Somebody has probably told you a number. Before you plan your month around it, check where that number came from, because most of the workers compensation figures circulating online are Ontario figures and Ontario is not the most generous jurisdiction in the country.
Workers compensation in Canada replaces between 75% and 90% of your earnings. In twelve of the thirteen jurisdictions that percentage is applied to your net earnings rather than your gross. Nine jurisdictions pay 90% of net. Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador pay 85% of net. Nova Scotia pays 75% of net for the first 26 weeks and 85% after that. Yukon is the exception and pays 75% of gross. Every jurisdiction also caps the earnings it will insure, and in 2026 those ceilings run from $79,900 to $171,500.
Wage replacement benefits are not taxed anywhere in Canada. That single fact is why almost every board works from net earnings instead of gross, and it is also why a headline percentage tells you much less than it appears to.
How much does workers compensation pay in each province and territory?
Here is the whole country in one place, current for 2026. Find your row first, then read the two sections underneath it, because the percentage on its own will mislead you.
| Where you work | Board | Rate | 2026 ceiling |
|---|---|---|---|
| British Columbia | WorkSafeBC | 90% of net | $127,500 |
| Alberta | WCB Alberta | 90% of net | $110,900 |
| Saskatchewan | WCB Saskatchewan | 90% of net | $108,223 |
| Manitoba | WCB Manitoba | 90% of net | $171,500 |
| Ontario | WSIB | 85% of net | $121,700 |
| Quebec | CNESST | 90% of net | $103,000 |
| New Brunswick | WorkSafeNB | 90% of net | $85,800 |
| Nova Scotia | WCB Nova Scotia | 75% of net, rising to 85% after 26 weeks | $79,900 |
| Prince Edward Island | WCB Prince Edward Island | 90% of net | $89,300 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | WorkplaceNL | 85% of net | $80,935 |
| Yukon | Workers' Safety and Compensation Board | 75% of gross | $107,599 |
| Northwest Territories | WSCC | 90% of net | $116,000 |
| Nunavut | WSCC | 90% of net | $117,300 |
Three of those figures have moved recently and are still published incorrectly in a number of comparison tables. New Brunswick raised its rate from 85% to 90% of net in 2024. Prince Edward Island raised its rate from 85% to 90% of net on 1 January 2023. Manitoba, which had no ceiling on insurable earnings at all for sixteen years, reinstated one for injuries on or after 1 January 2022.
Why does the percentage not tell you what you will actually receive?
Because 90% of net and 75% of gross are not what they look like side by side. Net earnings are your gross pay less probable deductions for income tax, Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance. Those deductions are substantial, so the number the percentage is applied to is substantially smaller in twelve jurisdictions than it is in Yukon.
Take a worker earning $60,000 a year. After income tax, CPP and EI, take-home pay might land somewhere near $45,000, though the exact figure depends on your own circumstances. In a 90% of net jurisdiction the benefit is roughly $40,500. In Yukon, at 75% of gross, it is $45,000.
The lowest percentage in Canada is not the lowest payment
Yukon's 75% looks like the worst rate in the country until you notice what it is 75% of. For many earners it produces more money than a 90% rate applied to net. Never compare two jurisdictions on the percentage alone.
This matters in one practical situation above all others. If you work across a provincial border, as long haul drivers and many trades do, you may be entitled to file in more than one jurisdiction and be required to choose between them. That choice carries its own deadline and usually cannot be undone. Which claim and which province applies to injured truck drivers works through how that decision is made.
What is the earnings ceiling and does it affect me?
It is the maximum amount of your yearly earnings the board will insure, and it only affects you if you earn more than it. Below the ceiling, your own earnings are used. Above it, the ceiling is used instead and the rest of your income is invisible to the calculation.
Nova Scotia publishes the clearest worked example of this. On earnings of $80,000 in a year when the ceiling is lower, benefits are not calculated on $80,000. Earnings are capped at the ceiling first, net earnings are worked out from the capped figure, then the percentage is applied to that. Two reductions happen before you see a dollar.
The ceilings move every January, so a figure you were quoted last year is already out of date.
Is there a minimum benefit if I earn very little?
