EI regular benefits in 2026: 55% of your pay up to $729 a week, for 14 to 45 weeks
Estimates only, not financial advice. What you type stays on your device. Checked against sources on 17 Oct 2026.Canada's EI regular benefits pay 55% of your average insurable weekly earnings, up to $729 a week in 2026, for 14 to 45 weeks. Your region's unemployment rate sets the hours needed (420 to 700), the best weeks averaged (14 to 22) and, with your hours, the number of weeks.
2026 · Rates and rules read from the sources listed on this page (the earliest on 17 Oct 2026); they may have changed since.
Look up the unemployment rate of your EI economic region on canada.ca and enter it.
Enter the insurable hours you worked in the last 52 weeks.
Enter your usual weekly insurable earnings and how many weeks you worked.
Turn on the long-tenured switch if you qualify for the 20 extra weeks.
Read the weekly benefit, the number of weeks and the total.
This calculator estimates Employment Insurance regular benefits, the payment for people who lose their job through no fault of their own. Every figure comes from Employment and Social Development Canada's pages on canada.ca.
Do you qualify? You need enough insurable hours in the last 52 weeks. The number depends on your region's unemployment rate:
| Regional rate | Hours needed | Best weeks |
|---|---|---|
| 6% or less | 700 | 22 |
| 8.1% to 9% | 595 | 19 |
| 10.1% to 11% | 525 | 17 |
| Over 13% | 420 | 14 |
The weekly amount. Add your insurable earnings in your best weeks, divide by the number of best weeks for your region, and take 55%. The maximum is $729 a week in 2026. Weeks without earnings count as zero if you worked fewer weeks than the divisor.
The number of weeks. canada.ca publishes a table by insurable hours (in steps of 35 from 420) and regional rate, from 14 to 45 weeks. The calculator uses it as printed. Long-tenured workers with claims starting between 15 June 2025 and 12 June 2027 get 20 more weeks, up to 65.
An example. $1,200 a week for a full year, 1,820 hours, region at 7.0%: 21 best weeks average $1,200, 55% is $660 a week, for 38 weeks: $25,080 before tax.
Not included. Violations, the family supplement, seasonal and fishing rules, special benefits and earnings while on claim. For the EI premium taken from your pay, use the Canada CPP and EI Payroll Calculator.
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EI regular benefits are 55% of your average insurable weekly earnings, up to a maximum of $729 a week in 2026, because the maximum insurable earnings are $68,900. Someone whose best weeks averaged $1,200 gets $660 a week before tax. Federal and provincial income tax is deducted from the payments.
From 14 to 45 weeks, depending on the unemployment rate in your EI economic region and your insurable hours in the last 52 weeks. With 1,820 hours in a region at 7.0% you get 38 weeks; in a region above 13% the same hours give 45 weeks.
Between 420 and 700 insurable hours in the qualifying period, usually the last 52 weeks. A region at 6% unemployment or less needs 700 hours; each higher point band needs 35 fewer, down to 420 above 13%. A notice of violation from an earlier claim raises the number.
Service Canada adds your insurable earnings for your highest-paid weeks and divides by a fixed number of best weeks: 22 in regions with 6% unemployment or less, down to 14 above 13%. Weeks with no earnings count as zero, so a short work history lowers the average.
Not for new claims starting between 30 March 2025 and 9 October 2027. Canada.ca says the one-week waiting period is waived under a temporary measure for major economic changes. Separation pay such as vacation or severance pay is also not deducted from benefits during that period.
Long-tenured workers with a claim starting between 15 June 2025 and 12 June 2027. You must have paid at least 30% of the maximum annual EI premiums in 7 of the previous 10 years and received fewer than 36 weeks of regular benefits in the last 3 years. The total cannot exceed 65 weeks.
Rates and rules change; check the source before you rely on a figure.
Still stuck? Ask about Canada EI Benefits Calculator 2026 and anybody who knows can answer. No account needed.
Same job, other tools: Canada Labour Code Pay in Lieu of Notice Calculator – Federal pay in lieu of notice: 2 weeks after 3 months, rising to 8 weeks after 8 years · CPP2 Calculator 2026 (Second Additional CPP) – CPP2 for 2026: 4% of earnings between $74,600 and $85,000, at most $416, pay by pay · Canada Labour Code Vacation Pay Calculator – Canada Labour Code vacation pay: 8% and 4 weeks after 10 years with one employer · Alberta Income Tax Calculator – Alberta take-home pay for 2026 with the 8% bracket and the $22,769 personal amount · BC Income Tax Calculator – British Columbia take-home pay for 2026 at the new 5.6% lowest rate, with CPP and EI.
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