Tariffs, Terminations And EI: Implications Of Canada’s New Support Package For Employers

On August 25, 2026, the Canadian government announced that starting at 12:01 a.m. on September 8, 2026 it will implement “dollar for dollar” retaliatory tariffs against the United States.¹ In anticipation of the economic impact, the federal government has announced a $3.5 billion rapid response support package aimed at assisting affected Canadian businesses and employees.²

New and extended temporary employment insurance (“EI”) measures

The federal government has extended the following temporary EI measures to October 10, 2027:

1. The one week waiting period is waived for benefit periods beginning after March 30, 2025; and
2. monies payable to employees on separation (e.g. termination pay, severance pay and vacation pay) are not considered to be “earnings” for the purposes of determining EI eligibility. In other words, eligible employees are able to receive EI benefits without first using up their separation payments.