Most boards protect lower earners, and the protection is usually invisible unless you go looking for it.
Manitoba is a clear example. Where your net loss of earnings is at or below the net minimum annual earnings, which was $33,280 as of 1 January 2026, the benefit rate rises to 100% of net rather than 90%. British Columbia and Alberta run comparable floors on a sliding scale. If you are a part time, seasonal or lower waged worker, ask your board directly whether a minimum applies to you, because it will not always be volunteered.
When do payments start after a workplace injury?
In most of Canada benefits run from the first day you lose earnings, with no waiting period at all.
Nova Scotia is the exception worth knowing. A waiting period equal to two fifths of your normal work week applies, which is why a first payment arrives smaller than expected. Where you remain off work beyond five weeks, that withheld amount is reimbursed. In Quebec the first fourteen days work differently again, with your employer paying 90% of net income for that period and being reimbursed by the CNESST afterwards.
How long do the payments last?
Longer than most people fear and rarely forever, and the rules on this vary more than the rates do.
Wage replacement generally continues while your injury continues to cost you earnings. Most jurisdictions end temporary benefits at 65, with a special rule giving roughly two years of benefits to workers injured at 63 or older. Yukon sets its equivalent threshold at 61 and runs for up to four years. Where an injury leaves lasting impairment, a separate permanent impairment benefit is usually paid on top of, or instead of, wage replacement, and it is calculated in an entirely different way.
If a decision about any of this has already gone against you, the clock you are on started at the decision rather than at the injury. What to do when an injury claim is denied in Canada covers the response that applies with any board and names the free worker adviser office in every province and territory.
What should I be writing down to protect the amount I am paid?
Four things, and every one of them is something a board will ask you to prove rather than take your word for.
- Every source of earnings you had before the injury. Overtime, shift premiums, a second job, seasonal patterns and contract work all count in most jurisdictions. A calculation built on your base rate alone will be too low, and nobody will notice on your behalf.
- Every day and every hour you actually lost. Partial days, appointments, shifts you started and could not finish. These are the entries people reconstruct badly from memory months later.
- Every conversation about your benefit rate. Date, who you spoke to, what figure they used and what they said it was based on. When a rate is wrong, the record of how it was set is what gets it corrected.
- Every other benefit you receive. Employment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan disability, private disability insurance and any employer top up. Boards reduce benefits for some of these, and failing to report one causes an overpayment you will be asked to repay.
Our free Resource Hub has fillable trackers for symptoms, appointments, correspondence and return to work. Why documenting your recovery matters explains what a dated record actually does once a figure is disputed.
Where can I get help with my benefit rate for free?
Every province and territory funds an office that acts for injured workers at no cost, usually called the Workers' Adviser or Workers' Advocate office. They are independent of the board.
Benefit rate calculations are one of the things these offices are best at, because the errors are technical rather than medical and can often be fixed without a formal appeal. Contact them before you start one. What to do after a workplace injury in Canada lists the board for each jurisdiction and links to the deadlines that apply where you work.
Which guides do I actually need?
The two do different jobs and each is weaker alone. The National Workplace Injury Recovery Guide holds the daily record of symptoms, appointments, calls and costs, the things nobody can reconstruct once a rate is questioned. Your provincial Companion Guide holds the deadlines, forms, board contacts and appeal routes where you work. With only the record you have no map. With only the map you have nothing to put on it.
Read next
- What to Do After a Workplace Injury in Canada
- What Happens at a Functional Abilities Evaluation
- Emotional Recovery After an Injury
Last verified August 2026 against the Association of Workers' Compensation Boards of Canada and the published benefit pages of WorkSafeBC, WCB Alberta, WCB Saskatchewan, WCB Manitoba, the WSIB, the CNESST, WorkSafeNB, WCB Nova Scotia, WCB Prince Edward Island, WorkplaceNL, the Yukon Workers' Safety and Compensation Board and the WSCC. Rates and ceilings are amended from time to time and ceilings change every January, so confirm the current position with your own board before relying on it. We re-check these pages quarterly. If you find something wrong here, write to Recovery@hurtsquare.ca and we will correct it publicly. This article is general information and is not legal, medical or insurance advice.