Ottawa announced a $7.5 billion support package on Tuesday, three days after the 50 percent Section 338 duties took effect. Most coverage led with the headline figure and the counter-tariffs. The part that matters for anyone facing a layoff is buried in a Department of Finance backgrounder, and it changes the deadlines that tariff support for workers has been running on.
The three EI measures due to expire on October 10 have all been extended. They have not been extended by the same amount, which is the detail worth understanding before you make any decision about a departure date.
The three EI extensions run to different dates
EI Pilot Project No. 24 has been in place since March 2025. It does three things, and each now has its own end date.
The waiver of the one week waiting period is extended by one year, so benefits continue to start from the first week of a claim rather than after an unpaid week. That takes it to roughly October 2027.
The suspension of separation payments is also extended by one year. This is the financially significant one. Severance and vacation pay are not treated as earnings, so you can collect EI without first exhausting a package. Under normal rules a substantial severance delays a first payment by weeks or months.
The extra 20 weeks of regular benefits for long tenured workers is extended by only eight months, which points to around June 2027 rather than October. Anyone counting on the extended 65 week ceiling should treat that as the earlier deadline.
The government has announced the extensions but the precise end dates take effect through amendments to the Employment Insurance Regulations published in the Canada Gazette. Until those appear, the durations above are what has been confirmed.
A new rule for people who quit
The package also introduces something that did not exist before. For one year, workers who voluntarily left jobs in recent months will no longer be penalized when they apply for EI, provided their most recent job loss was through no fault of their own.
Under normal EI rules, quitting without just cause disqualifies you outright, and that disqualification can follow you into a later claim even after you have taken and lost a different job. Removing it temporarily is a real change, and it has had almost no coverage.
If you left a job earlier this year and have since been laid off from a new one, this is the measure to ask Service Canada about.
Work-Sharing is being folded into a new program
Work-Sharing lets employees work reduced hours while collecting partial EI benefits for the hours not worked, so the job continues instead of ending. It is the option most workers have never heard of and most small employers do not realise they qualify for.
It is now being merged. A new Workforce Retention and Retraining Program combines the existing Work-Sharing program and the Worker Retention Grant into a single offering described as more accessible and more generous. Existing and new Work-Sharing flexibilities continue, and employers become eligible for additional funds covering training and administrative costs of up to $1,000 per participant.
The flexibilities themselves have been substantial. Agreements can run to 76 weeks rather than the standard 38, the cooling off period between agreements is waived, and eligibility extends to businesses operating for at least one year with a minimum of two participating employees. As of March, roughly 1,500 agreements had been approved covering over 54,000 workers and helping prevent an estimated 20,000 layoffs.
Under the Worker Retention Grant, income replacement for employees taking training could rise from 55 percent to approximately 70 percent of their reduced income. That element carries into the merged program.
What EI actually replaces
Regular benefits pay 55 percent of average weekly insurable earnings, capped by the $68,900 maximum insurable earnings ceiling for 2026, which puts the weekly maximum at $729.
The cap bites hardest in the sectors most exposed. A worker earning $50,000 receives roughly $529 per week, close to the full 55 percent. A worker at $68,900 receives $729. A worker on $90,000 also receives $729, which is about 42 percent of normal earnings. Manufacturing and electronics wages frequently sit above the ceiling, so the real replacement rate is thinner than the headline suggests.
Duration runs from 14 to 45 weeks depending on insurable hours and the unemployment rate in your EI economic region, before the long tenured extension applies. Your home postal code sets the region, not your employer’s location.
Our Employment Insurance guide covers premium rates, qualifying hours and the benefit calculation in detail.
Why September 8 matters on this side of the border
Canada’s counter-tariffs take effect September 8, covering $27.6 billion in US imports at rates of 15, 25 and 50 percent matching the corresponding American rate. The targeted sectors include steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics.
Counter-tariffs are a cost to Canadian buyers of those goods. A manufacturer that ships south faces a 50 percent duty on its exports from August 22, and higher prices on American inputs from September 8. For workers, that means exposure is not limited to the sectors named in the American annexes.
What to do now
If you have already been laid off, file immediately without waiting for your Record of Employment. Filing establishes the claim date and the ROE can follow.
If you left a job voluntarily in recent months and have since lost another one, ask specifically about the new measure rather than assuming you are disqualified.
If your employer is exposed but has not decided anything, raise Work-Sharing before notices go out rather than after.
And if you are negotiating a package, the severance suspension now has roughly a year to run rather than six weeks. That removes the pressure to rush a departure date, though it does not remove the deadline entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do these EI measures only apply in tariff affected industries?
No. Pilot Project No. 24 was created in response to tariffs, but the measures apply to EI claims generally rather than by sector.
When exactly do the extended measures end?
The government has confirmed extensions of one year for the waiting period waiver and the separation payment suspension, and eight months for the extra 20 weeks. Exact dates take effect through regulations published in the Canada Gazette.
Can I collect EI and keep my severance?
Yes, under the extended suspension. Separation payments are not treated as earnings, though you must still report them accurately to Service Canada.
I quit a job earlier this year. Can I get EI now?
Possibly. A new one year measure removes the penalty for voluntarily leaving a job, provided your most recent job loss was through no fault of your own.
Does Work-Sharing reduce my future EI entitlement?
Participating does not prevent you from filing a regular claim later if a full layoff follows.
Sources: Department of Finance Canada news release and backgrounder, August 25, 2026; Employment and Social Development Canada announcements, February and March 2026; CRA EI premium rates for 2026. Last updated: August 27, 2026.