Methodology, data sources and validation
Every number on this site traces back to the Employment Insurance Act or a Service Canada publication. Here is how they are combined, and where the model simplifies.
Updated on · Mottalib Radif · Editorial policy
Calculation steps
- Insurable weekly earnings: your entered pay converted to a weekly amount, capped at $68,900 ÷ 52 = $1325.00. We assume steady pay, so the average of your best weeks equals your weekly pay. If your pay varied, enter the average of your best 14–22 weeks.
- Weekly benefit: 55% of insurable weekly earnings, rounded to the dollar, maximum $729. With the Family Supplement, the rate rises to at most 80%, under the same cap.
- Eligibility: hours compared with the regional threshold (420–700) from the unemployment-rate band.
- Weeks: Schedule I of the Act, read at (hours ÷ 35 rounded down, rate band). Stored as a 41 × 12 grid in
params-2026.json. - Timeline: start date + 1 week waiting period; end = first payable week + weeks × 7 days, assuming continuous unemployment.
- Premiums: 1.63% of insurable earnings (1.30% in Quebec), for information.
Regional data: monthly refresh
The 62 regions’ unemployment rates, hours required, best weeks and min–max weeks are downloaded from Service Canada’s “EI program characteristics” page by a script (scripts/fetch-ei-regions.py) and stored with their validity period. Current data: September 6, 2026 – October 10, 2026, retrieved 2026-09-16. Rates change every four weeks; a claim uses the rate in force on its start date.
Validation
| Check | Result |
|---|---|
| Schedule I minimum weeks (at required hours) vs Service Canada published minimum, 62 regions | 62/62 match |
| Schedule I maximum weeks (1,820 h) vs Service Canada published maximum, 62 regions | 62/62 match |
| Hours required and best weeks vs Service Canada, 62 regions | 62/62 match |
| Weekly maximum | $729 = 55% × $68,900 ÷ 52, rounded |
Simplifications and limits
- The Family Supplement uses a linear approximation between 80% and 55% over the income bracket; the official schedule declines in steps by income and number of children.
- Net (after-tax) amounts are not computed: withholding depends on province and claim code.
- Severance allocation, pension income, extensions of the qualifying period and the seasonal-worker pilot are not modelled.
- Quebec residents: maternity and parental benefits come from QPIP, not modelled here.
- Variable pay: the best-weeks average must be entered manually.
Privacy
All calculations run in your browser. Regional data is a static file. Nothing you type is sent to a server; the share link encodes your inputs in the URL only.
Parameters file: params-2026.json (with source and retrieval date). Last updated 2026-09-16.
