Recognized as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers (2022), Canada's Top Family-Friendly Employers (2022) and National Capital Region's Top Employers (2022):
Mediacorp Canada Inc. staff editors (Nov 11, 2021)
Here are some of the reasons why Export Development Canada was selected as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers (2022), Canada's Top Family-Friendly Employers (2022) and National Capital Region's Top Employers (2022):
- EDC launched a new benefits plan in the past year to provide employees with increased flexibility in determining appropriate coverage options -- flex credits can be allocated to health and wellness spending accounts, RRSP, TFSA or RESP accounts, used to purchase additional time off (up to five days), or distributed as a donation to the United Way
- EDC maintains a LiveWELL hub with extensive wellness resources and organizes weekly webinars as part of its annual Healthy Workplace Month initiative in October (topics include eating well, setting limits at work and in our personal lives, and living through a pandemic winter)
- EDC offered a $1,000 allowance to help employees with home office set-up or wellness equipment at the start of the pandemic and provided an additional allowance of $750 in 2021 to further enhance remote work

Employer Background
Industry | International trade financing and support services |
Established in Canada | 1944 |
Major Canadian hiring locations | Ottawa ON, Toronto ON, Vancouver BC, Mississauga ON, Montréal QC |
Full-time employees in Canada | 1,891 |
Full-time employees worldwide | 1,908 |
Workforce engaged on a contract basis | 3.77% |
Average age of employees in Canada | 41 years |
Longest serving employee | 41.7 years |
COVID-19
Pandemic response | $1,000 expense fund to cover the costs of working remotely (includes purchase of home office equipment, internet costs), additional allowance of $750 offered in 2021 to support continued remote work, additional flex credits provided as part of health plan ($450), virtual fitness and meditation classes available through EDC's LiveWELL site, meeting-free Fridays and Freedom Fridays in 2020 (early Fridays during the summer months) |
Physical Workplace Rating: A
Editorial note | due to the pandemic, some workplace amenities may be temporarily unavailable |
Commuter amenities | transit subsidies, online carpool sign-up, electric vehicle charging stations, secure/sheltered bicycle parking |
Workplace features | 18-storey head office was built to LEED Gold standards, workplace features live plants and original artwork, cafe and kitchen areas on each floor, customizable meeting spaces as well as large event spaces, training rooms, small private work rooms, in-house catering kitchen for meals and snacks at onsite events, rooftop garden where employees are encouraged to snip kale, tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh herbs and peppers to add to their lunch (or bring home), telecommuter workstations, sit-stand workstations, religious observance room, self-serve lunchroom, outdoor patio |
Employee lounge amenities | comfortable seating, television, board games, 2 large lounge areas on the 5th and 18th floors |
Other food options at main location | Bridgehead coffee shop and Marcello’s Deli onsite, vending machine stocked with healthy and fresh lunch options (in partnership with a local restaurant) |
Onsite fitness facility | for employees only, free membership, treadmills, stationary bikes, stairmasters, instructor-led classes (yoga, spin, BodyPump, sports conditioning, martial arts, outdoor boot camp, circuit training), elliptical trainers, rowing machines, weights, shower facilities, facility is open 24/7 and employs a full-time fitness coordinator, who provides fitness advice and ensures equipment is properly maintained, national galleries and museums, Parliament Hill, Byward Market |
Work Atmosphere & Communications Rating: B
Employee social committee name | EDC Social and Recreation Committee (est. 1980) |
Cultural aspects | business-casual dress daily, casual dress Fridays, music while working, employee sports teams |
Employee communications | intranet site, company newsletter, traditional/email suggestion box, internal social media |
Other in-house communications | annual employee conference and reception (hosted virtually last year), EDC Sounding Board (confidential platform for employees to ask questions about policies, regulations, or anything related to the organization), EDC Executive Blog as well as audience-specific blogs (green team, technology, inclusion, diversity and equity, women) |
Financial Benefits & Compensation Rating: B+
Outside salary surveys | participates in outside salary surveys every 12 months |
Employee salary reviews | individual salaries are reviewed every 12 months |
