Canadians can begin applying Monday for the new Canada Emergency Response Benefit.

As has been explained by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau, the program is replacing employment insurance for most COVID-19 related jobless claims.

More than two-million Canadians lost their jobs in the last half of March as businesses across the country were forced to close or reduce their operations to slow the spread of the new coronavirus.

In an effort to prevent the website from crashing under the weight of millions of applications, Canadians are being asked to apply on different dates based on their month of birth.

For Monday April 6th, Canadians born in January, February and March are able to apply.

For Tuesday April 7th, Canadians born in April, May and June are able to apply.

On Wednesday April 8th, Canadians born in July, August and September are able to apply.

Thursday April 9th, Canadians born in October, November and December are able to apply.

As of Friday April 10th, Canadians born in any month can apply.

If you don’t have online access … the phone number is 1-800-959-2019 or 1-800-959-2041.