Best Weeks: How Service Canada Averages Your Pay

What "best weeks" means

Your EI rate isn't based on your annual salary or your last paycheque. It is based on the weeks in your qualifying period when you had the highest insurable earnings. canada.ca calls this variable best weeks.

• The weeks don't have to be consecutive. A busy week in March and another in October can both count.
• Earnings from all your insurable jobs count. Pay from self-employment or fishing does not count toward regular benefits.
• The qualifying period is usually the 52 weeks before your claim starts, or the time since your last claim started if that is shorter.

Your Record of Employment (ROE) lists your insurable earnings by pay period, and Service Canada uses that to find your best weeks. If you don't have an ROE yet, you may be asked to list your highest weeks yourself.

The divisor: how many weeks get averaged

The number of best weeks used is called the divisor. It depends on the unemployment rate in the EI economic region where you live:

In plain language: the more unemployment in your region, the fewer weeks get averaged, and the more selective the average is. Averaging only your top 14 weeks gives a higher number than averaging your top 22, because weaker weeks are left out. Check your region's current divisor on the regions page.

Worked example: uneven pay

Maya lives in a region at 9.5% unemployment, so her divisor is 18. In the last 52 weeks she worked 30 weeks at $1,100 during the busy season and 22 weeks at $600.

1. Her best 18 weeks are all $1,100 weeks: 18 × $1,100 = $19,800.
2. Divide by the divisor: $19,800 ÷ 18 = $1,100.
3. Apply the rate: $1,100 × 55% = $605 a week in 2026, under the $729 cap.

Compare that with a plain yearly average: (30 × $1,100 + 22 × $600) ÷ 52 = $46,200 ÷ 52 = $888.46, and $888.46 × 55% = $488.65. The best-weeks method gives Maya about $116 more a week, because her $600 weeks are left out.

Worked example: fewer weeks than the divisor

The divisor is fixed by your region. It is not the number of weeks you actually worked. If you worked fewer weeks than your divisor, your total is still divided by the full divisor.

Sam lives in a region at 7.5% unemployment (divisor 20, hours needed 630). He worked 16 weeks at 40 hours, which is 640 hours, so he qualifies. He earned $800 a week.

1. Total insurable earnings: 16 × $800 = $12,800.
2. Divide by 20, not 16: $12,800 ÷ 20 = $640.
3. $640 × 55% = $352 a week in 2026.

If Sam had picked up 4 more weeks at $500 before his claim, his total would be $14,800. $14,800 ÷ 20 = $740, and $740 × 55% = $407 a week. Even lower-paid weeks help when you have fewer weeks than your divisor.

Seasonal, part-time and irregular work

Best weeks matter most when your pay goes up and down. A few patterns to keep in mind:

• Seasonal workers. If you earn most of your pay in a short season, your best weeks will usually come from that season, so your slower months don't drag the average down, as long as you have at least as many good weeks as your divisor.
• Part-time workers. If your hours were steady but low, every week looks about the same, so the method makes little difference. What matters more is having enough weeks to fill the divisor.
• Overtime or a raise late in the year. Higher-paid weeks rise to the top of the list, wherever they fall in the qualifying period.

The weeks used for your average and the hours used to qualify are separate checks. You still need enough insurable hours for your region; see how many hours you need.

The cap on high earnings

In 2026, insurable earnings are capped at $68,900 a year, which is about $1,325 a week ($68,900 ÷ 52). If your best-weeks average is above that, it is treated as $1,325, and $1,325 × 55% = $728.75, rounded to the 2026 maximum of $729 a week. For comparison, the 2025 maximum was $695. Learn more in how much EI you will get.

Locked in for the whole claim

Your divisor uses your region's unemployment rate when your benefit period starts. After that, your weekly rate stays the same for the life of the claim, even if the regional rate changes or you move.

A few things to check so your best weeks are right:

• Make sure every employer from the last 52 weeks has issued an ROE with the correct earnings. See ROE explained.
• Money paid because you were separated from your job, such as severance or vacation pay on leaving, is normally allocated against your benefits. That allocation is temporarily suspended for claims starting between March 30, 2025, and October 9, 2027. It is not permanent; see severance and vacation pay.

Don't hold off on applying to fine-tune your numbers. If you apply more than 4 weeks after your last day of work, you may lose benefits. You can apply on canada.ca and send documents later.

For a decision on your own claim, only Service Canada can tell you: call 1-800-206-7218 or start at canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei.html. MyEI is an independent information and estimate tool and is not affiliated with Service Canada or the Government of Canada.