How Long Is Maternity Leave in Ontario? 17 + 61 Weeks Explained

Maternity leave in Ontario runs up to 78 weeks when you combine the two entitlements the province offers a birth mother: 17 weeks of pregnancy leave followed by up to 61 weeks of parental leave. That’s roughly 18 months of job-protected time away from work. The leave itself is unpaid under the Employment Standards Act (ESA), but most employees can draw federal Employment Insurance (EI) benefits for a large portion of it.¹

The 17 Weeks of Pregnancy Leave

Pregnancy leave is available only to the person who is pregnant. It gives you up to 17 weeks of unpaid, job-protected time off, taken as one continuous block. Once you return to work, any unused portion is gone.¹

The earliest start is 17 weeks before your due date. The latest start is the day the baby is born. An early arrival triggers the leave automatically on the birth date. If the 17 weeks run out and you’re still pregnant, the leave stretches until the birth.

The 61 Weeks of Parental Leave

Parental leave is a separate entitlement that begins after the birth. A birth mother who took pregnancy leave gets up to 61 weeks of parental leave, which stacks with the 17 weeks of pregnancy leave for the 78-week total.¹

A birth mother who skipped pregnancy leave, along with fathers and adoptive parents, is entitled to up to 63 weeks of parental leave instead. Either way, parents can be on parental leave at the same time under the ESA. Only the pregnant person can take pregnancy leave.

Who Qualifies

The ESA eligibility bar is low. For pregnancy leave, you must have started your job at least 13 weeks before your due date. For parental leave, you must have been employed for at least 13 weeks before the leave starts.¹ Full-time, part-time, and contract workers all count, and you don’t need to have been actively working every day of those 13 weeks.

Qualifying for the leave and qualifying for EI payments are two separate things. You can have the legal right to take 78 weeks off yet receive no EI money if you haven’t built up enough insurable hours.

What EI Pays During the Leave

The ESA leave is unpaid, so income while you’re off comes from federal EI. You generally need at least 600 insurable hours of work during the qualifying period to receive EI maternity or parental benefits.² There’s also a one-week waiting period at the start with no payment.

Maternity Benefits

EI maternity benefits go only to the person who gave birth. They pay 55% of your average insurable weekly earnings for up to 15 weeks, capped at $729 per week in 2026. Maternity benefits cannot be shared with another parent.³

Standard or Extended Parental Benefits

When you apply for parental benefits, you pick one of two options. The choice is permanent once a payment goes out to either parent, and if both parents share, both must choose the same option.³

Standard parental: up to 40 weeks shared between parents (no more than 35 to one parent), paid at 55% of earnings up to $729 per week, taken within 52 weeks of the birth.
Extended parental: up to 69 weeks shared between parents (no more than 61 to one parent), paid at 33% of earnings up to $437 per week, taken within 78 weeks of the birth.

The extended option spreads a smaller total payout over a longer period. You don’t collect more money overall, just less each week for more weeks.

Extra Weeks When Both Parents Share

If two parents share parental benefits, extra weeks become available on a use-it-or-lose-it basis: 5 additional weeks under the standard option and 8 additional weeks under the extended option. If the second parent doesn’t use them, those weeks disappear.⁴

Taxes on EI

EI payments are taxable income, and the tax withheld from each payment is often less than what you’ll actually owe. Setting a portion of each payment aside during your leave is the simplest way to avoid a bill at tax time. Maternity and parental benefits are exempt from the EI repayment provision that otherwise applies at higher incomes.⁵

Telling Your Employer

You must give your employer at least two weeks’ written notice before starting pregnancy or parental leave. The notice needs a start date, but you don’t have to commit to a return date.¹

If something unexpected happens, like a premature birth, and two weeks’ notice isn’t possible, you still have to notify your employer in writing as soon as you can.

Job Protection and Benefits While You’re Off

When your leave ends, you have the right to return to the same position with the same title, pay, hours, location, and duties. If that role no longer exists because of restructuring, your employer must place you in a comparable position if one is available.¹ Seniority and length of service keep building while you’re away.

Your employer must continue paying their share of premiums for benefit plans that were in place before your leave, including pension, life insurance, extended health, accidental death, and dental. You keep paying your share. If you notify your employer in writing that you won’t continue your portion, that coverage can lapse.

Vacation continues to accrue during your leave, though the rules can be affected once the leave passes 12 months. Because a combined pregnancy-plus-parental leave runs about 18 months, it’s worth confirming your vacation entitlement with your employer before you come back.

Stillbirth or Miscarriage

If a stillbirth or miscarriage happens within the 17 weeks before the due date, the employee is still entitled to pregnancy leave. The leave begins no later than the date of the loss and ends on whichever date is later: 17 weeks after the leave started, or 12 weeks after the stillbirth or miscarriage. The leave is always at least 17 weeks in that situation and can be longer.¹

1
Government of Ontario. Your Guide to the Employment Standards Act – Pregnancy and Parental Leave
2
Government of Canada. EI Maternity and Parental Benefits – Eligibility
3
Government of Canada. EI Maternity and Parental Benefits – What These Benefits Offer
4
Government of Canada. EI Maternity and Parental Benefits – Apply
5
Government of Canada. EI and Repayment of Benefits at Income Tax Time