Long-term savings | defined-contribution (DC) pension |
Long-term planning | retirement planning assistance, life & disability insurance |
Year-end bonuses | available to all employees |
Referral bonuses (max) | new employee referral bonuses (up to $1,500) for some positions |
Signing bonuses | available for some positions |
Additional financial benefits | corporate discount program (e.g. retail, services, travel, etc.), discounted home insurance, discounted auto insurance, discounts on tickets to major concerts and sporting events, relocation assistance for new hires and current employees moving to other office locations |
Health & Family-Friendly Benefits Rating: A
Health plan premium | as part of the health plan, the employer pays up to 100% of the premiums |
Flexible coverage | health plan is flexible with adjustable premiums and coverage levels |
Minimum hours worked for coverage | 15 hours per week |
Waiting period | there is no waiting period for coverage |
Family coverage option | yes |
Retiree coverage with no age limit | yes |
Dental coverage | routine, restorative, orthodontics |
Paid sick days | employees receive 10 days off each year |
Health plan includes | traditional coverage (e.g. prescription drugs), employee assistance (EAP) plan, semi-private hospital room, physiotherapy, medical travel insurance, homecare, medical equipment and supplies, massage therapy, nutrition planning, podiatrist, osteopathy, chiropractor, alternative coverage (e.g. acupuncture, naturopathy), virtual healthcare services |
Mental health practitioner benefit | up to $2,500 each year |
Health spending account | up to $1,000 each year |
Wellness spending account | up to $450 each year |
Additional health plan information | new flexible benefits plan launched in 2021, flex credits can be allocated towards the purchase of 5 additional vacation days, health or wellness spending accounts, RRSP, TFSA or an RESP, or donated to the United Way, unique paramedical benefits extension program (employees with ongoing medical conditions may apply to receive 90% reimbursements with unlimited maximum) |
Additional health and wellness initiatives | LiveWELL hub with extensive wellness resources, annual Healthy Workplace Month in October (includes a weekly series of webinars and resources covering a range of topics, from eating well to setting limits to living through a pandemic winter), Mental Health Week campaign (a week of virtual activities and events to connect and promote good mental health), access to LifeSpeak (videos, podcasts and monthly web chats on wellness topics) |
In vitro fertilization (IVF) | $20,000 per lifetime |
Maternity top-up (mothers) | up to 95% of salary for 17 weeks |
Parental top-up (mothers) | up to 95% of salary for 9 weeks |
Parental top-up (fathers) | up to 95% of salary for 18 weeks |
Adoption top-up | up to 95% of salary for 18 weeks |
Additional family-friendly benefits | academic scholarships of up to $2,700 per child |
Flexible work options | flexible work hours, telecommuting |
Additional family-friendly information | family caregiver leave for adults (top up to 95% of salary for up to 8 weeks), paid personal leave option for family emergencies (5 to 10 days depending on the situation) |
Vacation & Personal Time-Off Rating: A+
Vacation allowance | new employees receive 3 weeks of paid vacation after their first year on the job |
Vacation jump | vacation increases after 5 years of employment |
Maximum vacation allowance | employees move to a maximum of 5 weeks of vacation over their career |
Paid holiday shutdown | during the Christmas to New Year's holiday break, employees receive an additional 3 days off |
Personal paid days off | employees can schedule 2 personal days off each year, as needed |
Unpaid leave of absence option | yes |
Additional time-off information | many employees start with 4 weeks of paid vacation increasing to 5 weeks after 15 years of employment, employees can purchase up to 5 additional vacation days as part of EDC's health benefits plan, in addition to the 2 paid personal/floater days, employees may apply for Special Leave days (the needed number of days are determined on a case-by-case basis between employees and their managers) |
Employee Engagement & Performance Rating: A
Employee performance reviews | employees receive individual performance reviews every 6 months |
Managers receive performance review training | yes |
360° feedback option | as part of the review process, performance feedback is also solicited from co-workers and other managers familiar with each employee's work |
Confidential employee feedback | employees can also provide confidential feedback on their manager's performance |
Exit interview | exit interview option is available for departing employees |
