How Long Can You Collect EI? The 14–45 Week Chart, Explained

Two numbers decide your weeks

How long you can collect EI regular benefits depends on only two things:

1. Your insurable hours in the qualifying period, usually the last 52 weeks (or since your last claim started, if that is shorter).
2. The unemployment rate in your EI economic region, based on where you live, at the time your benefit period starts.

Both go into Schedule I of the Employment Insurance Act, the Table of Weeks of Benefits. It has 41 rows of hours, from 420–454 hours up to 1,820 hours and over, and 12 columns of regional unemployment, from 6% and under to more than 16%. Where your row and column meet is your maximum number of weeks. In 2026, the answer ranges from 14 to 45 weeks.

More hours always means more weeks, and so does higher regional unemployment. Your weekly amount is a separate calculation, covered in how much EI you will get.

An excerpt of the official chart

The rows and columns below are taken from Schedule I as published on the Justice Laws website (Act current to 2026-10-19). Six of the 12 rate columns and 10 of the 41 hour rows are shown. A dash means those hours are not enough to qualify in that region.

Two patterns stand out. At the low end, someone with about 700 hours gets 14 weeks in a low-unemployment region but 36 weeks where unemployment is above 16%. At the high end, the table tops out at 45 weeks, which people with 1,820 hours or more reach in any region above 10%. The calculator uses the full 41 × 12 table, and the regions page shows which column your region is in right now.

Worked examples

These examples use the official table and 2026 benefit rules. Totals are before tax.

• Full-time warehouse worker, 1,240 hours, region at 8.5%. Row 1,225–1,259, column over 8% to 9%: 27 weeks. At $550 a week, the most they could receive is 27 × $550 = $14,850.
• Office worker, 720 hours, region at 5.8%. Row 700–734, column 6% and under: 14 weeks. At $600 a week, that is 14 × $600 = $8,400.
• Long-time employee, 1,900 hours, region at 10.5%. Row 1,820 and over, column over 10% to 11%: 45 weeks, the regular maximum.

Reading the chart yourself: each row covers a 35-hour band, and both ends are included, so 1,259 hours sits in the 1,225–1,259 row and 1,260 hours moves up to the next one. One extra week of work just before your claim can sometimes move you into a better row. Use your total insurable hours from all jobs, as shown on your Records of Employment.

The total is a ceiling, not a promise. If you find work, report earnings or stop being available, you receive less or nothing for those weeks.

Weeks of benefits vs. the 52-week benefit period

Two different clocks run on every claim:

• Your weeks of benefits (from the table) are the maximum number of weeks you can be paid.
• Your benefit period is the window in which those weeks must be paid. It generally lasts 52 weeks from the Sunday your claim starts, and can be longer only in specific situations set out in the law.

When the benefit period ends, any weeks you haven't been paid are gone, even if you never used them. That is why applying on time and keeping up with your reports every 2 weeks matter: delays eat into the window.

The first week of a claim is normally an unpaid waiting period. It is temporarily waived for new claims starting October 11, 2026 to October 9, 2027 under Pilot Project No. 25, a temporary measure (see EI waiting period).

Your region's rate is locked when the claim starts

The unemployment rate used for your weeks is the one in effect for your region when your benefit period starts. It doesn't change if your region's rate goes up or down later, and canada.ca notes that the number of weeks doesn't change if you move after your benefit period begins. Moving to a high-unemployment region mid-claim will not add weeks.

Because regional rates are updated every 4 weeks, two people with identical hours who start claims a month apart in the same region can get different numbers of weeks. Check the regions page for the current figures.

Temporary extra weeks for long-tenured workers

A temporary measure adds up to 20 extra weeks of regular benefits, to a maximum of 65 weeks, for eligible long-tenured workers: people who have paid EI premiums for many years and have rarely collected regular benefits. It applies to claims starting between June 15, 2025, and June 12, 2027. According to canada.ca, the extra weeks are added automatically if you qualify. This is not permanent; after June 12, 2027, new claims return to the 45-week maximum unless the government extends it.

Apply within 4 weeks of your last day of work, or you may lose benefits. You can apply on canada.ca.

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.