Yukon Economic Support

Available Programs by Type

Support for Individuals

Support for Businesses

Employment Standards

Support for Individuals

• Changes were made to the Yukon Basic Personal Amount under the Income Tax Act geared towards low and middle-income earners to save Yukoners' money. (March 19)
• A new rebate program for Yukon employers to benefit workers and self-employed individuals. This rebate will cover a maximum of 10 days of wages per employee or 10 days of average daily earnings per self-employed individual to allow for a 14-day self-isolation period. (March 27)
• The Government of Yukon ensuring that women vulnerable to violence in Yukon have safe access to cell phones and the internet during COVID-19 by providing 325 phones with capability for voice and internet access to vulnerable women for the next four months. (April 4)
• The Government of Yukon has extended the deadline for property tax payments from July 2 to September 2, 2020 for citizens and businesses. (April 24)
• Yukoners receiving Social Assistance benefits will not experience a reduction if they receive the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). Additional support is also available for Yukoners receiving Social Assistance benefits who are waiting to receive their CERB payments. (April 27)
• The Yukon Essential Workers Income Support Program will provide low-income essential workers with a wage subsidy of up to $4.00 per hour to a maximum of $20.00 per hour for up to 16 weeks. All services identified as critical or essential in the Guidelines for the delivery of critical, essential and other services are eligible. Employers may choose when the 16-week benefit is applied between March 15, 2020, and October 3, 2020. (May 22)
• Families with children in Kindergarten to Grade 12 who have been impacted by COVID-19 are eligible for $250 per student from the Government of Yukon. (May 19)
• Residential tenants who are under a health protection measure after June 25 or who need to breach their tenancy agreement because they are under a COVID-19 health protection order will continue to be protected from eviction. As of July 1, all tenants must pay their rent in full as set in their tenancy agreements, unless they are prevented from doing so because they are subject to a health protection measure. (June 12)

• The Government of Yukon passed new regulations under the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act today. These regulations prevent evictions over the next 90 days for residential tenants who are self-isolating or unable to pay their rent on time due to COVID-19. (March 27)
• Tenants living in private non-subsidized market rental housing in Yukon who have lost 30 per cent or more of their income due to COVID-19 are eligible for a grant through the new COVID-19 Rent Assist program to help cover rent from April to June 2020. Eligible households can receive 50% of median market rent based on unit size using the Whitehorse median market rent. The grant will be paid directly to landlords on behalf of tenants. (May 11)
• Tenants and landlords who are affected by income losses during the COVID-19 pandemic can continue to receive support from the Government of Yukon's COVID-19 Rent Assist program. Tenants living in private non-subsidized market rental housing in Yukon who have lost 30 per cent or more of their income due to COVID-19 are eligible for a grant to help cover rent in July, August and September 2020. Eligible households can receive 50 per cent of median market rent based on unit size. (July 10)
• In June, the Government of Yukon passed a ministerial order that protects tenants from eviction for nonpayment of rent if they are under a health protection measure and allowed tenants who deferred rent payments due to income lost due to COVID-19 will have until December 31, 2020 to repay the outstanding amount to their landlord. (July 10)

• Yukon's licensed childcare centres and family day homes will receive additional funding to provide care to children during the COVID-19 response and beyond it. The Government of Yukon will cover staff wages as well as eligible building expenses, including rent, utilities and cleaning costs. (April 6)

• The Staffing Up labour market funding program together with the Yukon Essential Workers Income Support Program will provide employers with up to $20 per hour for each new student position hired into critical and essential service positions, to a maximum of 40 hours per week and 16 weeks of employment. (May 22)

