Youth Justice Fund

The Youth Justice Fund provides grants and contributions to support projects that encourage a more effective youth justice system, respond to emerging youth justice issues and enable greater citizen and community participation in the youth justice system.

Call for proposals

The Youth Justice Fund is currently accepting new proposals for both multi-year and short-term pilot projects starting between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027.

A portion of this funding opportunity is ‘anticipatory’ as the funding for the initiative was announced in the Fall Economic Statement (2024) but requires Treasury Board approval and appropriation of funds by Parliament to access the funding. Funding decisions will only be made if Treasury Board approval is received and Parliament approves the appropriation of funds.

Funding opportunity

Objectives and Outcomes

To support these objectives, we invite youth-serving organizations to apply for funding for projects that promote community safety by addressing the root causes of youth criminality. We especially encourage organizations who provide services for Indigenous, Black, and other racialized youth to apply for funding, as these groups continue to be disproportionately represented in Canada’s youth criminal justice system.

Projects must target one or both of the following groups:

• Youth aged 12 to 17 at the time of committing an offence (or alleged offence) and who are being dealt under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), or
• Justice professionals and/or service providers who work directly with these youth.

Projects focusing on the following activities may be given funding priority:

• Extrajudicial/diversion programming;
• Youth restorative justice programs;
• Custodial and/or community-based rehabilitative and reintegration programming;
• Specialised programming for youth struggling with complex mental health issues, trauma, and addictions;
• Collaborative and integrated approaches across youth related support systems/sectors (justice, social, health, education, private sector and community service providers, etc.); and
• Training for youth justice professionals.

Projects must meet at least one of the following objectives:

• Establish special measures for violent youth who come in contact with the criminal justice system;
• Improve the youth justice system’s ability to help youth rehabilitate and reintegrate;
• Increase the use of out of court measures that are more effective in addressing some types of less serious offending;
• Establish a more targeted approach to the use of custody for youth; and
• Increase the use of community-based sentences for less serious offending.

Who is eligible?

All of the following are eligible for funding:

• Non-profit community organizations, societies, and associations which have voluntarily associated themselves for a non-profit purpose;
• Canadian institutions/boards of education;
• Bands, First Nations, Tribal Councils, local, regional and national Indigenous organizations;
• Provincial, territorial and municipal governments and their agencies and institutions;
• Private sector organizations that will not make a profit on the work performed;
• For-profit enterprises, research/evaluation organizations and individuals are eligible for funding to conduct research and evaluation activities; and,
• Individuals.

Activities/Projects

The Fund supports the development, implementation, and evaluation of pilot projects that provide programming and services for youth in contact with the criminal justice system. It supports professional development activities, such as training and conferences, for justice professionals and youth service providers. Additionally, it funds research on the youth criminal justice system and related youth justice issues.

For a full listing of eligible activities, see Terms and Conditions for Youth Justice Fund Grants and Terms and Conditions for Youth Justice Fund Contributions.

For information on past projects, please see:

• Youth Justice Fund Summaries of Project Evaluations
• Youth Justice Fund Feature Projects
• Youth Justice Fund Project Videos

Points to Consider

Projects must target youth aged 12 to 17 at the time of committing an offence and who are currently being dealt with under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, or justice professionals and/or service providers who work with these youth.

A typical Youth Justice Fund project may cost on average $600,000 overall and unfold over a four-year period. The funding amount is determined by the project proposal, availability of funds and current priorities. Not all eligible projects can be funded.

The Youth Justice Fund cannot provide operational costs to sustain existing programs.

The Fund cannot support projects focusing on youth who are “at risk” of coming in contact with the criminal justice system but not actually involved. If your project focuses on youth at risk, please visit the National Crime Prevention Centre Web site.

Official Languages

Official language minority communities are anglophone communities in Quebec and francophone communities in the rest of Canada.

In support of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act, the Department of Justice Canada is committed to helping official language minority communities and their organizations take part in developing and evaluating the Department’s policies, programs and services that significantly impact their communities; and to taking measures to ensure that the Department’s programs and services reach official language minority communities.

In the context of project funding, these measures include:

• Outreach to official language minority communities to enhance their understanding of the Department’s funding programs; and
• Encouraging organizations that receive financial assistance to connect with official language minority organizations/groups, so community needs are considered in projects proposed to the Department of Justice Canada.

Sustainable Development

The Department of Justice Canada encourages applicants to submit proposals electronically to minimize environmental impacts.

Publications and Resources

• Terms and Conditions for Youth Justice Fund Grants
• Terms and Conditions for Youth Justice Fund Contributions
• Contribution Funds for Non-Governmental Organizations: A Handbook

How to Apply for Funding

Deadline: October 17, 2025, at 23:59 Pacific Time Zone

Please note that funding is limited, and not all eligible projects will receive support. As the Youth Justice Fund is a federal program, funding decisions may take into account geographic location and areas of need to help ensure representation across Canada, where feasible and appropriate.

If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to carefully review the information available on our website.

If you believe your project aligns with the Fund’s mandate, objectives, and priorities, and would like to request an application form for this funding stream, please contact pb-dgp@justice.gc.ca. Be sure to indicate in your email that you are requesting the application form for the Youth Justice Fund. A copy of the form will be sent to you by email.

When your completed application is received by the Department of Justice Canada, Youth Justice Fund staff will review it to determine if your project is eligible for funding. A program analyst will contact you once this review is complete.

The Department of Justice Canada thanks you for taking the time to complete and submit an online application. Please do not hesitate to share your comments on how to improve our process and template.

For any further information or questions on this funding opportunity, please contact:

Programs Branch
Department of Justice Canada
Phone: 613-941-4193
Email: pb-dgp@justice.gc.ca