Long-Tenured Workers: Up to 20 Extra Weeks (Temporary)

What the measure does

Normally, EI regular benefits last 14 to 45 weeks, depending on your insurable hours and your region's unemployment rate, and must be collected within a 52-week benefit period. For people who have worked and paid premiums for years and rarely claimed, a temporary measure adds:

• 20 more weeks of regular benefits, to a maximum of 65 weeks in total (45 + 20);
• 20 more weeks on your benefit period, so you have time to use them (normally 52 weeks, so 72).

The weekly amount does not change: it is still 55% of your average insurable earnings over your best weeks, up to $729 a week in 2026. The title says "up to" because the extra weeks only help if you are still unemployed and entitled when your normal weeks run out.

The measure is not in the permanent EI Act. It sits in pilot projects in the EI Regulations: Pilot Project No. 24 covered claims from June 15, 2025, and was extended to October 10, 2026; Pilot Project No. 25 (SOR/2026-203) continues it without a gap for benefit periods starting October 11, 2026 to June 12, 2027. canada.ca presents the whole window as claims starting June 15, 2025 to June 12, 2027.

Who counts as long-tenured: the two official tests

You must meet both tests. They are set out in the EI Regulations (section 77.9994 for current claims) and summarized on canada.ca:

The premium test in plain numbers. Because premiums are a fixed percentage of insurable earnings up to the yearly maximum, paying 30% of the maximum premium works out to having insurable earnings of roughly 30% of that year's maximum insurable earnings. For example, in 2025 the maximum was $65,700, so the line was about $19,710 of insurable earnings; in 2026 the maximum is $68,900. Earlier years had lower maximums. A year of steady full-time work almost always clears the line; a year with only a few months of work may not.

Which 10 years. For a claim starting in late 2026, the years counted are 2016 to 2025. If your return for the previous year hasn't been filed or assessed yet, the regulation looks at the 10 years before that instead, so filing your taxes on time can matter.

You must also have been paid at least one week of regular benefits (or benefits while on approved training) in the benefit period. There is no sliding scale by contribution history: canada.ca and the regulation both describe a flat 20 weeks for everyone who qualifies.

How many weeks you could get: examples

These use the official weeks table for 2026. The rate bands are examples, not your region's actual rate; check the regions page.

Example. Dana worked full-time at a plant from 2012 until she was laid off in November 2026, with 1,900 insurable hours in her last 52 weeks. She has never claimed EI. Both tests are met. If her region is at 6% or less, the normal table gives 36 weeks; with the measure, she can collect up to 56 weeks within a 72-week benefit period.

Counter-example. Marc has worked every year since 2010 but claimed 18 weeks of regular benefits in each of the last two winters. That is 36 weeks in 3 years, not fewer than 36, so he does not count as long-tenured. Seasonal workers in some regions may get up to 5 extra weeks under a different measure; see seasonal workers and EI. If someone qualifies for both, the 20 weeks are added to the seasonal table too, still to a maximum of 65.

The window and the end date

What counts is the date your benefit period starts, not the day you were laid off. Under the EI Act, a benefit period begins on the Sunday of the week your earnings stopped or the Sunday of the week you applied, whichever is later. Since June 12, 2027 is a Saturday, the last start date that fits the window is Sunday, June 6, 2027.

So if your job ends in late May or early June 2027, apply right away. Applying a week or two late could push your benefit period past the window. You can ask for a late application to be backdated (antedated) if you had good cause for the delay, but that is decided case by case; see the 4-week rule. In any case, apply within 4 weeks of your last day of work, or you may lose benefits.

Claims that start inside the window keep the extra weeks for the whole claim, even if it runs past June 12, 2027. Claims that start after June 12, 2027 go back to the normal 45-week maximum unless the government extends the measure again. Watch the canada.ca temporary measures page; don't plan on it being permanent.

What could still stop the extra weeks

• Not qualifying for EI at all. You still need enough insurable hours for your region (420 to 700 in 2026), a job loss through no fault of your own, and availability for work.
• Going back to work. Extra weeks are only paid for weeks you are unemployed and entitled; any earnings are reported as usual.
• Missing tax years. The premium test relies on assessed tax returns. Years you never filed may not count.

Other temporary measures may apply to the same claim: the waiting period is waived and separation monies are not deducted for claims starting March 30, 2025 to October 9, 2027. See the waiting period.

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.