The Government of Canada estimates that 42,000 seasonal workers in Atlantic Canada and Quebec are on average eligible for about 4 additional weeks of employment insurance benefits under a pilot project announced in November.

Details of pilot project number 22, as the government calls it, will be published in the Canada Gazette on December 20. The pilot project is intended for beneficiaries whose eligibility period ends by September 7, 2024.

Distribution of eligible workers:

7,700 workers in Nova Scotia (12.5 million dollars)

7,400 workers in Centre-du-Québec (11.8 million dollars)

5,900 workers in New Brunswick (9 million dollars)

5,600 workers in Terre-Neuve and Labrador (8.9 million dollars)

5,400 workers in Bas-Saint-Laurent and Côte-Nord (8.6 million dollars)

3,400 workers in Gaspésie and Magdalen Islands (5.5 million dollars)

2,800 workers in Prince Edward Island (4.5 million dollars)

2,200 workers in Northern Quebec (3.5 million dollars)

900 workers in the Chicoutimi-Jonquière area (1.4 million dollars)

100 workers in Yukon (144,000 dollars).

Employment and Social Development Canada aims to reduce the gap, i.e., the period of no income between the end of employment insurance benefits and the start of seasonal work.

The situation will become more serious this year due to the decrease in the unemployment rate in 7 of the 13 targeted economic regions. Under EI rules, when the regional unemployment rate drops, the number of eligible weeks for benefits also decreases, taking into account the improvement in the labor market.

The department acknowledges this in one analysis, noting that for some seasonal workers, the decline in unemployment rates can pose a challenge.

For example, the department said the unemployment rate in Newfoundland and Labrador (excluding the capital) dropped by 2.8 percentage points from September 2022 to September 2023. As a result, workers in this economic region may have been eligible for six fewer weeks of regular benefits (maximum) than those who applied in September 2022.

Eligibility criteria...

The four additional weeks of benefits do not change the employment insurance eligibility criteria, as workers must accumulate between 420 to 700 hours of insurable work to be eligible for 14 to 45 weeks of regular benefits, depending on the regional unemployment rate and the number of accumulated insurable hours.

The department estimates an average cost per worker per additional week at $480. The four additional weeks of benefits are expected to cost about 65 million dollars in total.