Parental Leave — Quebec

Quebec is the only Canadian province with its own parental insurance plan. The Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP), administered by the Conseil de gestion de l'assurance parentale, replaces the federal Employment Insurance (EI) maternity and parental benefits for Quebec workers.

• Maternity benefits (birth mother only): Up to 18 weeks at 70% of average weekly earnings under the basic plan, or 15 weeks at 75% under the special plan.
• Paternity benefits (father or other parent): Up to 5 weeks at 70% under the basic plan, or 3 weeks at 75% under the special plan. This exclusive paternity leave does not exist under the federal EI system.
• Parental benefits (shareable between parents): Up to 32 weeks (7 weeks at 70% + 25 weeks at 55%) under the basic plan, or 25 weeks at 75% under the special plan.
• Adoption benefits: Up to 37 weeks of shared benefits under the basic plan, or 28 weeks under the special plan.
• QPIP is more generous than federal EI benefits: it covers self-employed workers automatically, has a lower qualifying threshold ($2,000 in insurable earnings vs. 600 hours for EI), and generally provides higher replacement rates.
• Quebec employees and employers pay premiums to QPIP instead of the EI maternity/parental portion. Both employees and self-employed workers contribute through payroll deductions or income tax.
• Under the Act respecting labour standards, employees are entitled to unpaid job-protected leave: 18 weeks of maternity leave, 5 weeks of paternity leave, and 65 weeks of parental leave.

2026 QPIP figures (verified May 2026)

• Maximum yearly insurable earnings: $103,000 for 2026 (up from $98,000 in 2025), adjusted each 1 January based on the Quebec average industrial wage.
• 2026 premium rates: employee 0.430% / employer 0.602% — both reduced from 2025 (employee 0.494%, employer 0.692%).
• Self-employed workers contribute at the combined rate (1.032%) through their tax return.

Quebec-specific traps

• The 5 paternity weeks are non-transferable. Under the basic plan, those 5 weeks at 70% are reserved for the second parent — they cannot be transferred to the birth mother. This is genuinely unique to Quebec; no other Canadian or US jurisdiction reserves paternity weeks at this replacement rate.
• The switch between basic and special plan is final. Once you receive your first QPIP benefit payment, you cannot change plans, even if your circumstances change. Choose carefully at the application stage — the trade-off is more weeks at a lower rate (basic) vs fewer weeks at a higher rate (special).
• Self-employed coverage is automatic — premiums are deducted via the income tax return. This is a major divergence from federal EI, where self-employed workers must opt in 12 months before any claim.
• LNT s. 81.4-81.17 job protection is separate from the income benefit. You can take the unpaid job-protected leave without claiming QPIP, and the job-protection clock runs from the day you start the leave — not from the day QPIP starts paying.
• QPIP and federal EI are mutually exclusive for the maternity/parental window. If you worked outside Quebec in the qualifying period, you may be eligible for federal EI instead — but you cannot stack the two.