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EI Maternity and Parental Benefits in Canada

Canada’s Employment Insurance (EI) program provides two distinct types of leave benefits for new parents. Maternity benefits are available exclusively to the birth parent for up to 15 weeks at 55% of average insurable earnings, up to the maximum weekly amount of $729 in 2026. These can begin as early as 12 weeks before the expected due date. Parental benefits are available to both parents (including adoptive parents) and come in two options: standard (40 weeks at 55%, with a single-parent maximum of 35 weeks) or extended (69 weeks at 33%, with a single-parent maximum of 61 weeks). The total dollar amount is roughly equivalent between the two options — the extended option simply distributes payments over a longer period.

To qualify, parents must have accumulated at least 600 insurable hours in the 52 weeks preceding the claim. There is a mandatory one-week waiting period before benefits begin. A sharing bonus of 5 additional weeks (standard) or 8 weeks (extended) is available when both parents share the parental benefits, incentivizing a more equal division of caregiving. Quebec operates its own parental insurance plan (QPIP) with different rules: higher replacement rates (70–75% for basic plan), lower qualifying hours (600 hours of insurable employment), and benefits for self-employed individuals.

EI Parental Benefits: Standard vs Extended (2026)

Many Canadian employers offer a “top-up” that supplements EI benefits to bring total income closer to the employee’s regular salary, typically to 80–95% of pre-leave earnings. Top-up policies are common in the federal public service, universities, and large private employers, but are not legally required. Parents planning for leave should budget for the income reduction — at 55%, a worker earning $65,000 annually will receive approximately $688 per week, roughly $2,980 per month, compared to their regular monthly take-home of approximately $4,100. Building a financial buffer of 2–3 months of expenses before leave begins is strongly advisable.