EI guides for 2026
Each guide answers its question in the first three lines, has the matching calculator built in, and lists its official sources and the date we checked them.
Regular benefits
Regular benefitsBest Weeks: How Service Canada Averages Your PayEI averages your 14–22 best-paid weeks, set by your region, then pays 55%, capped at $729 a week. The divisor, explained with examples.Regular benefitsEI Waiting Period: Waived Until When?The one-week EI waiting period is temporarily waived for new claims starting on or before October 9, 2027. Exact dates, your start date a…Regular benefitsHow Long Can You Collect EI? The 14–45 Week Chart, ExplainedIn 2026, EI regular benefits last 14 to 45 weeks, set by your insurable hours and your region's unemployment rate. Official chart and exa…Regular benefitsHow Many Hours Do You Need for EI? (420–700 by Region)In 2026, EI regular benefits need 420 to 700 insurable hours in the last 52 weeks, set by your region's unemployment rate. Full table and…Regular benefitsHow Much EI Will I Get in 2026? The $729 Maximum, ExplainedIn 2026, EI regular benefits pay 55% of your best-weeks average, up to $729 a week before tax. The formula, the $68,900 cap and examples.Regular benefitsSeverance, Vacation Pay and EI: What Delays Your ClaimNormally severance and vacation pay delay EI. For claims starting Oct 11, 2026 to Oct 9, 2027, Pilot Project No. 25 suspends that. How bo…
Applying
ApplyingAfter You Apply: Biweekly Reports and Your Access CodeAfter you apply for EI in 2026: your 4-digit access code, reports every 2 weeks with 3 weeks to file, My Service Canada Account and first…ApplyingEI Denied? Reconsideration Within 30 DaysEI claim denied in 2026? Ask Service Canada for a reconsideration within 30 days, then appeal to the EI Board of Appeal within 30 days. S…ApplyingHow to Apply for EI: Step by StepApply for EI on canada.ca in about an hour: what to gather first, why you shouldn't wait for your ROE, and the 4-week deadline, checked f…ApplyingROE Explained: What If Your Employer Is Late?What a Record of Employment is, when your employer must file it, how to see it online, and why you should apply for EI within 4 weeks wit…ApplyingThe 4-Week Rule: When to Apply and How Antedating WorksApply for EI within 4 weeks of your last day of work or risk losing benefits. How antedating (backdating) works in 2026, and why the ROE …
While on claim
While on claimCan You Travel or Leave Canada While on EI?Regular EI usually isn't paid while you're outside Canada. The 2026 rules: 7-day and 14-day exceptions, the 48-hour availability test and…While on claimDisentitlement vs. Disqualification: What Stops PaymentsDisentitlement pauses EI while a condition isn't met; disqualification is a penalty for how a job ended or a refused job. 2026 examples, …While on claimEI and Taxes: Withholding, the T4E and Tax-Time RepaymentEI is taxable: how tax is withheld, when your T4E arrives, and the 30% repayment if your 2026 net income tops $86,125 and you've had regu…While on claimEI Job Search Record: What to Log While You ClaimWhat to record in your EI job search log: dates, employers, contact details, type of work and results. Official rules, no guessed numbers…While on claimPensions, Vacation Pay and Other Money While on EIWhich money reduces EI in 2026 and which doesn't: pensions, CPP, vacation pay, severance, OAS, RRSPs. Plus the separation-money pause to …While on claimWorking While on EI: The 50-Cent Rule, ExplainedIn 2026 you keep 50 cents of EI for every dollar you earn, up to 90% of your insurable weekly earnings. Worked examples, reporting rules …
Special benefits
Special benefitsCaregiving and Compassionate Care Benefits, ComparedEI caregiving benefits in 2026: 35 weeks for a child, 15 for an adult, 26 for end-of-life care, all at 55% up to $729 a week. Who qualifi…Special benefitsEI for Self-Employed People: Special Benefits OnlySelf-employed EI in 2026 covers maternity, parental, sickness and caregiving only, never regular benefits. 55% up to $729 a week after a …Special benefitsEI Sickness Benefits: 26 Weeks, 600 Hours and the CertificateEI sickness benefits in 2026: up to 26 weeks at 55% to $729 a week, 600 insured hours needed, and what the medical certificate must show.…Special benefitsMaternity and Parental: Standard vs. Extended (55% vs. 33%)Standard vs. extended EI parental benefits in 2026: 55% up to $729 for 35 weeks or 33% up to $437 for 61 weeks. Worked totals, sharing ru…Special benefitsQuebec Parents: Why Your Benefits Come from QPIP, Not EIQuebec parents get maternity, paternity and parental benefits from QPIP, not EI. What stays federal, and why Quebec's 2026 EI premium is …
Self-employed
Self-employedOnce You Claim, You Can't Opt Out of PremiumsSelf-employed EI: cancel free in 60 days or leave before any claim, but once a benefit is paid you pay premiums (up to $1,123.07 in 2026)…Self-employedSelf-Employed EI Premiums: Schedule 13, ExplainedSelf-employed EI premiums in 2026: $1.63 per $100 of net self-employment income up to $1,123.07 ($1.30 in Quebec), paid on Schedule 13 of…Self-employedShould the Self-Employed Opt Into EI? The Break-Even MathSelf-employed EI in 2026: special benefits only, premiums of $1.63 per $100 up to $1,123.07, a 12-month wait and a lifetime commitment. T…Self-employedThe 12-Month Rule: Why Signing Up When Pregnant Is Too LateSelf-employed EI in 2026: your agreement must be 12 months old before any benefit, and maternity can start 12 weeks before the due date. …
Your situation
Your situationLong-Tenured Workers: Up to 20 Extra Weeks (Temporary)Temporary EI measure: 20 extra weeks (max 65) for long-tenured workers on claims starting June 15, 2025 to June 12, 2027. Who qualifies, …Your situationNewcomers and Work Permits: Who Can Actually Get EIWork permit holders can get EI with 420–700 insurable hours. Open vs. closed permits, expiring permits, 9-series SINs and leaving Canada.Your situationQuit, Fired or Laid Off: How the Reason Changes EverythingLaid off, quit or fired: how the reason you left changes EI in 2026, what just cause and misconduct mean in plain language, and a tempora…Your situationSeasonal Workers and EI: Planning Around the GapSeasonal work and EI in 2026: 420–700 hours, up to 5 extra weeks in 13 regions until October 7, 2028, and planning for the off-season.Your situationTeachers, Contract and Part-Time Workers: Hours Still CountPart-time, contract and teaching hours count toward EI in 2026 (420–700 by region). Multiple jobs, contract ends and the teachers' summer…
Regions and data
Regions and dataEI Economic Regions Explained: Why Postal Code MattersCanada has 62 EI economic regions. Your region's rate sets the hours you need (420–700), your weeks of benefits and your best-weeks divisor.Regions and dataThe Family Supplement: Up to 80% for Low-Income FamiliesThe EI family supplement can lift your rate from 55% to 80% if family net income is $25,921 or less, still capped at $729 a week.