Question Period Note: Employment Insurance and Workers in Seasonal Employment

How is the Government of Canada supporting workers in seasonal employment?

Seasonal workers are an important part of Canada’s economy and many of them rely on Employment Insurance (EI) for the income support they need between work seasons.

Since 2018, the Government of Canada has supported workers in seasonal industries with temporary rules providing up to five additional weeks of EI regular benefits to eligible seasonal workers in targeted regions.

Budget 2024 extended this measure to October 2026.

The Government of Canada is committed to enhancing the EI program to respond to modern workforce realities and ensuring it continues to meet the needs of workers and employers, including those in seasonal industries.  

The issue of seasonal workers experiencing an income gap or “trou noir” is not a new phenomenon.

The trou noir represents the period when some workers in seasonal employment have exhausted their Employment Insurance (EI) benefits but continue to await recall to their seasonal job and are unable to find other employment. In other words, these claimants do not receive either employment income or Employment Insurance benefits during this period.

As the duration of Employment Insurance benefits may vary from year to year in each region, this can cause disruption for workers whose main jobs are seasonal.

In 2018, a pilot project was introduced to provide up to five additional weeks of Employment Insurance regular benefits (up to a maximum of 45 weeks of entitlement) to eligible seasonal claimants in 13 targeted Employment Insurance regions.

Through Budget 2021, the Government of Canada made legislative changes to the Employment Insurance Act to replicate the rules of the seasonal pilot project as a temporary measure until October 2022. Budget 2022 and 2023 further extended the temporary measure until October 2023 and again until October 2024. Most recently, Budget 2024 extended these temporary rules for two additional years, until October 2026. This measure is estimated to benefit 62,000 seasonal workers annually and the cost of this support is estimated at $263.5 million over four years.

This measure provides up to five additional weeks of EI regular benefits to seasonal claimants in the 13 regions of Atlantic Canada, Quebec and Yukon originally targeted in the pilot project:

Newfoundland / Labrador (excludes St. John’s)

Charlottetown

Prince Edward Island (excludes Charlottetown)

Eastern Nova Scotia

Western Nova Scotia

Madawaska–Charlotte

Restigouche–Albert

Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine

Central Quebec

North Western Quebec

Lower Saint Lawrence and North Shore

Chicoutimi–Jonquière

Yukon (excludes Whitehorse)

To be eligible for the additional weeks of Employment Insurance regular benefits, claimants must:

Meet all of the eligibility conditions for Employment Insurance regular benefits;

Demonstrate a seasonal claiming pattern;

Reside in one of the 13 targeted Employment Insurance regions; and

Establish a benefit period between September 26, 2021 and October 24, 2026.

A legislative fix introduced in 2022 will continue to apply for the duration of the extension to October 2026. The legislative fix ensures claimants whose seasonal claim pattern was disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but who meet the other eligibility conditions, can continue to access up to five additional weeks of Employment Insurance regular benefits.

In Spring 2025, following the imposition of tariffs, the Government of Canada established an Employment Insurance pilot to test temporary measures to respond to major changes in economic conditions, providing additional income support and financial stability for workers impacted following the imposition and continued threat of tariffs.

All workers, including seasonal claimants, from all regions across Canada can benefit from these temporary measures. These are in addition to the up to 5 additional weeks of Employment Insurance that seasonal claimants residing in the 13 targeted regions are eligible for under the existing seasonal worker measure.

Eligibility for EI fishing benefits is based on insurable earnings from fishing, not insurable hours. To receive fishing benefits, self-employed fishers must be unable to qualify for EI regular benefits, and they must also have between $2,500 and $4,200 in earnings from fishing in the qualifying period. The required amount of earnings is determined by the unemployment rate in the Employment Insurance region where the claimant lives. The five additional weeks under the temporary measure are not available to self-employed fishers claiming fishing benefits. There are 26 weeks (maximum) per season (summer or winter) of EI fishing benefits payable to qualified self-employed fishers. The number of weeks is not affected by the unemployment rate.

Many seasonal claimants rely on the Employment Insurance (EI) program to provide income support through recurring periods of unemployment. In 2023-2024, seasonal claims made up approximately 28% of claims established for EI regular benefits (388,095 out of 1,374,813).

Every year, approximately 10% of seasonal claimants face an income gap (“trou noir”) between the end of their Employment Insurance benefits and the start of their next work season.

To help mitigate this income gap, Budget 2024 extended to October 2026 a temporary legislated measure for seasonal claimants that provides up to five additional weeks of EI regular benefits to seasonal claimants in 13 targeted Employment Insurance regions. It is expected that 62,000 seasonal claimants will use at least one additional week of benefits each year of the two-year extension.

The rapidly changing global trade landscape, including the introduction of tariffs is unprecedented. These tariffs are having impacts on the Canadian economy, including layoffs in all regions and sectors. The Government of Canada has taken decisive action to introduce temporary Employment Insurance measures to support workers, including seasonal workers, who may be impacted by the tariffs, including most recently through the September 5, 2025 announcement of new measures and investments to help build a strong and confident workforce.