In this article, we will cover some key benefits Canada offers to its people. The list will not be exhaustive, and we won’t mention numerous provincial programs which can be even more helpful in your individual situation.

Before we begin, we want to highlight that these benefits are not free money - all of them are publicly funded through taxes each of us pays in Canada, and there's always a limit to how long you can receive these benefits. The Canadian benefits system is designed to support its population during difficult times. But it also assumes that you are actively working on resolving your situation to get back to your employment. Yes, Canada is primarily interested in you getting back to work as soon as possible.

1. Healthcare benefits

The federal government sets healthcare standards for the entire country based on the Canada Health Act. However, healthcare is delivered by each province individually - there is a different Medicare card for each province. As long as you permanently reside in Canada (some provinces require you to stay in the province for at least 3 months to qualify), you are entitled to receive Medicare coverage in that province.

Generally, Medicare covers all the basic health services - hospital care and physicians. There are a ton of things that are not generally covered under the publicly funded healthcare system. These services include:

• vision care,
• dental care (unless it is an emergency),
• prescription drugs,
• ambulance services,
• independent living (home care).

For more details check your province's Health Insurance Program. For example, The Ontario Health Insurance Program (OHIP) covers eye examinations for people who are under 20 years of age or 65 years of age or older.

For the majority of employers, providing private health insurance is part of their basic compensation package. So if you are employed full-time at a company, you are likely to get private insurance at little to no extra cost. Always double-check with your employer on what kind of insurance coverage they provide.

2. Childcare Benefits

The parent who is primarily in charge of the care and upbringing of the child can apply for the CCB (Canada Child Benefits).

You can get a tax-free monthly payment to help with the cost of raising your children under 18 years of age. Any Canadian resident, even a temporary resident who's lived in Canada for at least 18 months is eligible to apply for CCB.

The payment you might get depends on the province you live in and the level of income you get. It can vary anywhere between 100-500 dollars, sometimes even more. Different provinces may also have additional programs to support you in raising your child, so when you choose your province, make sure to look up what childcare benefits the province offers. Most of these programs are geared toward families with low income.

3. Employment Benefits

Mandatory employee benefits in Canada include pension, legislated and parental leaves, PTO ( paid time off), and employment insurance.

• Canada Pension Plan (CPP)

CPP is a mandatory and contributory savings plan for all employed Canadians. 

The Canada Pension Plan contribution rate for 2023 is set at 5.95% of pensionable earnings for the year. Maximum pensionable earnings for the year is $66,600. The maximum employer and employee contributions to the plan for 2023 are $3,754.45 each, and the maximum self-employed contribution is $7,508.90.

Canada also has one of the highest counts of government-regulated and legislated leaves globally. These leaves, although paid through government-sponsored Employment Insurance benefits, are job-protected, which means the employer is responsible for maintaining the employee’s position until it is reasonable for the employee to return to work.

• Maternity benefits

Canada supports new childbirth and pays benefits to biological mothers, including surrogate mothers, for a maximum of 15 weeks. A woman may choose to receive benefits at any time from the 12th week preceding the expected week of delivery, or starting the week of delivery, and can end as late as 17 weeks after the expected date of delivery.

Leaves are governed based on Federal or Provincial mandates and vary by province. The maximum weekly payment you can receive is $595.

• Parental leave

Unlike maternity leave, this leave is offered to both parents - its purpose is to give families the time they need to take care of their newborn child. 

Benefits are payable to the biological or adoptive parents for 35 up to 61 weeks. Parents must claim benefits within a 12-month period after the week the child was born or placed for the purpose of adoption, at a rate of 55% of average weekly earnings. They can use the extended parental leave up to a maximum of 61 weeks taken over a period of up to 18 months after the child’s birth or placement for adoption at a benefit rate of 33% of average weekly earnings.

• Employment Insurance

If you lose your job or are forced to quit for a just cause, you may be entitled to Unemployment Insurance. Please note that one cannot just quit a job and apply for EI, there must be a legitimate reason among the accepted reasons for voluntary leave. 

For most people, the benefit level is 55% of an employee’s average insurable weekly earnings, up to a maximum amount. As of January 1, 2023, the maximum yearly insurable earnings amount is $61,500. This means that you can receive a maximum amount of $650 per week.

The maximum benefit period varies from 14 to 45 weeks. It is dependent upon regional unemployment rates, as well as how long you've worked before, and whether you've received EI previously.

• Paid Time Off

According to Canadian Labor Code, every employee is entitled to at least 2 weeks of paid vacation for each year of employment by an employer. This is nowhere near what most of the EU countries offer, around 4 weeks, but still better than the US, whose Labor Code does not reinforce Paid Time Off at all.

4. Drug programs

There are multiple types of such programs and they differ from province to province. One of the most common programs is drug coverage for seniors 65 years of age or more. Some other programs are targeted towards specific drug treatments for serious illnesses like cancer or diabetes or some metabolic diseases - disorders that disrupt a person’s normal metabolism and can damage organs, or lead to organ failure. Such programs typically attempt to cover the full cost of drugs to treat the aforementioned conditions.

Most provinces also have programs that aim to help persons whose drug costs are disproportionately high to their salary. In Ontario, for instance, The Trillium Drug program helps manage drug costs of individuals who have to spend 4% of their salary or more on drugs.

5. Home Buyer benefits

The Canadian government wants to support and entice its population to buy and build homes. One such benefit is the First-Time Home Buyer incentive. The Incentive makes it easier for you to buy a home and lower your monthly mortgage payments. This program is a shared equity mortgage. This means that the government shares the upside and downside of the property value. It allows you to borrow 5 or 10% of the purchase price of a home. You pay back the same percentage of the value of your home when you sell it or within a 25-year window.

In some cases you can also get tax rebates on your home purchase, or temporarily use your RRSP (retirement savings account) to finance the purchase of your home.

Canada has also recently launched the Greener Homes Initiative, in which they offer grants of up to $5000 to homeowners who are trying to make their home energy efficient.

6. Student benefits

Education in Canada is not free, but, thankfully, the government has created a number of programs to make education more accessible for everyone.

The Canada Student Financial Assistance Program offers grants and loans to full-time and part-time students. Grants and loans help students pay for their post-secondary education.

Pros? You don't need to repay grants you receive, you need to repay loans only after finishing school, with interest that is generally lower than any interest you'd receive with a student loan at a bank. The amount of your grant and loan depends on your income, living expenses, the province in which you live and whether or not you have a disability or children.

Canada also has Apprenticeship grants and loans in which it supports persons who want to learn skilled trades. 

The list of Canadian benefits you might receive is not final nor finite. There is a multitude of benefits programs that are provided on a provincial level that we haven’t mentioned in detail. But we truly hope this information will give you some basic understanding of the Canadian benefits system. And, of course, will be helpful at every stage of your life

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