Canada introduces new family leave entitlements for federally regulated employees

Canada has introduced a new pregnancy loss leave and an expanded bereavement leave for each parent on the death of a child for federally regulated employees from 12 December 2025. Both leaves are up to eight weeks (employer-paid for the first three days and unpaid otherwise).

Additionally, while the effective date has yet to be announced, a new government-paid 16-week leave entitlement for the placement of a child (adoption or surrogacy) is expected to be implemented in 2026.

Most employers in Canada are provincially regulated, and these federal legislative changes do not apply to provincially regulated workplaces.

Background

The Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023 received royal assent on 20 June 2024 and amended the Canada Labour Code (the “Code”) to include new and expanded leave entitlements. The pregnancy loss leave and expanded bereavement leave provisions took effect on 12 December 2025. While the effective date of the placement of child leave provisions has yet to be announced, these provisions are expected to take effect sometime in 2026.

The changes apply only to specific industries under the federal government’s oversight (i.e., federally regulated workplaces) who are subject to Part III of the Code. Examples of such federally regulated industries are interprovincial or international transportation by land and sea, airports and airlines, telecommunications and broadcasting, banks, and First Nations band councils.

Key details

The following sets out major changes for federally regulated employers to note:

Pregnancy loss leave

From 12 December 2025, federally regulated employees are entitled to eight weeks of pregnancy loss leave if their pregnancy, or the pregnancy of their spouse or common-law partner (i.e., where the partners have cohabited for at least one year in a conjugal relationship), results in a stillbirth. A stillbirth is a loss on or after the 20th week of pregnancy or after the fetus has attained at least 500 g.

Pregnancy loss leave can be taken during the period between the date of the loss and 26 weeks after that date and may be taken in one or two separate periods. The employee must provide the employer with a notice in writing as soon as possible, setting out the reasons for the leave and the length of the leave they intend to take.

Employees with at least three consecutive months of service will be entitled to be paid by their employer for the first three days of pregnancy loss leave. Any additional leave is unpaid.

Expanded bereavement leave

Under existing law, federally regulated employees are entitled to up to 10 days of bereavement leave in the event of the death of an immediate family member.

From 12 December 2025, this entitlement has been significantly expanded to grant up to eight weeks of bereavement leave for employees in the event of the death of their child or the child of their spouse or common-law partner (a child meaning a person under 18 years of age). This leave can be taken in one or two blocks during the period between the date of death and 12 weeks after the latest of the days of any funeral, burial or memorial service.

The first three days of leave are employer-paid for employees who have completed at least three consecutive months of employment. Any additional leave is unpaid.

The employee must provide the employer with a notice in writing as soon as possible, setting out the start date, the reasons for the leave, and the length of the leave they intend to take. Upon return to work, the employer must reinstate the employee in their former position or provide a comparable position with the same wages and benefits.

Leave for placement of child

Federally regulated employees will be eligible for up to 16 weeks of unpaid leave for the placement of a child into their care through adoption or surrogacy. This leave can be taken from six weeks before the week of the estimated date of placement, up to 17 weeks after the week of the actual date of placement.

This leave is intended to complement the upcoming federal Employment Insurance (EI) benefit for parents through adoption or surrogacy, which will comprise 15 weeks of financial assistance. This is one week shorter than the 16-week entitlement to leave for placement of child as there is a one-week waiting period prior to receiving EI benefits. The EI benefit will provide eligible employees with 55% of their earnings, up to a maximum amount (CAD 729 per week in 2026).

The effective dates for both this new leave and the new EI benefit have not yet been announced.

Employer action: ACT

Federally regulated employers should review and update their policies, practices, procedures, employment contracts, and collective agreements, as needed, to reflect the new pregnancy loss leave and expanded bereavement leave entitlements. In particular:

• Employers should assess the impact of the new leave entitlements on their current leave benefits and the duty to accommodate. The new leave entitlements may also have an impact on employers’ operational and manpower arrangements when managing intermittent leave usage due to the non-consecutive nature of these leaves.

• Employers should review the new leave provisions in the Code, as well as the implementing regulations here (opens a new window), which include additional operational details for administering these leaves such as record-keeping requirements.

As the implementation date for the new leave for placement of child has not yet been announced, employers should regularly check the federal government’s website on family and caregiving benefits here (opens a new window) for any updates.

Written in collaboration with:

Jessica Gobran

National Practice Leader, Disability Management (DM) Consulting

BFL CANADA Benefits (Lockton Global Partner)

jgobran@bflcanada.ca (opens a new window)

Further Information

Canada Labour Code | Department of Justice Canada (opens a new window)

Canada Labour Standards Regulations | Department of Justice Canada (opens a new window)

Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023 | Department of Justice Canada (opens a new window)