Federal regulators will freeze Employment Insurance premiums in 2027 as the program carries a $15.6 billion deficit and faces an uncertain economic outlook driven in part by tariffs.The Employment Insurance Commission said employee premiums will remain at $1.64 for every $100 of insurable earnings, while employers will continue paying $2.30.“The rate is expected to generate sufficient premium revenue during the 2027 to 2033 period to pay the expected Employment Insurance expenditures over the same period and eliminate the projected deficit that has accumulated,” the Chief Actuary wrote in a report titled Employment Insurance Premium Rate.Blacklock's Reporter said the Chief Actuary cautioned the economic outlook remains uncertain.Employment Insurance premiums are reviewed annually, with officials calculating the rate required to balance the EI operating account over a seven-year period.Current premiums remain below levels charged a decade ago. Employee premiums stood at $1.88 per $100 of insurable earnings in 2015.Cabinet froze premiums at $1.58 for two years as a pandemic relief measure before subsequently increasing the rate to as high as $1.66.A 2023 Department of Employment Briefing Binder said Ottawa was committed to keeping the program financially sustainable while ensuring benefits remained accessible and affordable.“The government remains committed to ensuring the Employment Insurance program is accessible, adequate and affordable for employees and employers while remaining financially sustainable in the long term,” said the briefing document.Officials also warned that expanding EI benefits could require workers and businesses to pay more.“Future improvements to the Employment Insurance program will require additional premium rate increases at a time when many economists are predicting a recession,” said the Briefing Binder.“This could be mitigated by other measures to support the financial sustainability of the Employment Insurance Operating Account.”.The premium freeze comes amid criticism that millions of Canadians pay into the EI system but have difficulty qualifying for benefits.New Democrat MP Gord Johns (Courtenay-Alberni, B.C.) told the Commons on June 2 the program no longer reflects how many Canadians earn a living.“Our Employment Insurance system no longer reflects the reality of work in Canada,” said Johns.“More Canadians are working multiple part-time jobs, contract positions and gig work,” he said. “Yet they are paying into a system that often denies them support when they need it most.”Johns said an outdated system was leaving millions of workers without adequate protection as Canadians struggled with food costs and other living expenses.“While food bank use continues to reach record levels and families struggle with the rising cost of living, millions of workers are being left behind by an outdated EI system designed for a workplace that no longer exists,” he said.Canada's unemployment insurance program dates to the 1941 Unemployment Insurance Act.Cabinet introduced temporary EI measures in 2025 aimed at workers who lost their jobs amid cross-border tariffs. The changes included eliminating the one-week waiting period for benefits and excluding severance payments from income calculations.