Performance recognition | individual performance bonuses, long-service awards, corporate recognition awards with nominee profiles posted on the corporate intranet, winners are announced at an annual employee conference (Bravo Awards for employees who exemplify company values, and the Excellence in Customer Experience Award, People Leadership Award, and Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award), impact recognition program launched in 2021 (peer-nominated awards for employees who have made an impact on their peers, community, customers and EDC's partners) |
Training & Skills Development Rating: A
Career planning | in-house career planning services, online employee skills inventory |
In-house training initiatives | mentoring, in-house training, online training, leadership training, paid internships, subsidies for professional accreditation |
Related tuition subsidies | employer covers up to 100% of tuition per year |
Annual tuition maximum | employer pays up to $24,000 in tuition subsidies for job-related courses per year |
Unrelated tuition subsidies | employer covers up to 100% of tuition per year for courses unrelated to current position |
Unrelated tuition maximum | employer pays up to $24,000 in tuition subsidies per year for courses unrelated to current position |
Education leave | educational leaves of absence are available |
Unique training & development programs | extensive catalog of online, live and on-demand courses (over 1,500 courses and curated content), language training, social media training, leadership forums |
Community Involvement Rating: A+
Scope of charitable involvement | local, national, international |
Employee charitable involvement | employees are involved in selection of charities, employees receive paid time off to volunteer, (up to 2 paid days) |
Total employee volunteer hours (on company time) | over 176 hours last year |
Total number of charities supported last year | approximately 40 charitable and community organizations were supported last year |
Some of the community organizations supported | CARE Canada (longstanding partnership), Children's Aid Foundation of Ottawa, Shepherds of Good Hope, Orpheus Musical Theatre Society, Juno Beach Centre Association, Immigrant Women Services, Ottawa St. Brigid’s Summer Camp, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada, Royal Ottawa Foundation for Mental Health, Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia, to name a few |
Charitable giving | matches employee donations, matches employee volunteer hours with company donations |
Community highlight | EDC supports a variety of charitable organizations every year through a formal charitable donations program, matching employee donations ranging from $500 to $2,500. Established in 2003, the program has provided over 400 donations to over 100 charitable organizations across Canada. |
Pandemic-related community initiatives | Initiated a number of charitable projects related to the pandemic in the past year, including matching employee donations for COVID relief (over $85,000) and modifying its annual Community Investment Day to replace direct volunteering with virtual volunteer opportunities. |





Health and wellness take top priority at EDC
Mohammad Al Jarrah, a risk analyst for Export Development Canada (EDC), was on his honeymoon in Jordan when COVID19 hit and the couple had to cut their trip short to catch the last flight back to Canada. As they adjusted to a new normal working from home in their one-bedroom apartment, tragedy struck.
Four months into the pandemic, they went through a miscarriage.
“It was a crazy, crazy year and I realized it was time to reach out for help,” says Al Jarrah. “I knew support was there but never needed it until we had such big life events happen in such a small time period. It was tough mentally for both of us.”
Besides his manager’s support, Al Jarrah tapped into EDC’s Employee Family Assistance Program. Given that there were so many people stressed by the pandemic, he expected a long queue, but connected with a counsellor within the week.
EDC, an Ottawa-based Crown corporation and national export credit agency that helps Canadian businesses expand internationally, had increased support for mental health and wellness at the start of the pandemic. This includes enabling employees facing extenuating circumstances to take paid special leave, making additional wellness resources such as Virtual Healthcare available through a flexible benefit plan, and providing a separate allotment to support health and wellness in the past year.
“The support system to speak to a counsellor extended to my wife as well,” says Al Jarrah. “If my wife isn’t doing well, I won’t be doing well, so it was nice that help was available to both of us for as long as we needed it.
