Attention Canadian Employers: EI Relief Measures Extended to 2026
President Trump recently announced that he would be cutting off trade talks with Canada due to an Ontario-funded commercial which included quotes from Ronald Reagen decrying the ineffectiveness of tariffs. Accordingly, it appears that there is no imminent end to the ongoing trade war.
As such, Canadian employers and workers will most likely continue to be adversely impacted by the economic pressures stemming from the trade war for some time. Fortunately for Canadian workers, effective October 11, 2025, the Canadian government extended some of the temporary Employment Insurance (“EI”) relief measures it had previously put in place to support workers and employers in response to the trade war with the United States.
The EI Relief Measures
In April 2025, the Canadian government introduced three temporary EI relief measures to support Canadian workers and employers who were negatively impacted by the trade war with the United States.
These measures included:
Artificial boosts to regional unemployment rates – Regional unemployment rates are normally determined by averaging a region’s unemployment rate (using data from Statistics Canada) over the past three to twelve months. These regional rates are used by the government to determine the number of hours a worker from that region needs to qualify for EI benefits and the number of weeks an EI claimant from that region will receive benefits for. By artificially increasing regional unemployment rates, the government reduced the number of hours a worker needed to qualify for EI benefits and increased the number of weeks an EI claimant would receive benefits for.
Waiver of the one-week waiting period for EI claims – Before an EI claimant would begin receiving their EI benefits, there would typically be a 1-week period in which they would not be paid. By waiving this period, EI claimants would receive assistance sooner.
Suspension of the allocation and repayment rules for separation payments – Typically, payments made in connection to the separation from employment (e.g., severance pay, pay in lieu of notice, etc.) would be considered earnings for the purpose of EI benefits and would impact the timing of when an EI claimant could begin receiving EI benefits. Such payments may even trigger EI repayment obligations if they were provided after an employee had already begun receiving EI benefits. By suspending this rule, EI claimants are able to receive EI benefits sooner.
These measures were originally set to expire on October 11, 2025. However, the Canadian government extended two of those relief measures into 2026. Accordingly, while the artificial boost to regional unemployment rates did expire on October 11, the other two relief measures are now set to expire on April 11, 2026.
Additional EI Benefits for “Long-Tenured Workers”
The government also introduced a new temporary measure that provides 20 additional weeks of regular EI benefits to “long-tenured” workers, with such workers being able to receive up to a maximum of 65 weeks.
For the purposes of this measure, a “long-tenured worker” is someone who has paid at least 30% of the annual maximum EI premiums for at least 7 of the 10 years before the year in which their claim starts; and has received less than 36 weeks of regular or fishing EI benefits over the last 3 years.
The additional weeks of the benefit remain payable even if the EI claimant ceases to be a “long-tenured worker,” as defined above, during the benefit period.
Further, if a long-tenured worker also receives special EI benefits (e.g., maternity, parental, sickness, or caregiving benefits), their maximum combined weeks of regular and special benefits would increase from 50 to 70 weeks.
These additional benefits for “long-tenured workers” are also set to expire on April 11, 2026.
Considerations for Employers
Employers will want to consider how these temporary EI relief measures impact their business.
For example, the suspension of the one-week waiting period may impact the administration of an employer run Supplemental Unemployment Benefit plan, or other various EI top-up plans.
An employer may also need to consider the impact of the suspension of the allocation and repayment rules for separation payments when dismissing an employee. For example, the suspension of these rules may impact wrongful dismissal settlement agreements. Typically, employers will require an employee to confirm that they have not received EI benefits since becoming unemployed and require that the employee provide an indemnity for such. This is because EI repayment obligations may be triggered by the payment of the wrongful dismissal settlement funds to the worker. However, the suspension of the allocation and repayment rules (where certain monies paid upon separation from employment are not considered “earnings” for EI purposes) means that those repayment obligations may not be triggered while this EI relieve measure is in effect.
Regardless, employers will want to remain updated on the status of these relief measures and exercise extra caution for wrongful dismissal matters arising around the time they are set to expire.
If you require any advice with respect to employment law, including a separation from employment as a result of the trade war with the United States, please do not hesitate to contact us for expert legal advice and guidance.
