$5,000 Red Seal bonus applications open Nov. 16

Tradespeople who earned Red Seal certification on or after April 1, 2025, can apply for a one-time $5,000 federal completion bonus starting Nov. 16, Employment and Social Development Canada said Friday.

The Team Canada Strong Red Seal Completion Bonus is open to journeypersons who finished an apprenticeship and were certified in a designated Red Seal trade on or after April 1, 2025. Applicants must be Canadian citizens, permanent residents or protected persons, and cannot be attending high school, the department said in a news release.

The deadline depends on when a person was certified. Anyone certified between April 1, 2025, and Nov. 15, 2026, has until May 31, 2027, to apply. Those certified on or after Nov. 16, 2026, must apply within 12 months of their certification date.

“There are good jobs waiting in the Red Seal trades, and not enough certified workers to fill them,” Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu said.

The department is urging applicants to gather their documents before the portal opens, because everything must be submitted within 28 calendar days of starting an application or the applicant has to start over. Applicants will need their social insurance number, mailing address, banking information for direct deposit, Red Seal trade name and certification date, the province or territory where they were certified and their apprentice identification number. An email address is optional but recommended.

Permanent residents whose SIN begins with 9 and protected persons must also provide proof of their status in Canada. Some provinces and territories may ask for extra documents, the department said.

The bonus is part of the $8-billion Team Canada Strong plan, which aims to recruit, train and hire 80,000 to 100,000 new Red Seal trades workers over five years. Ottawa also spends nearly $1 billion a year on other apprenticeship supports, according to the release.

Applications will be taken through the Red Seal Completion Bonus page on Canada.ca. The list of designated trades is on the Red Seal Program website.

The bonus follows other federal trades spending this month, including a $258.6-million trades training fund and $430 million for union trades training. Workers between jobs can also check our guide to EI benefits in 2026.

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Photo: Patty Hajdu speaks as Prime Minister Mark Carney looks on at the Alstom plant in Thunder Bay, Ont., on Sept. 3, 2026. File photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/David Jackson