Supports for Businesses

• Reduce the negative impact of COVID-19 by establishing a grant program to address certain expenses related to cancelled events. (March 16)
• Stimulate business and the tourism industry by waiving, reimbursing or delaying government fee collection, such as airport landing fees. (March 16)
• Relieve financial pressures by deferring Workers' Compensation Health and Safety premium payments and reimburse those paid up-front, waive penalties and interest. (March 16)
• Budget Measures Implementation Act 2020 will reduce the small business tax rate from two per cent to zero per cent. It also expands the eligibility for the Business Investment Tax Credit. (March 16)
• The Government of Yukon has established a COVID-19 Business Advisory Council to ensure the needs of Yukon's business community are heard to address the economic impacts of COVID-19. (March 25)
• Minister Pillai announced the Temporary Support for Events Funding Program, which will help businesses recover certain costs from the cancellation of major events due to COVID-19. All eligible Yukon businesses and NGOs may apply. (April 1)
• The Yukon Business Relief Program will help Yukon businesses that have experienced a 30 percent reduction in revenue and require immediate relief. Eligible businesses can apply for a grant of up to $30,000 per month to cover fixed costs from March 23 to May 22, 2020. (April 9)
• The Government of Yukon has extended the deadline for property tax payments from July 2 to September 2, 2020 for citizens and businesses. (April 24)
• The Yukon Business Relief Program has been extended to July 23, 2020. It helps Yukon businesses that have experienced a 30 per cent reduction in revenue and need immediate support to cover fixed costs, including rent, utilities and business insurance. Eligible businesses can apply for a grant of up to $30,000 per month to cover fixed costs. (May 20)
• Restaurants and other businesses with a liquor licence will continue to receive a discount of 25 per cent off the retail price of liquor until November 1, 2020. (August 5)

• Support the tourism industry with enhanced local advertising efforts. (March 16)
• The Government of Yukon has announced a one-time $1 million increase to its Tourism Cooperative Marketing Fund (TCMF), bringing the total available funding to $1.7 million for the 2020–21 fiscal year. (March 27)

• To help address the impacts the COVID-19 pandemic is having on the arts and culture sectors, $275,000 will be available through three temporary funding initiatives. (March 27)

• The Government of Yukon is waiving all airport landing, aircraft parking fees and loading fees in Yukon. (March 26)
• Yukon's aviation sector will receive $3.56 million in support to help compensate for lost revenues as a result of COVID-19. Of this funding, $1.1 million will be directed to Air North over three months to ensure the continued operation of critical routes to the North. (May 4)
• Yukon aviation businesses will benefit from the waiving of commercial fees. The new fee waivers include land lease and licence fees and building lease and licence fees, among others. These fees are waived from April 1 until December 31, 2020. (May 4)
• The territory announced it will allocate $2.944 million to airlines and rotary wing operators in the Northwest Territories. The GNWT is providing this funding directly to airlines and rotary wing operators during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that these companies can continue to provide connections into communities, providing essential goods, like food and medical supplies, through June 30, 2020. (June 12)
• Yukon's aviation sector will receive a second installment of federal funding, totalling $1.23 million to help compensate for lost revenues as a result of COVID-19. Yukon aviation businesses will also continue to benefit from the waiving of commercial fees. These fees are waived from April 1 until December 31, 2020. (June 28)

• The Government of Yukon is assisting Yukon's agriculture industry with its labour needs by temporarily modifying the agriculture internship available to Yukon producers to provide funding for more than one intern and not counting this year's application toward the lifetime maximum for the program. (May 22)

• The Government of Yukon is investing an additional $1.1 million to the Yukon Mineral Exploration Program, making a total of $2.5 million available for distribution for successful applicants for the 2020 field season. (June 11)

Employment Standards

• The Government of Yukon will support workers through a COVID-19 related 14-day isolation with paid sick leave. (March 16)
• The Paid Sick Leave Program allows Yukon workers or those self-employed who are without sick leave to stay at home if they are sick and required to self-isolate for 14 days and still meet their basic financial needs. (March 27)
• They also announced temporary changes to the Yukon Nominee Program, Yukon nominees who experience layoffs or reduced work hours will not be issued the standard 90-day notice to find new employment. (March 27)