EI Maternity & Parental Benefits Calculator (2026)
The big parental-leave decision isn't how much you get — it's how you take it. Standard pays more each week for about a year; extended pays less each week but stretches to about 18 months. Enter your earnings to see both side by side, in weekly dollars and total. Work in Quebec? Switch the plan to QPIP and compare its Basic and Special options instead.
Standard vs extended parental — side by side
What each benefit pays in 2026
EI maternity and parental benefits replace part of your pay while you're off with a new child. Three pieces stack together:
- Maternity — for the person who gave birth, up to 15 weeks at 55% of average weekly earnings, to a maximum of $729/week. It can't be shared, and it's always paid at 55% even if you pick extended parental afterward.
- Standard parental — 55% (max $729/week) for up to 35 weeks for one parent, or 40 weeks shared between two.
- Extended parental — 33% (max $437/week) for up to 61 weeks for one parent, or 69 weeks shared.
The weekly amount is 55% (or 33%) of your average insurable earnings, capped once your salary passes about $68,900 — the 2026 ceiling on insurable earnings. Above that, everyone gets the same maximum.
Why the totals come out close — and what actually decides it
Standard looks more generous because the weekly cheque is bigger. But extended runs for far longer, and 61 weeks at 33% adds up to slightly more than 35 weeks at 55%. So the lifetime totals land within a few percent of each other — sometimes extended is even a touch higher. Choosing based on "which pays more" mostly misses the point.
What actually decides it:
- Standard suits you if you need more money each week to cover the bills, you're planning to return to work around the one-year mark, or your employer's top-up is built around the standard rate (most are).
- Extended suits you if you'd rather have more time at home than more cash each week, you can manage on the lower weekly amount, and staying home longer saves you a stretch of daycare.
Two things to know before you commit: once you start receiving extended benefits you generally can't switch back to the standard rate, and if you're sharing, both parents must pick the same option. If you take extended but return to work early, the remaining weeks simply go unpaid — you don't get topped back up to the standard rate.
Quebec is different: QPIP, not EI
If you work in Quebec you don't claim EI maternity or parental benefits — you claim from the Québec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP), which pays more weeks, at higher rates, off a much higher earnings ceiling. Switch "Where do you work?" above to Quebec — QPIP to run your own numbers. Three things set it apart:
- Two plans instead of standard/extended. The Basic plan runs longer at a stepped rate — for a birth parent, 18 weeks maternity at 70%, then 32 parental weeks (the first 7 at 70%, the rest at 55%). The Special plan is shorter but pays 75% the whole way through — 15 maternity weeks plus 25 parental. You choose once, and both parents are locked to the same plan.
- A higher ceiling. QPIP caps benefits at $103,000 of insurable earnings in 2026, well above EI's $68,900 — so higher earners keep replacing more of their pay before hitting the max.
- No waiting period. EI makes you serve one unpaid week; QPIP doesn't. Your benefit is payable from the day your earnings stop, with no unpaid gap at the start.
The other parent's exclusive weeks differ too — 5 paternity weeks under Basic, 3 under Special — and sharing adds a few shareable weeks to the household (4 under Basic, 3 under Special). QPIP also has its own adoption benefits with a different week structure; those aren't modelled here.
What this estimate leaves out
This compares the EI cheques themselves, before anything else. EI benefits are taxable — tax is withheld and the payments go on your return, so your take-home is lower than the figures here. The estimate also doesn't include any employer top-up, and it doesn't apply the low-income Family Supplement (which can raise the rate for families with net income of $25,921 or less). It assumes a steady wage; Service Canada actually uses your "best weeks," so uneven pay can shift the number. When two parents share, the extra weeks are paid at the second parent's earnings, not yours. And there's a one-week unpaid waiting period at the start — your first payment lands about a week after your leave begins. Treat this as a planning estimate; Service Canada calculates the exact amount when you apply.
Common questions
What's the difference between standard and extended parental benefits?
Same rough total, different length. Standard pays 55% (up to $729/week in 2026) for up to 35 weeks (40 shared); extended pays 33% (up to $437/week) for up to 61 weeks (69 shared). Extended can even total slightly more. The real choice is cash flow and time off: more per week for ~a year, or less per week for ~18 months.
How much are EI maternity benefits in 2026?
55% of average insurable weekly earnings, up to $729 a week, for up to 15 weeks. Only for the person who gave birth, and always paid at 55% — picking extended parental afterward doesn't reduce it.
How many weeks of parental leave can two parents share?
Up to 40 weeks standard or 69 weeks extended between them, but one parent can't take more than 35 standard or 61 extended. Sharing adds 5 or 8 weeks for the second parent, paid at their earnings. Both parents must choose the same option.
Is there a waiting period for EI parental benefits?
Yes — one unpaid week at the start of the claim, like an insurance deductible. You serve it once when combining maternity and parental. Your first payment arrives about a week after your leave starts. Quebec's QPIP has no waiting period at all.
What if I work in Quebec — do I use this calculator?
Yes, but switch "Where do you work?" to Quebec — QPIP. Quebec workers claim from the Québec Parental Insurance Plan, not EI. QPIP offers a Basic plan (longer, rate stepping 70%→55%) and a Special plan (shorter, a flat 75%), caps benefits at $103,000 of earnings rather than $68,900, and has no unpaid waiting week. The calculator swaps in QPIP's weeks and rates when you pick Quebec.