A Mother's Village
The benefits are documented. What to do with the days is not.
Employment Insurance provides maternity benefits of up to 15 weeks for the person giving birth, plus parental benefits — either standard (up to 40 weeks shared, 35 maximum for one parent) or extended (up to 69 weeks shared, 61 maximum for one parent) at a lower weekly rate. Quebec runs its own plan, the QPIP.
Rules and amounts change, so confirm current figures on the Government of Canada website before you plan around them.
Please verify before planning. Benefit lengths, rates and eligibility change. This page is a plain-language overview, not financial or legal advice — check current rules on the Government of Canada website, or the QPIP site if you are in Quebec.
Financially, leave gets planned carefully. Socially, it rarely does. The working day disappears, and with it most adult contact. Many parents describe the middle months of leave as the loneliest stretch of the whole year.
The return is its own adjustment. A local network makes the logistics survivable — the pickup you cannot make, the sick day that collides with a deadline. That is precisely what a village is for.
Employment Insurance offers standard parental benefits for up to 40 weeks shared between parents (maximum 35 for one parent), or extended benefits up to 69 weeks shared (maximum 61 for one parent), at a lower rate. Maternity benefits of up to 15 weeks are separate and for the person giving birth. Quebec runs its own plan, the QPIP.
Standard and extended parental benefits can be shared between parents and taken in different arrangements. Check current rules on the Government of Canada website, as the details change.
Beyond benefits: public-health programmes, library and recreation drop-ins, and local parent groups. Leave is often the loneliest period precisely because the working-day network disappears.
Real screens from Haven, opening in Ontario in fall 2026.
A village is more than mothers — it is everyone nearby with an hour to spare.
Behind the scenes of building Haven — the community, the mothers, and the road to launch in Ontario.
Add your email and we'll write once — the day your village opens. Tell us where you are and it helps us choose the next community.
Thank you — you're on the list. We'll be in touch.
