How to Apply for Maternity Leave in Ontario: A Step-by-Step Guide for 2026

Learning how to apply for maternity leave in Ontario means dealing with two separate systems. Your employer gives you the time off. The federal government pays you while you are away. Neither one happens on its own, and they run on different rules. This guide walks through the full process of when and how to apply, from the written notice you owe your employer to the first Employment Insurance payment landing in your account, with every 2026 rate and deadline in one place.

This is the detailed how-to companion to our main guide on Maternity Leave in Ontario.

Key takeaways

• The two steps: request job-protected leave from your employer under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, then apply for EI benefits from Service Canada. They are separate processes.
• When to apply for EI: as soon as you stop working. Applying more than four weeks after your last day can cost you benefits.
• What you need: your SIN, banking details for direct deposit, your employment history for the last 52 weeks, and your Record of Employment. You can apply before the ROE arrives.
• What it pays in 2026: 55% of your average insurable earnings, up to $729 a week for maternity and standard parental benefits.
• How long until you are paid: about 28 days after you apply, after a one-week unpaid waiting period.
• How long the leave is: up to 15 weeks of maternity benefits, then up to 35 weeks standard or 61 weeks extended parental benefits.

1. Maternity leave in Ontario is really two separate things

People say “maternity leave” as if it is one thing. It is two.

The leave itself comes from Ontario’s Employment Standards Act. It gives eligible employees the right to take unpaid, job-protected time off: up to 17 weeks of pregnancy leave for the birth parent, plus up to 61 weeks of parental leave. Your job is protected while you are on it, and your employer cannot penalise you for taking it.

The money comes from federal Employment Insurance maternity and parental benefits, paid by Service Canada. EI replaces part of your income while you are off, but it is not automatic and it is not connected to your employer’s leave paperwork.

You apply for these separately, in that order. If you live in Quebec the benefits side works differently through the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan, but for Ontario it is EI.

For the job-protection details, see our guide to your maternity and parental leave rights in Ontario.

2. When to apply for maternity leave

Timing is the part most parents get wrong.

Telling your employer: give at least two weeks of written notice before the day your leave starts. Under the ESA, pregnancy leave can begin as early as 17 weeks before your due date and no later than the due date itself, or the birth date if the baby arrives early.

Applying for EI: apply as soon as you stop working. This is the deadline that matters the most. If you apply more than four weeks after your last day of work, you can lose benefits, because EI claims are generally not backdated beyond that point. You can start receiving maternity benefits as early as 12 weeks before your due date.

Do not wait for your Record of Employment, your due date, or the baby to apply. Apply the week you stop working and send any missing documents afterward.

3. Step 1: Give your employer written notice

Your notice needs to state the date your leave will start and reach your employer in writing at least two weeks before that date. Email is fine.

Your employer can ask for a certificate from a doctor, midwife, or nurse practitioner stating your due date. They can only ask for this, not require it upfront, and only that one fact needs to be on it.

If a complication or an early birth forces you to stop working sooner than planned, you have two weeks after you stop to give written notice of the day your leave began. If you want to move a start date you already gave, earlier or later, give new written notice at least two weeks ahead.

One reassurance: under the ESA, failing to give proper notice does not cost you the right to the leave. It just makes the logistics harder, so give it if you can.

4. Step 2: Get your Record of Employment

The Record of Employment (ROE) is the single most important document in your EI claim. It tells Service Canada how many insurable hours you worked and what you earned, which is what your benefit is based on.

Most employers now file the ROE electronically, straight to Service Canada. You usually will not receive a paper copy, and you do not need one. You can view your own ROEs by signing in to My Service Canada Account.

Employers generally issue the ROE within five calendar days of the end of the pay period in which your earnings stopped. If yours is slow, apply for EI anyway. Service Canada can follow up with your employer, and applying on time matters more than having every document in hand.

5. Step 3: Gather what you need before you open the application

The online form asks for specific details. Having these ready makes it easier to fill out all the paper work correctly when the time comes:

• Your Social Insurance Number. If your SIN starts with a 9, you also need proof of your immigration status and work permit.
• Your mother’s maiden name, used as a security question.
• Complete banking details for direct deposit: the financial institution number, the branch or transit number, and your account number. A void cheque or a direct deposit form from your online banking has all three.
• Your home mailing address.
• Your employment history for the last 52 weeks: the name and address of each employer, your first and last days worked, and the reason your work stopped.
• The dates and details of any weeks with unusually high or low earnings, since these can affect the calculation.

Gather what you can, then apply. Finding a missing detail is not a reason to miss the four-week window.

6. Step 4: Complete the EI application online

The whole application is online through the EI maternity and parental benefits page on Canada.ca. There is no paper version and no in-person requirement.

