The Regulations Amending the Employment Insurance Regulations: SOR/2025-150 extend a key measure under Pilot Project No. 24 in response to ongoing economic disruptions caused by foreign tariffs. This decision was made by the Canada Employment Insurance Commission under section 109 of the Employment Insurance Act and approved by the Governor General in Council on the recommendation of the Minister of Employment and Social Development. The purpose of the amendment is to ensure continued access to enhanced EI benefits for workers impacted by tariff-induced job losses and broader economic instability.

Pilot Project No. 24 was launched in March 2025 in anticipation of large-scale job losses from significant changes in international trade relations. While earlier expectations were based on the assumption of broad-based 25% tariffs from the United States, the reality has been a patchwork of product-specific duties affecting sectors like auto, steel, aluminum, canola, and softwood lumber. Despite the narrower scope of these measures, the labour market has shown signs of strain, with the national unemployment rate rising from 6.6% in February 2025 to 7.0% in May 2025, and the employment rate dropping from 61.1% to 60.8% during the same period.

The key feature of the amendment is an extension of the temporary EI unemployment rate adjustment. This mechanism raises regional unemployment rates used for determining EI eligibility by one percentage point, capped at 13.1%, with a floor of 7.1%. This adjustment allows more workers to qualify for EI benefits by reducing the hours of insurable employment needed—from up to 700 hours down to no more than 630 hours—and increasing the minimum number of weeks for which regular benefits can be paid. It also improves the calculation of weekly benefit rates by using a smaller number of best-earning weeks (20 instead of up to 22). These adjustments are particularly helpful in regions where actual job losses have occurred but the official EI unemployment rate remains low due to statistical lag, such as in South Central Ontario (automotive), Lower Saint Lawrence and the North Shore (aluminum), Central Quebec (steel and aluminum), and Southern Saskatchewan (potash and canola).

The rationale behind extending the unemployment rate adjustment is based on the persistent uncertainty surrounding foreign tariffs and their effects on Canadian employment. While initial forecasts anticipated 415,000 additional EI claims due to tariffs, more recent estimates have scaled this back to 118,000. Correspondingly, the projected increase in EI regular benefit claims due to Pilot Project No. 24 has been revised from 80,800 to 72,000.
By extending the adjusted unemployment rate calculation through October 11, 2025, the government aims to support affected workers more effectively, particularly in trade-sensitive regions where job losses may not be immediately reflected in EI eligibility metrics.

Canada (150/2025) July 16, 2025
Disclaimer: Insights are for informational purposes only and do not reflect RRI’s official position or constitute legal opinion.