“On that first call, my wife and I opened up about things that we hadn’t spoken about before, so it was instrumental to our healing.”
By sharing his story, Al Jarrah hopes to inspire others to get mental health support when they need it.
“I grew up in a culture where you just don’t speak about these things,” says Al Jarrah. “I’m sure other people are going through similar crises so if this helps someone reach out, I’d feel really good about that.”
Al Jarrah says these supports are essential to any company that wants to help employees with work-life balance.
“I’ve always felt EDC is a place where you can thrive at work and life, simply because they set you up to succeed at both.”
President and CEO Mairead Lavery says EDC changed its wellness and benefits program because this year was challenging for a lot of employees in terms of mental health – and “you can’t just have all words and good feelings” without backing it up with concrete action.
“My human resources team ensured there was frequent communication, that leaders were briefed and employees were provided with necessary support,” she says. “We also enhanced the overall benefits we offer. For example, we never had access to doctors online before, but now we have that as part of our health benefits program.”
“Making sure our workforce is healthy is our number 1 priority because we can’t continue to support Canadian companies unless we actually achieve that,” says Lavery.
“Crisis is the mother of invention. We’ve learned some positive things during this time that we shouldn’t forget, such as how we can come together as a community, how we can change our policies on a dime to make it a bit easier to work, how we rely on the flexibility and the passion of our employees and to never forget that.
“In the darkest moments, that’s when you need to come to the table and demonstrate your values.”
This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Canada's Top 100 Employers winners, published November 12, 2021 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.
Recognized as one of Canada's Top Employers for Young People (2022):
Mediacorp Canada Inc. staff editors (Jan 17, 2022)
Here are some of the reasons why Export Development Canada was selected as one of Canada's Top Employers for Young People (2022):
- EDC's dedicated Growing Professionals Committee offers development opportunities, resources and support to students and young professionals, as well as organizing various social events throughout the year -- the committee also manages a mentorship program designed to promote career development, support diversity and inclusion, and facilitate connections among employees of all experience levels
- The 24-month Project Finance Associate Program provides a combination of structured and hands-on training to new associates at EDC -- participants are immersed in finance fundamentals and supported with regular feedback on progress and performance

Highlights
Industry | International trade financing and support services |
Major Canadian hiring locations | Ottawa ON, Toronto ON, Vancouver BC, Mississauga ON, Montréal QC |
Full-time employees in Canada | 1,891 |
Student opportunities | paid internships, orientation program, in-house training, online training, in-house career planning services, online employee skills inventory, mentoring, leadership training |
Related tuition subsidies | employer covers up to 100% of tuition per year |
Annual tuition maximum | employer pays up to $24,000 in tuition subsidies for job-related courses per year |
Unique training and development opportunities | mentorship program through the Growing Professionals Committee, 12-week unpaid internship offered through the Connexions program at Ottawa University's Telfer School of Business (participants may be offered paid internships upon completion) |
Additional highlights | currently piloting an Indigenous Research Internship to build a talent pool of Indigenous students, student career advice workshops hosted by the CEO, Youth Education Program (awards scholarships to Canadian students with a demonstrated interest in international business), offers up to 30 $4,000 international business scholarships annually (25 go to undergraduate students) |
Dedicated employee resource group | Growing Professionals Committee is a self-driven group of students and young professionals, providing social and professional development opportunities and resources for students and new grads |
Vacation allowance | new employees receive 3 weeks of paid vacation after their first year on the job |
Recognized as one of Canada's Greenest Employers (2022):
Mediacorp Canada Inc. staff editors (Apr 19, 2022)
Here are some of the reasons why Export Development Canada was selected as one of Canada's Greenest Employers (2022):
- EDC manages a comprehensive recycling program that includes paper, metals, plastics and waste -- the company Green Team has set the goal to reduce the company's annual food waste from over 16,600kg down to approximately 9,000kg
