Significant changes are coming to Employment Insurance (EI) benefits that could have a major impact on you, especially if you’re a long-tenured worker or facing a job loss. Until now, EI benefits generally applied equally to everyone, and receiving severance pay often meant you had to repay your EI benefits. However, new temporary relief measures and additional support for long-tenured workers are set to change these long-standing rules, offering more flexibility and financial assistance during challenging economic times.
So what exactly is the government offering?
The government will temporarily provide 20 additional weeks of income support, up to a maximum of 65 weeks, for long-tenured workers to help them find new jobs. This initiative, starting October 12, 2025, and retroactive to claims from June 15, 2025, will involve a $1.6 billion investment over five years and is expected to assist around 190,000 workers. Those who lose their jobs due to tariffs will also receive training and career counseling through the Labour Market Development Agreements (LMDAs).
A “long-tenured worker” is an individual who has made significant contributions to the Employment Insurance (EI) system by paying into it consistently for many years, but has made limited use of benefits. To be considered a long-tenured worker for the purpose of extra EI benefits, you must generally meet these two criteria:
- Paid EI Premiums: You must have paid at least 30% of the maximum annual EI premium in at least seven of the last ten years.
- Limited Previous Claims: You must have received less than 36 weeks of EI regular and/or fishing benefits in the past five years.
Additionally, two temporary EI measures will be extended until April 11, 2026, to support vulnerable workers during economic downturns. These extensions include:
- Suspending rules on separation payments, allowing workers to receive both severance and EI benefits. This is an exception to the general rule that EI benefits have to be repaid if an individual receives severance pay; and
- Waiving the one-week waiting period for benefits so that workers will receive benefits for the first week of unemployment, which will help an extra 700,000 claimants. This change will allow employees to receive more benefits.
We will continue to monitor the EI relief measures and keep you informed of any updates. In the meantime, if you have been let go, we strongly encourage you to seek legal advice from an employment Lawyer, including reviewing a severance package, before signing anything. Similarly, if you’re an employer looking to understand the impact of these changes, we can help you. As we always say, if you think you may need an Employment Lawyer, you probably do!
