EI Pilot Extended; 20 Extra Weeks

Summary#

These final rules, titled Regulations Amending the Employment Insurance Regulations, extend and add temporary Employment Insurance (EI) supports that were introduced under Pilot Project No. 24. They extend two temporary measures to April 11, 2026, and add 20 extra weeks of regular EI for certain long‑service claimants; the regulations came into force on registration (October 6, 2025).

What it does#

• Extends the waiver of the one‑week EI waiting period so claimants with benefit periods beginning between March 30, 2025 and April 11, 2026 can be paid for their first week of unemployment.
• Extends the suspension of the usual rule that deducts employer separation payments from EI, for claims or allocations that fall between March 30, 2025 and April 11, 2026. In practice, separation pay will not delay or reduce EI payments for that period.
• Adds a temporary extra‑weeks measure for people defined as long‑tenured workers who establish a claim between June 15, 2025 and April 11, 2026:
  • Eligible claimants get up to 20 additional weeks of regular EI benefits (the rule caps entitlement so some claimants will reach a maximum of 65 weeks).
  • A person counts as a long‑tenured worker if they paid at least 30% of the maximum annual employee EI premium in 7 of the last 10 years and had been paid less than 36 weeks of regular benefits in the previous 156 weeks (the regulation gives a precise test if the most recent tax year’s assessment is not yet available).
  • Those extra weeks remain payable even if the claimant later stops meeting the long‑tenured test during the benefit period.
• Adjusts related limits so the combined weeks and other rules work with the extra weeks (for example, references to a 50‑week cap are read as 70 weeks where noted for long‑tenured claimants).
• The rules were registered on October 6, 2025, and come into force on the day of registration.

Who's affected#

• People who apply for EI with benefit periods starting between March 30, 2025 and April 11, 2026 — they may get the first week of benefits immediately and have separation payments ignored for EI timing.
• People who meet the long‑tenured test and start a claim between June 15, 2025 and April 11, 2026 — they can get up to 20 extra weeks of regular EI.
• The EI system operator, including Service Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), which will administer the changes and handle more or longer claims.
• Employers and employees who fund EI: the government estimates the changes will put upward pressure on premiums (about 1.47 cents per $100 of insurable earnings for employees and 2.05 cents per $100 for employers, according to the regulatory analysis).
• Small businesses were not identified as having new administrative burdens under these changes, per the source.

Why it matters#

• Faster cash when you lose a job: waiving the one‑week wait means people can get EI sooner and soften an immediate income shock.
• Separation pay won’t delay EI: workers who get severance or other separation money won’t have their EI payments pushed back during the covered period.
• Extra time to find work or retrain: the additional 20 weeks for long‑tenured workers gives more time for older or long‑service workers to re‑skill or find suitable jobs.
• This is a temporary, experimental extension tied to economic uncertainty from foreign tariffs. The government treats these changes as part of testing how EI can respond to sudden economic shocks.
• Cost and trade‑offs: the regulatory analysis estimates monetized benefits of $2,195.2M and monetized costs of $2,403.7M, for a net present‑value cost of $208.5M over three years. The measures therefore increase EI program costs and may affect future premium rates.
• Forecasting uncertainty: the rules respond to a volatile tariff situation and uncertain job‑loss forecasts; actual numbers of people helped will depend on how the economy and trade measures evolve.