Looking for Training Funding? Read This First.
If you are searching for leadership development with government funding in Durham Region, you deserve a straight answer rather than a marketing page. Here it is.
The Canada-Ontario Job Grant, the program most Ontario employers used to subsidize training costs, was paused in November 2025 pending a ministry review. It has since relaunched as the Ontario Job Grant, administered by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.
I would rather give you the current status plainly, with the government source beside it, than let you plan a budget around outdated information.
The direct answer, as of September 2026: the funding is paid to the employer, not to the trainer. The Canada-Ontario Job Grant was paused in November 2025 for a ministry review and has relaunched as the Ontario Job Grant, which is accepting applications year round for groups of 25 or fewer participants.
Employers with fewer than 100 employees contribute at least one-sixth of eligible third-party training costs, so funding can reach 83.3 per cent, and employers with 100 or more contribute half, to a maximum of $10,000 per trainee. For a previously unemployed new hire, a small employer may receive up to $15,000 per trainee, and in some cases the full cost with no minimum contribution.
The training has to be delivered by a third-party provider that meets the ministry's criteria, executive and preparatory programs are excluded, and funding is never guaranteed. Confirm your own situation on ontario.ca before you build a budget around it.
What Exactly Happened to the Job Grant?
The Canada-Ontario Job Grant was a cost-shared program: federally funded under an agreement between Canada and Ontario, administered provincially, and delivered through the Employment Ontario network of service-delivery sites.
In November 2025 the ministry placed it under review and paused intake. Delivery sites carried notices stating that the program was under revision and not accepting applications during the review period.
Reporting through the first half of 2026 indicated that existing transfer payment agreements with delivery sites were scheduled to wind down, with the program expected to return under a revised delivery approach.
That relaunch has happened. The program now runs as the Ontario Job Grant, applications are submitted to the ministry rather than through a local delivery site, and applications for groups of 25 or fewer participants are accepted year round and assessed on an ongoing basis.
The published terms, as of September 2026: employers with fewer than 100 employees contribute at least one-sixth of eligible training costs, so government funding covers up to 83.3 per cent, while employers with 100 or more employees receive up to 50 per cent. The cap is $10,000 per trainee.
There is one important exception worth knowing about. For a previously unemployed new hire at an employer with fewer than 100 employees, the cap rises to $15,000 per trainee and the ministry may fund the full cost, with no minimum employer contribution.
Training has to be completed within 52 weeks, an employer may hold only one application at a time, and the program budget is finite, so approval is never automatic. Those terms can change, so confirm the current numbers on the ministry's Ontario Job Grant page before you commit to a plan.
Who Provides Leadership Development with Government Funding in Durham Region?
That is the question in the title, so here is the direct answer: the money comes from the province, and the training has to be bought from a third party that meets the ministry's published criteria. No provider, including this one, can approve your funding.
Under the Ontario Job Grant guidelines, an eligible third-party training provider must have had a physical presence in Ontario for at least two years and must be one of the following:
- a publicly assisted college, university, or Indigenous Institute
- a District School Board
- a career college registered under the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005, or a provider of vocational programs exempt from registration under that Act
- a union-based training centre
- a sector council
- an industry association
In Durham Region that means publicly assisted institutions such as Durham College and Ontario Tech University in Oshawa, the Durham campus of Trent University, and the continuing education arms of the local District School Boards, together with registered career colleges, union training centres, sector councils, and industry associations that meet the two-year Ontario presence test.
The employer side has conditions as well. You need a physical location in Ontario with at least a year of operating history, the training has to be for your own employees, and you may hold only one application at a time.
Whoever you shortlist, ask them in writing whether they meet the ministry's eligible-provider definition, and confirm it with the ministry before you sign anything. Gurley Leadership Solutions delivers Leadership Management International programs and is not a government agency: we do not administer the grant and we do not decide eligibility.
What Should You Do Before You Apply?
- Verify the current rules yourself, today. Read the ministry's Ontario Job Grant page, call the Employment Ontario Contact Centre at 1-800-387-5656 (TTY 1-866-533-6339), or email OntarioJobGrant@ontario.ca. Do not rely on this article, or any provider's article, for a status that changes without notice.
- Apply to the ministry, not to a trainer. Applications are submitted through the Ontario Job Grant online application system, and groups of 25 or fewer participants are accepted year round.
- Prepare the paperwork before you apply. Having your training plan, provider quotes, participant list, and cost-per-person breakdown ready puts you at the front of the queue rather than the back.
- Never start training before an approval exists. Under the program's rules, training that begins before approval is not eligible, training has to be completed within 52 weeks, and you may hold only one application at a time.
- Do not delay development that the business actually needs. If turnover is costing you more than the training would, waiting months for an approval that is not guaranteed is often the more expensive choice.
- Ask any provider what happens if funding never arrives. The answer tells you whether they are selling a program or a subsidy.
- Look at the whole picture, not one program. Other federal and provincial supports exist for apprenticeships, co-op placements, and specific hiring situations, with their own separate rules and eligibility.
Should Leadership Development with Government Funding Be Your Only Option?
This is the question underneath every search for leadership development with government funding, and it deserves an honest answer from someone who sells the service.
Subsidy is a reason to act sooner. It is not a reason to act at all. If the business case only works with a grant attached, the program is probably not solving a problem expensive enough to justify itself, and you would likely be buying training because it was discounted rather than because it was needed.
