Ontario has paused new applications to Better Jobs Ontario while its labor ministry reviews how funds are used, affecting access to retraining support for unemployed residents, Labour Minister Trevor Jones told Global News.
Jones said the review would assess where program spending had gone and whether recipients were benefiting, Global News reported. He put it this way to the outlet: “Prudent to pause, take stock, review.” His office told Global News the inquiry is internal and KPMG has not been engaged to examine Better Jobs Ontario.
Ontario separately engaged KPMG in August 2026 to review applications to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) at private postsecondary institutions. The province paused OSAP payments associated with those schools while the audit proceeds, referred the matter to the Ontario Provincial Police and notified the Auditor General. Ontario outlined the separate action in its earlier account of the OSAP audit and payment pause.
Better Jobs Ontario provides grants for eligible unemployed people, including those who have been laid off or come from low-income households, to train for in-demand work. The maximum grant is C$28,000 for training lasting one year or less, or C$35,000 for programs lasting more than one year and up to two years. Eligible expenses include tuition, books, instructional costs, transportation and a basic living allowance. Applicants work through an Employment Ontario service provider, which submits applications to the ministry. Ontario says the program supported nearly 4,300 people in 2025.
The Canadian Press reported Oct. 28 that some career-college students had encountered funding delays or pauses. Its report described one applicant whose planned course start was delayed and other clients at an employment help center facing uncertainty. The report did not establish whether those disruptions had the same scope as the later pause on new applications.
Jones did not say how long the application pause would last, Global News reported.
