The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) said it is attempting to recover $10 billion in benefits given to Canadians who were later found to be ineligible for the programs upon further review.
In a statement to The Epoch Times, the agency said around $14 billion was given to individuals that did not qualify for the programs like the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) or Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB). The CRA began informing them that payment was due back in 2022, and since then it has recovered around $4 billion.
The CRA said it is “proud of the important role it played in delivering COVID-19 benefits to Canadians in their time of need,” by providing emergency benefits “extremely quickly to millions of Canadians.”
“Individuals were required to confirm they met the program eligibility criteria and were made aware that the CRA might verify this information at a later date,” the agency said.
The CRA said that as of November 2025, there was $5.4 billion in outstanding debt related to CERB, $3.2 billion related to CRB, $1.5 billion related to the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB), and $580 million related to the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB), Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit (CWLB), and Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB).
As of September 2025, the CRA said 1,378,799 Canadians had repaid approximately $3.3 billion in debts related to individual COVID-19 benefits. The CRA had recovered $2.5 billion from CERB, $520 million from CRB, and $172 million from CESB, CRCB, CRSB, and CWLB.
The CRA said it uses a “progressive recovery model” to ensure efforts are made to recover COVID-19 benefit debts, and the CRA “follows a responsible enforcement process” to recover unpaid debts.
“We are sensitive to Canadians’ financial difficulties and work with them to establish payment arrangements based on their ability to pay. However, the CRA takes firm and responsible measures against those who seek to avoid paying outstanding amounts,” the agency said.
The CRA said it may take legal action to recover debt in cases where a taxpayer had the ability to pay it back in full but chooses not to without an acceptable payment arrangement. This may involve offsetting refunds and future benefits, garnishing wages, or using “any other means under applicable laws or regulations to recover an outstanding amount.”
The CRA said in November that it was looking to hire or rehire around 1,700 call centre workers to manage calls ahead of the upcoming tax season, as it is forecasting high demand.
