Every province now has job protection for long-term sick leave

On June 30, New Brunswick became the last province to implement a job protection system for residents claiming long-term sick leave. Now, all ten provinces in Canada have legislation in place to provide some sort of job protection for workers taking long-term sick leave. New Brunswick's new law allows workers suffering from long-term illnesses like cancer to take 27 consecutive weeks of protected sick leave. New Brunswick's previous law only gave workers five weeks of job-protected leave, meaning companies could theoretically start phasing out employees recovering from serious long-term injuries or illnesses.

Now, all Canadian provinces have legislation either giving 26 or 27 weeks of protected leave. The Canadian Cancer Society has been a strong advocate for legislation like this. With New Brunswick being the last province holding out, the Canadian Cancer Society called the legislation a huge win for Cancer and illness advocacy. While some provinces have had long-term job-protected sick leave, it didn't become commonplace in Canada until after 2022.

The legislative change took effect after receiving royal assent, granting eligible employees the right to take unpaid long-term sick leave without fear of dismissal solely because of their absence. While employers are not required to continue paying wages during the leave unless separate workplace policies or collective agreements apply, they must preserve an employee's position or provide a comparable role upon their return. Labour organizations say the reform addresses an important gap in employment protections that had existed in New Brunswick for years, particularly as more Canadians face lengthy recoveries from serious illnesses and complex medical treatments.

Ottawa starting a wave of change

The government of Ottawa began the trend of protected sick leave in 2022, after giving federal workers 27 weeks of job-protected long-term sick leave. While the province of Quebec has had this legislation for more than two decades, it stood as the only province to have job protection for people recovering from long-term illnesses. With Ottawa implementing this system for its federal workers, the rest of Canada latched on to the trend. From 2023 to 2025, a wave of provinces implemented similar systems.

Ontario and British Columbia were the first provinces to implement the legislation. With Ontario's unpaid “long-term illness leave” and British Columbia's 27-week serious illness protection, the provinces began protecting their workers. In January of 2026, Central and Western Canada joined the trend. On January 1 2026, Alberta and Saskatchewan officially extended their job-protected sick leave to 27 weeks. New Brunswick became the final piece of the sick-leave puzzle in June 2026, passing its own law to extend its protected long-term illness leave to 27 days.

Details of protected sick leave

While every province has a slightly different system for its protected sick leave, there are similarities across the board. None of the provinces mandate that the long-term illness leave be paid, meaning workers will have to rely on either Employment Insurance (EI) or their own savings. While protected sick leave is a great resource, it only takes some of the stress off Canadians battling illness. With Cancer treatments often coming with ancillary fees (depending on the care), the long-term illness protection plan doesn't always guarantee personal security.

What it does guarantee, though, is that workers' jobs will still be there after they recover from their long-term illness. In the US, companies face very few regulations regarding long-term illness leave, with dozens of workers suffering from cancer or other long-term illnesses being let go. The result is sick employees who have lost their work-provided health insurance. Now, Canada has ensured that it is policing employers and protecting Canadian workers.