Run the arithmetic the other way. What is turnover on your weakest team costing you this year in recruitment, orientation, overtime, and lost productivity? What is a supervisor who cannot hold a difficult conversation costing in absenteeism and quiet disengagement?
When those numbers are real and significant, leadership development pays for itself without a subsidy, and any funding that later arrives is a bonus rather than a precondition. For a practical way to combine funding, free methods, and targeted investment, see these three routes to subsidized leadership development.
A caution about funding-led providers
When a grant program is generous, a certain kind of marketing follows it: providers who lead with the subsidy rather than the outcome, because the discount is easier to sell than the result. That pattern is worth noticing now that the program is open again.
The test is simple. Ask a provider what the program achieves and how it will be measured, and see whether the answer arrives before or after the funding conversation. Larger national organizations such as FranklinCovey leadership programs and Dale Carnegie leadership training generally lead with their methodology rather than with subsidies, which is the right ordering regardless of who you ultimately choose.
How Do We Work With Organizations in Durham Region?
For organizations comparing leadership development with government funding across providers, Gurley Leadership Solutions is based in Ajax and works across Whitby, Oshawa, Clarington, Pickering, Barrie, Mississauga, and the wider Durham Region and Greater Toronto Area, in sectors including manufacturing, healthcare, not-for-profit, engineering, and operations.
Every engagement is a proven Leadership Management International program, customized to your organization, with goals set in your numbers at the start.
On funding specifically: eligibility, funding levels, and program availability are decided entirely by the ministry and change without notice. Any conversation we have about your development plan is built on what the program is worth to your business on its own, not on an assumed subsidy. Read more about Malcolm Gurley or see why choose Gurley Leadership.
Plan Around What You Can Control
Whether or not you pursue leadership development with government funding, book a free 15 minute phone call with Malcolm Gurley. We will look at what your leadership gaps are actually costing you, so you can decide based on the business case rather than on a program status you do not control.
Prefer the phone? Call 416.669.7644, Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
Book Your Free 15 Minute CallFrequently Asked Questions
Is government funding available for leadership development in Ontario right now?
Yes, with conditions. As of September 2026 the Ontario Job Grant, the relaunched successor to the Canada-Ontario Job Grant, is accepting applications year round for groups of 25 or fewer participants. Employers with fewer than 100 employees can be funded up to 83.3 per cent of eligible costs and employers with 100 or more up to 50 per cent, to a maximum of $10,000 per trainee. Executive and preparatory programs are excluded, and eligibility is decided by the ministry, so verify your situation on ontario.ca before planning around it.
What does the Ontario Job Grant cover?
It covers eligible third-party training costs, to a maximum of $10,000 per trainee. Employers with fewer than 100 employees contribute at least one-sixth of the cost, so funding can reach 83.3 per cent, and employers with 100 or more contribute half. For a previously unemployed new hire at an employer with fewer than 100 employees the cap rises to $15,000 per trainee and the ministry may fund the full cost with no minimum contribution. These are the published terms as of September 2026 and they can change without notice.
Who is allowed to deliver the training?
The ministry requires a third-party provider with a physical presence in Ontario for at least two years that is a publicly assisted college, university or Indigenous Institute, a District School Board, a career college registered or exempt under the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005, a union-based training centre, a sector council, or an industry association. Ask any shortlisted provider to confirm in writing that they meet that definition, and verify it with the ministry before you sign anything.
Should we wait for funding before starting leadership development?
That depends on what the gap is costing you. If turnover, absenteeism, or weak supervision are already expensive, waiting for leadership development with government funding while your application is assessed is likely the more costly choice. Subsidy is a reason to act sooner, not the reason to act at all.
Can Gurley Leadership Solutions get us approved for funding?
No. When it comes to leadership development with government funding, Gurley Leadership Solutions is not a government agency and does not determine eligibility for any program. Eligibility and funding decisions rest entirely with the ministry, and the rules change without notice. Confirm your own eligibility directly with the program.
How do we get started?
If you are exploring leadership development with government funding, book a free 15 minute phone call with Malcolm Gurley through the button above, or call 416.669.7644, Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM. There is no cost and no obligation for the initial conversation.
About Malcolm Gurley
Malcolm Gurley is the President of Gurley Leadership Solutions Inc. in Ajax, Ontario. He brings 35+ years of senior executive experience with Honeywell, Johnson Controls, and Armstrong Fluid Technology to every engagement. He is licensed through LMI Canada and holds a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. Clients typically report returns of 10:1 or better on their program investment, though every engagement is customized and outcomes vary by organization.
Gurley Leadership Solutions Inc. delivers leadership development and organizational improvement programs licensed through Leadership Management International, and is a common starting point for Durham Region employers researching leadership development with government funding; every engagement is customized and outcomes vary by organization.
Statements about government program status reflect information published on ontario.ca as of 16 September 2026 and are provided for general information only; Gurley Leadership Solutions Inc. is not a government agency, does not administer any funding program, and does not determine eligibility.
Program availability, eligibility criteria, and funding levels are set by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development and change without notice; confirm current status and eligibility directly with the ministry before making any decision that relies on it.
Return-on-investment figures, including any 10:1 reference, describe typical results from prior engagements and are not a guarantee of future results.
This article is general information, not a proposal and not an offer.
