Severance pay · Canada
Severance pay by province.
Pick your province for the statutory minimum an employer owes when it ends your job without cause, in dollars, and to check a severance offer against it.
Outside Ontario and the federal jurisdiction, the law fixes notice or pay in place of it, not a separate severance formula. In the provinces below that is up to 8 weeks, except Newfoundland and Labrador (6) and New Brunswick (4).
Qualifying period and maximum, by province
| Province | Notice owed after | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| British Columbia | more than 3 consecutive months | 8 weeks |
| Alberta | more than 90 days | 8 weeks |
| Quebec | 3 months | 8 weeks |
| Manitoba | 30 days | 8 weeks |
| Saskatchewan | more than 13 consecutive weeks | 8 weeks |
| Nova Scotia | 3 months | 8 weeks |
| New Brunswick | 6 months | 4 weeks |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 3 months | 6 weeks |
Each figure is from the province’s own guidance, checked 15 October 2026; the source is linked on each province page.
Why there are two kinds of answer
Ontario’s Employment Standards Act and the Canada Labour Code add a statutory severance pay on top of notice. The provinces on this page do not publish a severance formula. What they require is notice, or pay in place of it. Anything above that comes from an employment contract or from a court, and no table can predict a court.
Frequently asked questions
Which provinces have statutory severance pay?
Of the jurisdictions covered by this site’s calculators, Ontario and the federal jurisdiction have a separate statutory severance pay, and each has its own calculator linked above. The other provinces here set a minimum notice, or pay in place of notice, and leave anything more to contract or common law. Alberta and New Brunswick say this in terms on their own pages.
What is the difference between severance and termination pay?
Termination pay (also called pay in lieu of notice) is the money that replaces the statutory notice period. Severance, where a statute provides it, is a further payment based on years of service. Many people use the word severance for the whole package.
Where is Prince Edward Island?
Not on this page yet. Its official notice page could not be read when these sources were checked, so no figures are shown rather than risk showing unchecked ones. The territories are covered by the termination notice calculator.
Does this include common-law reasonable notice?
No. Nothing in a statute fixes it, so any dollar figure would be a guess. The calculators show the legal floor and let you compare an offer against it.
Estimate only — not legal advice
This page estimates the statutory minimum from the province’s published employment standards guidance. It is not legal advice and not a determination of what you are owed. It does not model group terminations, temporary layoffs, fixed-term contracts, contractual terms, or common-law reasonable notice, any of which can change the answer. It stores nothing and sends nothing: the calculation runs in your browser.
For a binding answer, contact the province’s employment standards office or an employment lawyer. Do not sign a release without advice.