Cost Estimate

Cost estimate of proposed changes to Canada Summer Jobs

Oct 15, 2026

In response to a request from the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance, this report estimates the cost of expanding the Canada Summer Jobs program.

Highlights

In response to [a request from the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance (NFFN)](https://sencanada.ca/en/content/sen/committee/451/nffn/32mn-57530con-e), PBO estimates the cost of expanding the Canada Summer Jobs program from approximately 73,600 jobs to 200,000 jobs to be $3,279 million over the 5 years between 2027-28 and 2031-32.
Alternatively, if the number of annual summer jobs is to remain unchanged, but a portion of jobs are expanded to 16 weeks while some still last for fewer than 16 weeks - to allow differential high school and CEGEP student participation - the estimated cost increase is $809 million over 5 years.
If instead, the number of jobs is increased to 200,000 and a portion of jobs is simultaneously expanded to 16 weeks, the cost is estimated at $5,478 million over 5 years.
Finally, PBO estimates the cost of expanding the program to the rest of the year with 200,000 jobs at 16 weeks each to be $7,568 million over 5 years.