Losing a job is stressful enough without deciphering a benefits formula. Employment Insurance regular benefits are the bridge: a taxable weekly payment while you look for work. Here is how the amount is actually decided.
Who qualifies
You need insurable hours in the last 52 weeks — how many depends on the unemployment rate where you live, from 420 hours in high unemployment regions up to 700 where jobs are plentiful. You also have to have lost the job through no fault of your own, be ready and able to work, and be actively looking.
How the weekly amount is calculated
Service Canada takes your highest earning weeks in the qualifying period, averages them, and pays 55% of that average, capped at the 2026 maximum of $729 a week. The first week is an unpaid waiting period, like a deductible. Payments are taxable income, and tax is withheld at source.
How long it lasts
The number of weeks — somewhere between 14 and 45 — comes from your total insurable hours combined with your region’s unemployment rate. More hours banked and a tougher local job market both mean more weeks. You keep eligibility by filing a report every two weeks confirming you were available for work; skip reports and payments stop.
One timing rule is worth burning in: apply right away, even if your severance or vacation pay has not been sorted out. Delaying past four weeks after your last day of work can reduce or erase benefits you would otherwise have received.