Additional Employment Insurance regular benefits for seasonal workers in targeted regions

Seasonal workers are an important part of Canada’s growing economy. To better support them, the Government of Canada has implemented a new pilot project to provide up to 5 additional weeks of Employment Insurance (EI) regular benefits to eligible seasonal workers in 13 targeted EI economic regions.

The 13 regions are:

1. Bas-Saint-Laurent–Côte-Nord
2. Central Quebec
3. Charlottetown
4. Chicoutimi-Jonquière
5. Eastern Nova Scotia
6. Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine
7. Madawaska–Charlotte
8. Newfoundland / Labrador (excludes capital)
9. North Western Quebec
10. Prince Edward Island (excludes capital)
11. Restigouche-Albert
12. Western Nova Scotia
13. Yukon (excludes capital)

If you're a worker in a seasonal industry who establishes an EI claim on or between August 5, 2018, and October 29, 2022, in 1 of the 13 economic regions above, you'll be considered eligible for 5 additional weeks of benefits if you meet both of the following criteria:

1. in the previous 5 years, you had at least 3 EI claims* in which you received regular or fishing benefits
2. at least 2 of those EI claims* started around the same time of year as the current claim

*The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) are not considered EI benefits.

Apply for Employment Insurance benefits online