What you are entitled to

Employment Insurance splits into two separate benefits that most people take back to back. Understanding that they are separate is the whole game.

Maternity benefits — 15 weeks, birth parent only

Maternity benefits are available only to the person who is away from work because they are pregnant or have recently given birth. They cannot be shared with a partner. You can receive up to 15 weeks, paid at 55% of your average insurable weekly earnings, to a maximum of $729 a week in 2026.

That $729 ceiling comes from the Maximum Insurable Earnings, which is $68,900 for 2026, up from $65,700 in 2025. The maximum weekly benefit rose from $695 in 2025 to $729 in 2026. If you earn more than about $68,900, you still receive $729 — the cap bites.

Parental benefits — and the choice you cannot undo

Parental benefits are available to both parents of a newborn or newly adopted child. You must choose between two options, and the choice determines both the number of weeks and the weekly rate:

Standard parental: up to 40 weeks shared between parents, but one parent cannot receive more than 35 weeks. Paid at 55%, to a maximum of $729 a week.
Extended parental: up to 69 weeks shared, but one parent cannot receive more than 61 weeks. Paid at 33%, to a maximum of $437 a week.

Extended does not give you more money. It gives you the same pot spread thinner over a longer period. Run the arithmetic against your actual household budget before you tick the box.

If you share, both parents must choose the same option and each must submit their own application. And the choice is locked the moment a parental payment has been made to either of you. Service Canada will not switch you afterwards.

What the maximum looks like in practice

A birth parent taking the full standard route gets 15 weeks of maternity plus 35 weeks of standard parental — 50 weeks — leaving up to 5 weeks of standard parental for the other parent. On the extended route it is 15 weeks of maternity plus 61 weeks of extended parental, 76 weeks, leaving up to 8 weeks for the other parent.

The family supplement

If your annual net family income is $25,921 or less, you have at least one child under 18, and you or your spouse receive the Canada Child Benefit, a family supplement is added automatically to your weekly payments. Your total still cannot exceed $729 a week.

Quebec runs a completely different scheme

If you are a Quebec resident, EI maternity and parental benefits do not apply to you. The Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP) replaces them entirely, and it is more generous.

QPIP asks you to choose between a basic (long-term) and a special (short-term) plan. Both parents must choose the same plan, and the first to apply binds the other.

Maternity or exclusive benefits for the person who gave birth: 18 weeks at 70% of earnings on the basic plan, or 15 weeks at 75% on the special plan.
Paternity or exclusive benefits for the parent who did not give birth: 5 weeks at 70% (basic) or 3 weeks at 75% (special).
Shareable parental: 32 weeks on the basic plan — the first 7 weeks at 70%, the next 25 at 55% — or 25 weeks at 75% on the special plan. Additional shareable weeks unlock once each parent has taken enough.

QPIP's Maximum Insurable Earnings are $103,000 in 2026, up from $98,000 in 2025, adjusted every 1 January. That ceiling is far higher than EI's $68,900, which is why higher earners in Quebec do materially better.

Exactly who is eligible for EI

Outside Quebec, you must meet all of the following:

You are employed in insurable employment.
Your regular weekly earnings from work have decreased by more than 40% for at least one week.
You accumulated 600 insured hours of work in the 52 weeks before the start of your claim, or since the start of your last claim, whichever is shorter.

Maternity benefits are available regardless of gender identity. If you are not a Canadian citizen but hold a valid social insurance number, you may still be eligible. If you received EI in the past 52 weeks you may not get the maximum number of weeks — but if you have worked enough hours since, you may be able to start a fresh claim.

Timing windows you cannot miss

Maternity: can start as early as 12 weeks before your due date. You cannot receive maternity benefits more than 17 weeks after your due date or the date you gave birth, whichever is later.
Standard parental: must be taken within 52 weeks (12 months) of the birth or placement.
Extended parental: must be taken within 78 weeks (18 months).

How and when to apply

Apply as soon as possible after you stop working. If you apply more than four weeks after your last day of work, you may lose benefits. That is the single deadline that costs Canadian parents money every year.

Apply online at Canada.ca. The application takes about an hour; your progress is saved for 72 hours only, after which it is deleted. You will need your Record of Employment. Most employers file electronic ROEs directly with Service Canada, so you do not need to chase copies. If your employer issues paper ROEs, request all of them for the past 52 weeks and send them in as soon as you have applied.

You can apply for maternity and parental benefits at the same time. Parental benefits can only start on or after your child's date of birth or placement. If your baby arrives on a different date than the one on your application, tell Service Canada immediately on 1-800-206-7218.

Your benefit is calculated from your best weeks — between 14 and 22 of your highest-paid weeks, depending on the unemployment rate in your economic region. If your earnings fluctuate, when you stop working can change your payment.

If you do not qualify

Under 600 insurable hours means no EI maternity or parental benefits. Self-employment is not insurable by default, though you can opt into the EI special benefits programme for self-employed people in advance — it is not retroactive, so it has to be arranged well before you need it.

You are still entitled to the Canada Child Benefit, which is not conditional on EI. Job-protected maternity and parental leave is set by provincial or territorial employment standards and is separate from whether EI pays you. Many employers offer a top-up on top of EI; ask your employer directly, because Service Canada has no record of it.

If you have health complications during pregnancy you may be eligible for EI sickness benefits, or for maternity benefits earlier.

Where to get help

Service Canada administers EI. Start at the maternity and parental benefits section of Canada.ca, which carries the current rates and the benefits estimator. Call 1-800-206-7218 or visit a Service Canada Centre. Quebec residents should go to the QPIP site at rqap.gouv.qc.ca and use its benefit calculation simulator to compare the basic and special plans before applying — the choice cannot be reversed.

EI maternity and parental benefits in Canada