Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB)

The Canada Recovery Benefit, introduced on September 27, 2020, will provide $500 per week for up to 26 weeks to workers who do not qualify for EI, who earned at least $5,000 in 2019 or 2020 and who are unable to return to work or had their income reduced by at least 50% due to COVID-19. The program will last for one year.

Claimants will need to repay $0.50 of the benefit for each dollar of their annual income above $38,000 in the calendar year up to a maximum of the amount of benefit they received. The $38,000 threshold will not include amounts received under the benefit. The benefit will be taxable.

PBO estimates total net cost of this measure to be $12.853 billion in 2020-2021 and $5.087 billion in 2021-2022.