The rate and the maximum. Service Canada states that you could receive 55% of your insurable earnings, up to a maximum of $729 a week in 2026. The basic rate used to calculate sickness benefits is 55% of average insurable weekly earnings, up to that maximum amount. The maximum comes from the 2026 maximum insurable earnings of $68,900: 55% of $68,900 divided by 52 weeks is about $729.
The duration. Up to 26 weeks of sickness benefits are available. The number of weeks you get depends on how long you are unable to work for medical reasons. This estimator multiplies the weekly benefit by the number of weeks you enter, up to 26.
Why this is a simplified estimate. Service Canada does not use a single average the way this tool does. It adds up your insurable weekly earnings from your best weeks, divides by the number of best weeks for where you live, and then multiplies the result by 55%. The number of best weeks is based on the unemployment rate where you live and can be between 14 and 22 weeks. If your weekly earnings vary, your best-weeks average can be higher or lower than a plain average of all your weeks, so your actual weekly benefit can differ from this estimate even when the earnings you enter are right.
Worked examples. With average insurable weekly earnings of $1,000 and 10 weeks off, 55% of $1,000 is $550 a week, which is below the $729 maximum, so the estimate is $550 a week and $5,500 in total. With average insurable weekly earnings of $2,000 and 26 weeks off, 55% of $2,000 is $1,100 a week, which is above the $729 maximum, so the estimate is capped at $729 a week and $18,954 in total.
What this estimator leaves out. The best-weeks divisor for your region; the family supplement for low family income with a child under 18 (your total weekly amount still cannot exceed $729); any top-up your employer pays on top of EI; income tax on the benefit; the waiting period rules; and eligibility itself, including the 600 insurable hours in the 52 weeks before your claim and the medical certificate.
2027 figures are pending. The $729 maximum and the 26-week duration are the published 2026 figures, checked on the Service Canada page on November 8, 2026. The 2027 maximum had not been published when this page was built. Recheck the Service Canada EI sickness benefit page before using a 2027 figure.
Sources: Service Canada, EI Sickness Benefit - How much you could receive (up to 26 weeks; 55% of insurable earnings up to a maximum of $729 a week in 2026; the best-weeks calculation with 14 to 22 best weeks depending on the unemployment rate where you live; the $25,921 family supplement income limit), opened at build time on November 8, 2026. No figure on this page comes from anywhere else.