Seasonal Workers and EI: Planning Around the Gap

There is no separate seasonal EI program

Fishing has its own benefit, but for everyone else (tourism, construction, forestry, landscaping, ski hills, food processing) the end of a season is treated like any other layoff. Your job ended because the work ran out, which is not your fault, so you apply for regular benefits and the usual tests apply:

• enough insurable hours in your qualifying period, usually the last 52 weeks (420 to 700 in 2026, depending on your region; see how many hours you need);
• at least 7 days in a row without work and pay;
• being ready, willing and able to work, and looking for work, through the off-season.

Your weekly amount is 55% of your average insurable earnings over your best 14 to 22 weeks, to a maximum of $729 a week in 2026. Because the best weeks usually fall inside the season, a short, busy season is not penalized by quiet months (see best weeks). The number of weeks you can collect comes from the official table: more hours and higher regional unemployment mean more weeks. The rate that counts is the one in effect when your benefit period starts, and it stays locked for that claim. Rates are updated about every 4 weeks, so check your region rather than relying on last year's numbers.

The seasonal-worker measure: up to 5 extra weeks (Schedule V)

Since 2018 the government has run a targeted measure for workers who claim at the same time every year in regions with a lot of seasonal work. It began as a pilot project and is now written into the Employment Insurance Act (subsection 12(2.3) and Schedules V and VI). For the claims it covers, Schedule V replaces the normal weeks table and gives up to 5 more weeks, still capped at 45. canada.ca says the extra weeks are added automatically; there is no separate form.

You are covered if all of these are true:

• Timing: your benefit period starts between September 26, 2021 and October 7, 2028. This is a fixed window in the Act, not a permanent rule.
• Where you live: on the day your claim starts, you ordinarily live in one of the 13 EI economic regions listed in Schedule VI: Newfoundland/Labrador (outside St. John's); Eastern Nova Scotia; Western Nova Scotia; Prince Edward Island (outside Charlottetown) and Charlottetown; Madawaska-Charlotte and Restigouche-Albert in New Brunswick; Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Lower Saint Lawrence and North Shore, Central Quebec, Chicoutimi-Jonquière and North Western Quebec; and Yukon (outside Whitehorse).
• Claim history: in the 5 years (260 weeks) before your new claim, you had at least 3 claims on which regular or fishing benefits were paid or payable.
• Seasonal pattern: at least 2 of those claims started around the same time of year as the new one. The Act treats that as starting within 8 weeks either side of the same week in an earlier year.

There is also a second route for people who were covered by the original 2018 pilot (claims from August 5, 2018 to September 25, 2021); canada.ca says that route applies to current claims starting before November 7, 2027.

What 5 extra weeks look like, using the 2026 tables (rates shown are bands, not any region's actual rate):

The measure adds weeks, not money per week: your weekly amount is calculated the usual way.

Do you also count as a long-tenured worker?

A separate temporary measure adds 20 weeks, to a maximum of 65, for long-tenured workers on claims starting June 15, 2025 to June 12, 2027. If you qualify, the 20 weeks are added on top of whichever table applies to you, Schedule V included. But the definition is built for people who rarely claim: you must have received fewer than 36 weeks of regular or fishing benefits in the 3 years before your claim, and have paid at least 30% of the maximum annual premium in 7 of the previous 10 years. Someone who has collected 15 to 20 weeks every winter will usually be over the 36-week line. See long-tenured workers for the full tests.

Two other temporary measures help at the start of a seasonal claim. The one-week waiting period is waived for claims starting March 30, 2025 to October 9, 2027, and vacation pay or other money paid because the job ended is not deducted from benefits in the same window (see the waiting period). For claims starting October 11, 2026 to October 9, 2027, only your most recent job separation is reviewed. None of these are permanent.

Planning around the gap: a worked example

The "gap" is the stretch between your last EI payment and your first paycheque of the next season. Work it out before the season ends, not in March.

Example. Luc works at a resort from early May to mid-October: 20 weeks at 35 hours, so 700 insurable hours. His off-season runs about 30 weeks. Suppose his region's rate, when his claim starts, falls in the 8.1% to 9% band (yours may be different; check your region).

• Normal table: 700 hours at that rate gives 20 weeks. That leaves about 10 weeks with no EI before next season.
• If he lives in a Schedule VI region and has the seasonal history: Schedule V gives 25 weeks, so the gap shrinks to about 5 weeks.
• If his season had been 2 weeks longer (770 hours), the normal table gives 21 weeks and Schedule V 26. Hours matter at the margin.

Ways people narrow the gap, all within the rules:

• Off-season work. While on claim you keep 50 cents of benefits for every dollar you earn, up to 90% of the weekly insurable earnings your claim is based on; above that, benefits are reduced dollar for dollar. Declare every dollar on your reports. Insurable hours worked now also count toward your next claim. Try the working-while-on-EI calculator.
• Saving from the season. Divide the gap weeks by the number of paycheques left in the season to see what to set aside each pay.
• Timing your application correctly. Your benefit period lasts 52 weeks from its start. Apply within 4 weeks of your last day so you don't lose weeks you are entitled to; holding off does not create extra weeks.

Your obligations during the off-season

Being a seasonal worker does not change the reporting and availability rules. You complete a report every 2 weeks, declare any earnings and any time outside Canada, and must be ready, willing and able to take suitable work and keep a record of your job search, even if you expect to be called back in spring. Service Canada decides what a reasonable search looks like for you, so if you have a recall date, say so on your application and reports.

If you are going back to the same employer, tell Service Canada the date you start as soon as you know it, and report the work in the week you do it. Starting work while still being paid for the same weeks is a common cause of overpayments.

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.