, because Ottawa has temporarily dropped the rule that work be shared equally. Agreements can be renewed one after another for up to 152 cumulative weeks, roughly three years. The program is open to businesses in all sectors that need to transform, retool or diversify, and runs from October 2026 until March 2028. Ottawa expects it to prevent about 20,000 layoffs across more than 2,300 employers.
Two other things changed the same day. Temporary Employment Insurance measures are extended by up to a year: the one-week waiting period is waived, long-tenured workers get an extra 20 weeks, and severance or vacation pay no longer delays benefits. Separately, the Regional Tariff Response Initiative, delivered through the regional development agencies, is still available to small and mid-sized firms hit by tariffs for cash-flow pressure and moving into new markets. Shops already on Work-Sharing or receiving the Worker Retention Grant do not need to apply — they will be moved over automatically.
What it means for your business.
If you run a shop where tariffs have thinned the order book and you are weighing layoffs this winter, this changes the maths. Trained, experienced people are the hardest thing to replace when work returns, and Ottawa will now cover up to $1,000 a head to keep them learning while hours are short — for as long as three years of successive agreements, with the window closing in March 2028. The practical move is to pair the reduced hours with training you already needed: welding tickets, controls, quality systems, or the skills behind a product line you want to add. Treat it as a retooling budget, not a layoff substitute.
Next step: Submit a Workforce Retention and Retraining Program application this month if your Q1 order book is light, and name the specific training you want funded.
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