OTTAWA — Last year's federal budget unveiled a program to help eligible workers in 12 regions of the country hard hit by a downturn in commodity prices. Three regions were added in May. Eligible workers received an extra five weeks of regular benefits effective July 2016 but retroactive to January 2015. Long-tenured workers in the regions were also eligible for an extra 20 weeks of benefits, to a maximum of 70 weeks — again, starting last July but retroactive to January 2015.
Here is a breakdown, by region, of the number of claims and how much they have cost.
Claims for an extra five weeks of EI
Newfoundland and Labrador: 42,142
Sudbury: 3,216
Northern Ontario: 18,076
Northern Manitoba: 5,017
Saskatoon: 4,769
Southern Saskatchewan: 5,233
Northern Saskatchewan: 7,522
Calgary: 23,225
Edmonton: 25,383
Northern Alberta: 7,518
Southern Alberta: 18,145
Southern Interior B.C.: 17,900
Northern B.C.: 10,971
Whitehorse: 629
Nunavut: 437
Total: 190,183
Claims by long-tenured workers
Newfoundland and Labrador: 5,085
Sudbury: 1,138
Northern Ontario: 4,162
Northern Manitoba: 779
Saskatoon: 2,351
Southern Saskatchewan: 2,628
Northern Saskatchewan: 2,248
Calgary: 16,389
Edmonton: 16,629
Northern Alberta: 3,720
Southern Alberta: 12,771
Southern Interior B.C.: 5,929
Northern B.C.: 3,304
Whitehorse: 201
Nunavut: 105
Total: 77,439
Average number of weeks of extra benefits
Newfoundland and Labrador: 7.8
Sudbury: 7.7
Northern Ontario: 7.9
Northern Manitoba: 7.5
Saskatoon: 8.2
Southern Saskatchewan: 8.4
Northern Saskatchewan: 8.7
Calgary: 9.6
Edmonton 9.0
Northern Alberta: 8.2
Southern Alberta: 9.1
Southern Interior B.C.: 7.9
Northern B.C.: 7.3
Whitehorse: 7.2
Nunavut: 7.4
Extra Benefits Paid
Newfoundland and Labrador: $162.5 million
Sudbury: $15.2 million
Northern Ontario: $76.9 million
Northern Manitoba: $18.9 million
Saskatoon: $27.5 million
Southern Saskatchewan: $30.9 million
Northern Saskatchewan: $39.5 million
Calgary: $185.3 million
Edmonton: $186.6 million
Northern Alberta: $45.5 million
Southern Alberta: $134.3 million
Southern Interior B.C.: $83.3 million
Northern B.C.: $47.8 million
Whitehorse: $2.9 million
Nunavut: $2 million
Total: $1.059 billion
(Source: Employment and Social Development Canada)
The Canadian Press