FTR Now
Federal Government Implements Extensions to Temporary Employment Insurance Relief Measures in Response to Tariffs
Date: October 27, 2025
On October 22, 2025, the federal government released the Regulations Amending the Employment Insurance Regulations. These amending regulations update the expiry dates for two Employment Insurance (EI) measures introduced earlier this year under Pilot Project No. 24, which was designed to respond to the threat and imposition of foreign tariffs, and introduce extra regular EI benefit weeks for “long-tenured” workers.
Extended EI Relief Measures
In April 2025, Pilot Project No. 24 introduced three temporary EI measures to support workers and employers facing adverse economic consequences from the ongoing trade dispute with the United States. These measures included an artificial boost to regional unemployment rates, a suspension of the allocation and repayment rules for separation-related payments, and the waiver of the one-week waiting period for all EI claims.
Originally, these measures were set to expire on October 11, 2025. However, the amending regulations extend two of these measures to April 11, 2026, as anticipated in our previous FTR Now:
- Waiver of the one-week waiting period: Claimants can continue to receive EI benefits starting from their first week of unemployment until April 11, 2026.
- Suspension of the allocation and repayment rules of separation-related payments: Earnings paid or payable due to a layoff or separation from employment will remain not to be treated as earnings for EI purposes until April 11, 2026.
The measure that had temporarily increased regional unemployment rates has now expired. As a result, the standard regional unemployment rates under the Employment Insurance Regulations have resumed effect.
Additional EI Benefits for Long-Tenured Workers
The amending regulations also introduce a new temporary measure that provides extra weeks of regular EI benefits for long-tenured workers.
For this purpose, a long-tenured worker is defined as someone who:
- has paid at least 30% of the maximum annual EI premiums in seven of the past ten years, and
- has received less than 36 weeks of regular or fishing EI benefits over the last three years.
Under this new measure, eligible long-tenured workers can receive an additional 20 weeks of regular EI benefits, up to a maximum of 65 weeks. These extra weeks will remain payable even if the claimant no longer meets the above definition of a long-tenured worker during their benefit period.
To ensure long-tenured workers who receive special EI benefits (i.e., maternity, parental, sickness, or caregiving benefits) can also benefit from the extra weeks of regular benefits, the maximum combined number of weeks of regular and special benefits will increase from 50 to 70 weeks for long-tenured workers.
These measures apply to claims from long-tenured workers between June 15, 2025, and April 11, 2026.
Conclusion
These amending regulations and the related relief measures came into effect upon registration on October 6, 2025.
Should you have questions with respect to these EI relief measures or require further information, please contact your regular Hicks Morley lawyer or a member of the firm’s Pensions, Benefits and Compensation practice group.
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