- Along with a rooftop patio and green roof, EDC partnered with Alvéole to introduce two rooftop beehives that are home to 50,000 bees -- in their first season, the hives produced 180 jars of honey, which were sold to employees with the funds donated to United Way
- EDC's environmental commitment extends beyond the company's internal initiatives with the issuance of green bonds to help support environmental companies or projects that "preserve, protect or remediate air, water or soil, create renewable energy or help mitigate climate change"

Highlights
Industry | International trade financing and support services |
Major Canadian hiring locations | Ottawa ON, Toronto ON, Vancouver BC, Mississauga ON, Montréal QC |
Full-time employees in Canada | 1,891 |
Employee green team | The Green Team |
Senior executive who oversees initiatives | VP of Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility |
Formal strategy/policy name | environmental and social risk management framework, climate change policy (2019) |
Publishes sustainability report | yes |
Green highlights | Green Team hosts events (blog posts, lunch-and-learns, donation drives) and launched a website (with environmental tips, data from the building's waste audits, and information on green initiatives), Community Investment Day (typically a day of volunteering shifted to a virtual event during the pandemic) |
Noteworthy initiatives | EDC Cleantech Team (dedicated service for the support of clean-tech companies), EDC has issued 5 green bonds with the goal of financing companies that preserve, protect or remediate air, water or soil, or help mitigate climate change |
Building footprint includes | green roof, rooftop vegetable garden managed by kitchen employees (provides a variety of produce including kale, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, hot peppers, bell peppers and herbs), LED lighting upgrades |
Extended recycling | workstation waste management program features clearly labelled recycling, waste and composting bins that are designed to match the larger receptacles in the café and public areas, phased out all disposable cutlery (and provided each employee with their own set of reusable cutlery) |
Commuter amenities | Commuter Challenge (employees walk, run, cycle, carpool, take transit or telecommute to work), walk to public transit, secure/sheltered bicycle parking, online carpool sign-up, transit subsidies |
Community partnerships | Waste Reduction Week and Environment Week (hosted a week-long waste-free lunch challenge), partnership with Alvéole to introduce rooftop beehives that are home to 50,000 bees (produced 180 jars of honey in its first year, for sale to employees with funds donated to the United Way), La Relance Technology Service (partnership that collects, repairs and refurbishes old technology and donates to local schools, libraries and non-profits) |
The Career Directory
Export Development Canada has been selected for The Career Directory, our guide to entry-level recruitment for recent college and university graduates.

Highlights for New Grads
Industry | International trade financing and support services |
Full-time employees in Canada | 1,001 to 2,500 |
Major Canadian hiring locations | Ottawa ON, Toronto ON, Vancouver BC, Mississauga ON, Montréal QC |
Student opportunities | paid internships |
Training | subsidies for professional accreditation, orientation program, online training, in-house training, mentoring, in-house career planning services, leadership training |
Annual tuition maximum | employer pays up to $24,000 in tuition subsidies for job-related courses per year |
Other info for new grads | Offers international business scholarships (30 annually). |
Typical new grad positions | Credit and Banking Analyst/Associate, Risk Analyst, Underwriter, Underwriting Policy Coordinator, Loans Services Manager, Financial Analyst, Corporate Banking Officer, Service Desk Professional, Account Manager, Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable Specialist |
Starting salary | $55K to $60K |
Work benefits | flexible work hours, telecommuting, transit subsidies, employees receive paid time off to volunteer, (up to 2 paid days) |
Vacation allowance | new employees receive 3 weeks of paid vacation after their first year on the job |
Academic fields recruited
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Bachelor of Arts
- Business
- Economics
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Bachelor of Commerce / Business Administration
- Accounting
- Finance
- Information Systems
- Marketing
- Public Administration
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Bachelor of Science
- Computer Science
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Master of Arts
- Economics
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Master of Business Administration
- Accounting
- Finance
- Information Systems
- Marketing
- Public Administration
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Master of Science
- Information Studies / Library Science
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Professional Accreditation
- Accounting (CA)
- Accounting (CGA)
- Accounting (CMA)
- Investment Planning (CFA, CIM)