Caregiving and Compassionate Care Benefits, Compared

The three benefits side by side

These are the 2026 rules as canada.ca shows them. The rate and weekly cap are the same for all three; what differs is who you're caring for and how many weeks there are.

The child-or-adult question is settled by the person's age on the first day of the care period stated on the certificate. A person already living with a chronic condition qualifies only if a new, acute, life-threatening event changes their health significantly.

Who can claim

You must be family, or like family. Canada.ca uses a broad definition: immediate family, other relatives, and people considered to be like family, whether or not you're related by blood, marriage or common-law partnership. You don't need to live with the person. If you aren't related to the person, canada.ca asks for a family member attestation (form INS5223), signed by the person you care for, their legal representative, or a parent or guardian for a child, and you send it with your application.

Employees need at least 600 insured hours in the 52 weeks before the claim (or since their last claim started, if that's shorter), and their normal weekly earnings must drop by more than 40% for at least one week because of the caregiving.

Self-employed people can claim only if they opted in to EI at least 12 months earlier, earned at least $9,254 in net self-employment income in 2025 (for a 2026 claim), and cut the time spent on their business by more than 40% for at least one week. See EI for self-employed people.

If the person is being treated outside Canada, you may still qualify; the certificate is then completed by a doctor or nurse practitioner in that country.

The medical certificate

A medical doctor or nurse practitioner completes the certificate. One certificate is enough even if several family members plan to claim.

• Family caregiver benefits (INS5242B) state when the person became critically ill or injured and the period they're expected to need care. The end date can't be left unknown or open-ended. If care is still needed after that date, a second certificate with a new end date can extend the timeframe, even if the person's health hasn't changed.
• Compassionate care (INS5216B) confirms a serious medical condition, a significant risk of death within 26 weeks, and that the person needs care or support.

You also send an Authorization to Release Medical Information (INS5257), signed by the person if they're able, or by their legal representative, or by a parent or guardian for a child. Ask for the certificate early: the 52-week window is set from it, and it can't later be moved to an earlier date once benefits have been paid.

Sharing the weeks: two worked examples

Example 1, a child (2026 figures): Maya's son, 9, is critically injured in an accident. His doctor certifies a care period, which opens a 52-week window. Maya's best-weeks average is $1,100, so she gets $1,100 × 55% = $605 a week. Her partner earns more than the 2026 maximum insurable earnings of $68,900, so he gets the $729 maximum. They split the 35 weeks: Maya takes 20 (20 × $605 = $12,100) and her partner takes 15 (15 × $729 = $10,935), with some weeks overlapping during the first hospital stay. Together that's $23,035 before tax.

Example 2, an adult: three siblings care for their father after a stroke. The 15 weeks are a total for all three, so they might take 5 each, or one sibling might take all 15. If they can't agree, the rules split the remaining weeks equally, with an odd week going to whoever applied first. If their father's prognosis later becomes end-of-life, compassionate care isn't payable for him until the family caregiver weeks are used up or the 52-week window ends; then up to 26 weeks of compassionate care can follow if its conditions are met.

Waiting period: normally only one unpaid week is served per person cared for in each 52-week window, by the first family member to claim. For now it's waived for new claims starting March 30, 2025 to October 9, 2027, a temporary measure; see the waiting period for how it works.

When the benefits stop, and what EI doesn't cover

Payments end at the end of the week in which any of these happens: the maximum weeks are used, the 52-week window closes, the person no longer needs care (for example, they recover or go into remission), or the person dies. A new compassionate care certificate can open a new 52-week window if the person is still living after the first one ends, but no one can receive more than 26 weeks of compassionate care in a single benefit period.

EI pays benefits; it doesn't hold your job. Job-protected caregiving leave comes from your provincial or federal employment standards, so check how long your leave lasts. If you're the one who is ill, that's sickness benefits instead.

Caregiving benefits are taxable. Each caregiver's claim is decided by Service Canada, not MyEI, which is an independent estimate tool. For your own situation, call Service Canada at 1-800-206-7218.