Workers' Compensation in Canada: Provincial & Territorial Guide

Workers' compensation is a workplace injury and occupational illness insurance system. When a worker is injured on the job or develops a disease caused by their work, the system can provide wage-loss benefits, medical care, rehabilitation, and return-to-work support. It is generally no-fault, meaning you do not usually have to prove your employer was at fault to receive benefits.

There is also a federal workers' compensation framework for certain federal employees (see the federal section below). You can also see our short Workers' Compensation Benefits summary in the benefits directory.

Workers' compensation is not interchangeable with these programs. Being eligible for one does not automatically qualify you for another — each has its own rules.

Depending on your situation, you may interact with more than one of these — but coordination and offsets can apply (for example, an LTD plan or a provincial disability program may reduce its payment by the amount of your workers' compensation benefits). Always check with each program.

Find your province or territory below to identify the board or commission that handles workers' compensation where you work. If you are a federal government employee (or another federally covered worker), see the federal section next.

Note: the Northwest Territories and Nunavut share a single board (WSCC), listed under both territories with their respective websites.

Certain federal government employees — and some other federally regulated workers — are covered by the Government Employees Compensation Act (GECA) rather than by a provincial or territorial board. The federal program is administered by Employment and Social Development Canada through the Federal Workers' Compensation Service (FWCS).

Compensation for federal workers (Canada.ca)

Workers' compensation systems may provide different types of support. Availability and rules vary by jurisdiction — confirm what applies to you with your board.

Workers' compensation may be relevant if:

• you were injured while working;
• your job caused or contributed to an illness;
• a workplace injury caused a temporary or permanent disability;
• you need medical treatment or rehabilitation because of a workplace injury; or
• your ability to work has been reduced because of a compensable workplace injury or occupational disease.

Take these steps in order. Deadlines and reporting requirements vary by province and territory, so act promptly and check your board's official website.

Workers' compensation decisions can generally be reviewed or appealed, but the process differs by jurisdiction. Usually there is an internal review or reconsideration step at the board, followed by one or more independent appeal levels (often a tribunal). The names of the levels and the deadlines differ in every province and territory.

Where available, worker adviser offices, community legal clinics, unions, and disability organizations may be able to help you with an appeal at no cost. For example, Ontario has an Office of the Worker Adviser, and Saskatchewan offers Injured Worker Appeal Services (IWAS) — check what your province or territory provides.

For general appeal principles — deadlines, gathering stronger evidence, and finding free advocate help — see our Appeals Guide (it focuses on disability benefit appeals, but the approach to evidence and timelines also applies to workers' compensation).

Depending on your circumstances, you may also want to explore these. Qualifying for workers' compensation does not automatically qualify you for any of them — each program has its own rules.