Global Compliance – Canada

Canada: Proposed Amendments to Labour Law Provisions 

Canada will implement substantial amendments to labour law provisions, effective 12 December 2025 at the federal level and 1 January 2026 in Saskatchewan. 

Canada Federal- Effective December 12, 2025 (Bill C-59) 

Pregnancy Loss Leave  

Currently, there is no specific federal leave for pregnancy loss under the Canada Labour Code. 

Effective December 12, 2025, a new time off – Pregnancy Loss Leave will be introduced under the Canada Labour Code, outlining the following leave provisions for eligible employees:  

Duration of the Leave:  Eligible employees are entitled to receive: 

• up to 8 weeks of leave if the pregnancy results in a stillbirth (a pregnancy loss at or after 20 weeks of gestation or where the foetus is of at least 500 grams, with no signs of life after delivery). 
• up to 3 working days of leave for any other type of pregnancy loss. 

Entitlement of the Leave:  This leave applies to employees in any of the following situations: 

• the employee’s own pregnancy does not result in a live birth. 
• the pregnancy of the employee’s spouse or common-law partner does not result in a live birth. 
• the employee intended to be a legal parent of a child that would have been born had another person’s pregnancy (such as a surrogate’s) resulted in a live birth. 

Multiple Pregnancy: In the case of a multiple pregnancy, the employee shall be entitled to a single period of leave entitlement, irrespective of the number of childbirths, where at least one does not result in a live birth. 

Pay: Employees who have completed at least 3 consecutive months of continuous employment are entitled to receive their regular rate of pay for their normal hours of work for the first 3 days of this leave, paid by the employer. Any additional days taken beyond the first 3 will be unpaid leave. 

Timing of the leave: The leave period begins on the day the pregnancy does not result in a live birth and may be taken at any time up to 26 weeks after that date. Employees have the flexibility to take this leave in 1 or 2 separate periods, provided that each period is at least 1 day in length. 

Bereavement Leave  

Currently, employees are entitled to receive up to 10 working days of bereavement leave following the death of an immediate family member. Employees who have completed at least 3 consecutive months of continuous employment with the same employer are entitled to have the first 3 days of bereavement leave paid at their regular rate of pay for their normal hours of work. The remaining days, if taken, are unpaid. 

Effective December 12, 2025, the existing bereavement leave entitlements will remain unchanged, and a new, separate provision will be introduced to provide up to 8 weeks of unpaid leave in the event of the death or stillbirth of an employee’s child or the child of their spouse or common-law partner. 

Saskatchewan- Effective January 1, 2026  (Bill 5) 

Sick Leave 

Currently, employees are entitled to up to 12 weeks of unpaid sick leave with serious illness. 

Effective January 1, 2026, the duration of unpaid sick leave with serious illness will increase from 12 weeks to 27 weeks. 

Medical Certificate Requirement for Sick Leave 

Currently, employers can request a medical certificate for any absence due to sickness or injury. 

Effective January 1, 2026, employers cannot request a medical certificate unless an absence exceeds 5 consecutive working days, or the employee has been absent twice for 2 or more days in the preceding 12 months. 

Pregnancy Loss Leave 

Currently, employees are entitled to pregnancy leave following a pregnancy loss that occurs up to 13 weeks before the expected date of birth due to a miscarriage or stillbirth. 

Effective January 1, 2026, the qualifying period has been expanded, and employees will be entitled to pregnancy leave following a pregnancy loss that occurs up to 20 weeks before the expected date of birth due to a miscarriage or stillbirth. 

Bereavement Leave 

Currently, employees are entitled to 5 working days of unpaid bereavement leave in the case of the death of a member of the employee’s immediate family, which must be taken within the period beginning one week before and ending one week after the funeral. 

Effective January 1, 2026, bereavement leave will become more flexible. Employees will continue to be entitled to 5 working days of leave; however, they may now take this leave at any time within six months of the death, rather than being restricted to the days immediately surrounding the funeral. 

The eligibility for bereavement leave has also been expanded to include leave for the death of a person the employee considers to be “like” family, as well as for the loss of a pregnancy of an employee or an employee’s immediate family. 

Interpersonal Violence Leave 

Currently, employees are entitled to 10 working days (5 days are paid leave) of leave each year in case of interpersonal violence leave. 

Effective January 1, 2026, employees are also entitled to an additional 16 weeks of unpaid interpersonal violence leave, which is added in addition to the existing 10 day leave period.  

Expansion of Definition of a “Day” 

Currently, the law defines a “day” as any period of 24 consecutive hours for the purposes of overtime and hours of work. 

Effective January 1, 2026, employers may now define a “day” for the purposes of overtime and hours of work as either: 

• a calendar day, or 
• any other period of 24 consecutive hours commencing at the time the employee is scheduled to begin work. 

Modified Work Arrangements 

Currently, part-time employees are not eligible to participate in modified work arrangements, and any overtime must be calculated once the employee exceeds 8 hours of work a day.  

Example: If a part-time employee is scheduled to work 5 hours per day, overtime would only begin after the employee works more than 8 hours in that day, even though their regular schedule is shorter. 

(A Modified Work Arrangement is an agreement between an employer and employee that averages hours of work over 1 to 4 weeks, allowing employees to work longer days in exchange for more days off.) 

Effective January 1, 2026, part-time employees may be covered by modified work arrangements under which overtime will only be payable once the employee exceeds the number of hours set out in their agreed part-time schedule, instead of the standard eight-hour daily threshold. 

Example: If a part-time employee is scheduled to work 6 hours per day, overtime will only apply after the employee works more than 6 hours on that day—not after 8 hours. 

Weekly days off for Retal Business 

Currently, employees working in retail businesses with more than 10 employees are entitled to 2 consecutive days off per week. 

Effective January 1, 2026, this requirement will be removed. Retail businesses will now be aligned with other sectors, which are required to provide 1 day off per week. 

Take Away- Employers should begin preparing now by reviewing and updating internal policies to align with the upcoming requirements.