Key 2026 figures
| Item | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Maximum insurable earnings | $68,900 a year |
| Benefit rate | 55 % of average insurable weekly earnings |
| Maximum weekly benefit | $729 |
| Employee premium rate | 1.63 % ($1.63 per $100) |
| Maximum employee premium | $1,123.07 |
| Quebec employee premium rate | 1.30 % |
| Maximum Quebec employee premium | $895.70 |
| Unpaid waiting period | 1 week |
How the weekly benefit is calculated
Service Canada looks at your highest-paid weeks in the qualifying period. The number of weeks counted depends on the unemployment rate in your EI region: from 14 weeks where it is 13.1 % or more, to 22 weeks where it is 6 % or less. It adds up those weeks, divides by that number and pays 55 % of the result, up to $729.
The $729 cap follows from the ceiling: $68,900 divided by 52 weeks, times 55 %, is about $729. Anyone earning more than about $1,325 a week receives the same maximum.
Premiums
Employees pay 1.63 % of insurable earnings until they reach $68,900, then premiums stop for the rest of the year. Employers pay 1.4 times the employee premium, up to $1,572.30 per employee.
Quebec runs its own parental insurance plan (QPIP), so workers there pay a lower EI rate of 1.30 %, with a maximum of $895.70.
The 2027 figures are already published: maximum insurable earnings of $70,800, a rate of 1.64 % (1.29 % in Quebec) and a maximum employee premium of $1,161.12 ($913.32 in Quebec).
The waiting week
The first week of a claim is not paid. If your last day of work is in week one, the first payment covers week two at the earliest, and processing takes time after you apply. Apply as soon as you stop working, even if you have not received your record of employment yet.
Budgeting on EI
At 55 %, a household that relied on one full salary loses close to half of it, and income tax is withheld from EI payments. Plan the month with the net weekly amount times the weeks actually paid in that month (four or five), and count the waiting week and the first processing delay as a gap with no income.