Employment Insurance (EI) is commonly called “Unemployment Insurance.” If an individual loses her/his job due to a shortage of work or layoffs, or if she/he can’t work due to sickness, she/he can collect EI. The program is funded through regular mandatory employee and employer contributions.

To qualify for EI, you must have worked between 420-700 hours in the last 52 weeks and be actively looking for work.

The EI payment is 55% of your average weekly insurable earnings, to a maximum of C$695/week.

Depending on how long you have worked and your region’s unemployment rate, you can collect EI for between 14 and 45 weeks.

For information see:

The Government of Canada’s Employment Insurance Benefits Information page