Family allowances in Canada
Canada combines a non-taxable federal Canada Child Benefit (CCB) — up to CAD 7,997/year per child under 6 — with provincial top-ups (Quebec’s Allocation famille, Ontario’s OCB, etc.). The federal Employment Insurance scheme funds 35–61 weeks of paid parental leave.
Two-tier system: federal CCB modulated by family net income + provincial top-ups (notably Quebec’s Allocation famille, up to CAD 2,923/year). Long parental leaves funded by EI (35 weeks standard at 55% / 61 weeks extended at 33%). QPIP in Quebec.
Canada Child Benefit (CCB)
Federal monthly non-taxable benefit paid by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), calculated on adjusted family net income:
- CAD 7,997/year max per child under 6 (≈ CAD 666/month)
- CAD 6,748/year max per child aged 6–17 (≈ CAD 562/month)
- Maximum amount up to CAD 37,487 in family net income
- Phased out above (5.7% to 23% depending on number of children)
Paid on the 20th of each month. Automatically renewed each July based on the tax return.
Child Disability Benefit (CDB)
Non-taxable federal supplement added to the CCB for children eligible for the Disability Tax Credit:
- Up to CAD 3,411/year (≈ CAD 284/month) per child with disability
- Phased out depending on family income
Allocation famille — Quebec
Provincial benefit managed by Retraite Québec, on top of the federal CCB:
- Max amount CAD 2,923/year per child (≈ CAD 244/month)
- Universal min: CAD 1,163/year per child
- Single-parent supplement: up to CAD 1,025/year
- Disability supplement: CAD 2,712/year + exceptional care (up to CAD 12,768/year)
- School supplies supplement: CAD 121/child (back-to-school)
Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP / RQAP)
Quebec-specific scheme, more generous than federal EI:
- Maternity: 18 or 20 weeks at 70 or 75%
- Paternity: 3, 4 or 5 weeks at 70 or 75%
- Parental: 25 to 32 weeks at 55 or 75%
- Adoption: 13 to 28 weeks at 70 or 75%
Insurable earnings cap: CAD 98,000/year in 2025. Paid by Retraite Québec.
Parental leave — Employment Insurance (outside Quebec)
Outside Quebec, benefits managed by Service Canada (EI):
- Maternity: 15 weeks at 55% of salary (max CAD 668/week in 2025)
- Standard parental: 35 weeks at 55% (max CAD 668/week)
- Extended parental: 61 weeks at 33% (max CAD 401/week)
Eligibility: 600 hours worked in the past 52 weeks.
Additional provincial benefits
- Ontario: Ontario Child Benefit (OCB) — up to CAD 1,680/year per child
- British Columbia: BC Family Benefit — up to CAD 2,188/year for 1st child
- Alberta: Alberta Child and Family Benefit — up to CAD 1,522/year for 1st child
- Nova Scotia: Nova Scotia Child Benefit — up to CAD 1,525/year
- Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Yukon, New Brunswick: own benefits
Subsidised childcare
Federal Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care programme (since 2021):
- Goal: CAD 10/day average by 2026 for all regulated childcare
- Quebec: CAD 9.35/day in subsidised CPEs
- Several provinces have hit the target (Yukon, Quebec, Manitoba) or are close (BC, Alberta)
How Illizeo helps on the HR side
Illizeo is not a consulting firm or a paying body. However, our HR layer manages all of an employee’s family variables: family composition (dependent children, ages), supporting documents, event declarations (birth, adoption), leave workflows (maternity, paternity, parental) with key date calculations, and automatic feed to your payroll software.
Official sources
- CRA — Canada Child Benefit
- Retraite Québec — Family Allowance
- Service Canada — EI parental benefits
- QPIP — Quebec Parental Insurance Plan
Manage the HR side of family allowances
From birth declarations to parental leave calculation, Illizeo centralises variables and feeds your payroll automatically.
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