Policy Brief: Access to Parental Benefits in Canada

A 50-year review of access to parental benefits in Canada

February 15, 2023

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Along with subsidized childcare, parental benefits are an important policy tool to help parents balance paid work and childcare. But while the birth or the adoption of a child creates new expenses for all families, only some families in Canada are eligible for benefits. This is the case both inside and outside Quebec, where more generous and flexible parental leave has been offered through the Quebec Parental Insurance Program (QPIP) since the late 1990s.

In the first of our new Policy Brief series, Sophie Mathieu, PhD, reviews a half-century of parental benefits in Canada to explore changes in the benefit regime over time, patterns of uptake, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and what it all means for families across Canada.

Learn more about parental leave and benefits in Canada

Mathieu, S. (2023). Access to parental benefits in Canada: A 50-year review of access to parental benefits in Canada [Policy brief]. The Vanier Institute of the Family. https://doi.org/10.61959/p210910q

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