Employment Insurance maternity and parental benefits provide financial assistance to:
people who are away from work because they’re pregnant or have recently given birth
parents who are away from work to care for their newborn or newly adopted child
You could receive 55% of your earnings, up to a maximum of $668 a week.
Residents of Quebec
The Province of Quebec is responsible for providing maternity, paternity, parental and adoption benefits to its residents. Visit the Québec Parental Insurance Plan for more information.
Maternity benefits
Maternity benefits are only available to the person who is away from work because they’re pregnant or have recently given birth. They can’t be shared between parents.
The person receiving maternity benefits may also be entitled to parental benefits.
Parental benefits
Parental benefits are available to the parents of a newborn or newly adopted child.
You must choose between 2 options:
standard parental benefits
extended parental benefits
Your choice determines the number of weeks and the weekly amount you’ll receive.
If sharing, each parent must choose the same option and submit their own application. Parents can receive their weeks of benefits at the same time or one after another.
Although you don’t have to take weeks of parental benefits consecutively, you must take them within specific periods starting the week of your child’s date of birth or the week your child is placed with you for the purpose of adoption.
These periods are:
standard parental: within 52 weeks (12 months)
extended parental: within 78 weeks (18 months)
Before you apply, consider carefully whether standard or extended parental benefits are better for you. You can’t change between standard and extended parental benefit options once a week of parental benefits has been paid to you, or if a payment has been made to the other parent when benefits are shared.
Maternity and parental benefits overview
Benefit name Maximum weeks Benefit rate Weekly max
Maternity* (for the person giving birth) up to 15 weeks 55% up to $668
Benefit name Maximum weeks Benefit rate Weekly max
Standard parental up to 40 weeks can be shared between parents, but one parent cannot receive more than 35 weeks of standard benefits 55% up to $668
Extended parental up to 69 weeks can be shared between parents, but one parent cannot receive more than 61 weeks of extended benefits 33% up to $401
*Maternity benefits can be followed by parental benefits. You can apply for both at once.
Do you qualify
The information below should be used as a guideline. We encourage you to apply for benefits as soon as possible and let us determine if you’re eligible.
You need to demonstrate that:
you’re pregnant or have recently given birth when requesting maternity benefits
you’re a parent caring for your newborn or newly adopted child when requesting parental benefits
your regular weekly earnings from work have decreased by more than 40% for at least 1 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
If you had a recent claim
If you received Employment Insurance benefits in the past 52 weeks, you may not be eligible to receive the maximum number of weeks of maternity or parental benefits.
However, if you’ve worked enough hours since your last claim, you may be able to start a new claim. Contact us to find out what’s best for your situation.
If you get sick or require bedrest during pregnancy
If you have health complications during pregnancy, you could be eligible for sickness benefits or for maternity benefits earlier. You must meet the conditions for each benefit.
If you’re not a Canadian citizen
If you have a valid social insurance number, you may be eligible for maternity and parental benefits.
If you plan to travel outside of Canada, contact Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to find out how this may impact your situation.
Eligibility period
Maternity benefits
You can start receiving maternity benefits as early as 12 weeks before your due date or the date you give birth. You can’t receive these benefits more than 17 weeks after your due date or the date you gave birth, whichever is later.
Parental benefits
You must take parental benefits within specific periods starting the week of your child’s date of birth or the week your child is placed with you for the purpose of adoption.
These periods are:
Standard parental: within 52 weeks (12 months)
Extended parental: within 78 weeks (18 months)
Apply
Apply as soon as possible after you stop working. If you apply more than 4 weeks after your last day of work, you may lose benefits.
Follow these steps to apply:
Step 1: Choose benefits
Step 2: Gather required information
Step 3: Complete the online application
Step 4: Provide required documents
Step 5: A benefit statement and access code will arrive by mail
Step 6: Check the status of your application
Service Canada collects the personal information you put in an Employment Insurance (EI) benefit application to decide if you qualify for EI benefits. By starting this application, you consent to the terms of the privacy notice statement. Please read the privacy notice statement.
After you apply
When payments start
You’ll receive your first payment about 28 days after you apply if you’re eligible and have provided all required information. If you’re not eligible, we’ll notify you of the decision made about your application.
Waiting period
Before you start receiving benefits, there is 1 week for which you won’t be paid. This is called the waiting period. It’s like the deductible that you pay for other types of insurance.
If you apply for both Employment Insurance (EI) maternity and parental benefits, you only need to serve the waiting period once.
If you’re sharing parental benefits for the same child, only 1 parent will serve the waiting period.
While receiving benefits
While receiving benefits, you must continue to be eligible. Please contact Service Canada if you:
stop providing care for your child while receiving parental benefits
start working or earn money. For more information on how earnings impact your benefits, visit Working while on claim
If you don’t inform us of these changes, you risk being overpaid and having to repay benefits.
If your situation changes
You may be eligible for types of EI benefits. This could include sickness benefits if you become ill or caregiving benefits if your child becomes critically ill or injured. You must meet the conditions for each benefit.
If you travel outside of Canada
As long as you continue to meet eligibility conditions, you can still receive maternity and parental benefits while outside Canada.
We encourage you to contact Service Canada for advice on your specific circumstances.
Review the status of your application
Sign in to My Service Canada Account (MSCA) at any time, and:
check that your banking information, address and telephone number are up-to-date
review your claim status and messages
To sign up for direct deposit or to update your banking information, address or telephone number, you can:
complete the eServiceCanada service request form
contact the Service Canada call centre
visit a Service Canada Office
Special circumstances
Below are some special circumstances that may impact you. Contact Service Canada for advice on your specific situation.
Changing your planned number of weeks
Non-consecutive parental leave
Health complications during pregnancy
Health complications for your child
Miscarriage, termination or stillbirth
Death of a child
Your child is not legally adoptable
Multiple birth
Surrogacy
Canadian Forces member
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For detailed information or to apply, individuals should visit Service Canada’s website or contact their local Service Canada office.