Plan for about one hour. If you cannot finish in one go, your progress is saved for 72 hours using a temporary password you get when you start. If you do not submit within those 72 hours, the application is deleted and you start over, so try to finish within a day or two.

Apply for maternity and parental benefits in the same application. You will choose your parental option during the form (see the next step). When you submit, you get a confirmation with a reference code. Write it down.

7. Step 5: Choose standard or extended parental benefits

This is the one choice you cannot reverse. Once a single week of parental benefits has been paid to you, or to the other parent if you are sharing, you cannot switch between standard and extended.

It is close to the same amount of money either way. Extended parental is not more money, it is the same benefit paid at a lower weekly rate over more weeks. The right answer depends on your household budget and when you plan to return to work.

Run your own numbers first with the EI maternity leave calculator.

8. Step 6: After you apply

A benefit statement with a four-digit access code arrives by mail a week or two after you apply. This is not a decision on your claim, it is your file reference. Keep the code with your SIN, since you need both to follow up.

There is a one-week unpaid waiting period before benefits begin, similar to a deductible on other kinds of insurance. You serve it once, even if you take maternity benefits followed by parental benefits. If two parents share parental benefits, only one serves it.

Your first payment arrives about 28 days after you apply, assuming you are eligible and Service Canada has everything it needs. If something is missing, that clock does not really start until it is resolved, which is the main reason to apply early and completely.

Confirm your direct deposit and mailing address in My Service Canada Account. Maternity and parental claims usually do not require the biweekly reports that regular EI does, unless you are working while receiving benefits. If you do earn money during your leave, tell Service Canada so you are not overpaid and asked to repay later.

If you disagree with a decision on your claim, you can request a reconsideration within 30 days of being told.

9. How much you will actually receive

Maternity benefits and standard parental benefits pay 55% of your average weekly insurable earnings, up to a maximum of $729 a week in 2026. Extended parental benefits pay 33%, up to $437 a week.

That $729 ceiling is 55% of the 2026 maximum insurable earnings of $68,900, spread across the year. If you earn more than $68,900, your benefit still caps at $729 a week.

Service Canada calculates your amount from your best weeks, meaning your highest-paid weeks in the last 52. The number used is between 14 and 22, depending on the unemployment rate in your part of Ontario. See how the benefit is calculated.

We also have a calculator to estimate how much you will receive. Check your estimated benefit with our EI & Maternity Leave Calculator

Two things people forget: some employers pay a top-up on top of EI, so ask your HR team, and EI benefits are taxable. Tax is withheld at source, but often not enough to cover what you owe, so set a little aside. For the full picture of the 2026 numbers, see our breakdown of EI maternity benefits in 2026.

10. Special situations

You are self-employed

Self-employed parents can receive EI maternity and parental benefits, but only if they planned ahead. You need a registered agreement with the Canada Employment Insurance Commission, set up through My Service Canada Account, that has been active for at least 12 months before you claim. You also need at least $9,254 in net self-employed earnings in 2025 to claim in 2026. The rate and the $729 maximum are the same as for employees. See who can qualify for self-employed benefits.

You work contract, part-time, or multiple jobs

What matters is 600 insured hours across all of your insurable jobs in the last 52 weeks, not whether any one job was full-time. If you had more than one employer, you will have more than one ROE, and they all count toward your total.

Your employer will not cooperate

You do not need your employer’s permission to take ESA leave or to apply for EI. If your ROE is missing, apply anyway and let Service Canada follow up. If your job is threatened because you are taking or planning leave, that may be a reprisal under the ESA. Our rights guide covers what to do.

You had to stop working early for health reasons

If a pregnancy complication forces you to stop before you planned to start leave, you may be able to use sick time first and begin pregnancy leave later, as long as it starts by your due date or the birth. Talk to your health care provider about timing and to your employer about notice.

11. Line it up with your Toronto childcare plan

Daycare waitlists in much of Toronto run 12 to 18 months, so most parents join lists during pregnancy or early in their leave. Your standard versus extended choice sets your return-to-work date, which sets when you need a spot, so make those two decisions together. Our guide to Toronto daycare waitlists has the timing.

Licensed daycare fees have dropped under the CWELCC program. Use the lower fee, not the old one, when you work out how long you can afford to be off.

Frequently asked questions

You have got this

The paperwork looks like a lot from the outside, but it comes down to two actions: a short written notice to your employer, and one online application the week you stop working. Do those two things on time and the rest is mostly waiting for the first deposit.

For the full picture, including how long you can take off and how your rights are protected, read our main guide to Maternity Leave in Ontario. And if you want every Toronto-specific detail on pregnancy, OHIP, EI, and daycare in one place, grab your copy of the Toronto Baby Guide.

Last reviewed August 2026. Rules and rates change. Always confirm details with Service Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Labour.