Conservatives propose parental leave reforms

The federal Conservatives proposed a trio of employment insurance reforms on Thursday, which they argue would make parental leaves more flexible for modern families.

Conservative employment critic Garnett Genuis held a press conference in Ottawa, alongside three of his caucus colleagues who are young mothers, to unveil the proposals.

"New technology and emerging trends in work have created new opportunities for parents to balance work and family life, while the worsening affordability crisis has also put new burdens on families," Genuis said in the National Press Theatre.

The Tory MPs said parents should be able to earn money from childcare services without losing benefits, and that parents should be guaranteed the ability to pursue education or skills training while on leave.

"Decisions about who can and cannot learn on leave are made by bureaucrats based on fuzzy criteria, and we would change that," said Conservative MP Carol Anstey.

The Conservatives are also calling for the government to allow parental leaves to be interrupted with a brief return to work before they finish the rest of their leave.

They argued that Quebec already allows parents to pause their leaves, and that's something that should be available to other Canadians as well.

Conservative MP Laila Goodridge said these proposals come at a time when there are more young mothers in the House of Commons who have either faced such challenges with parental leaves, or their friends have.

"Fifteen years ago, there were very few parliamentarians having babies while in office, and very few women at that," she said. "I think that part of it is that we're hearing a different voice that perhaps wasn't heard before, and from our perspective, we're acting on it."

Conservative MP Sandra Cobena said splitting parental leave into two sections would allow greater flexibility for agricultural workers during harvest season, and would also be useful for families who work in the tourism, tax and real-estate sectors.

Cobena, a mother of three expecting a fourth child this summer, said she experienced this problem first-hand when she worked in banking and wanted to return during the busy season.

"I would have loved to stay connected and to pitch in during those busy times, helping the employer and the broader team ... but then be able to return to my leave without penalty. But that was impossible," Cobena said.

"In my case, I decided to return to work and unfortunately had to give up whatever was left on the leave."

On her way into question period Thursday, Labour Minister Patty Hajdu told reporters she will look into the proposals.

"We're always open to hearing about how parental leave evolves with modern times," Hajdu said. 

"That certainly was work that we've done in the past. As you know, we extended parental leave for parents that wanted to extend their parental leave over longer periods of time."

The Liberals campaigned in 2015 on extending parental leave up to 18 months, a sales pitch the Conservatives had matched that election. 

Extended parental leave came into effect in 2017.

At the same time, Hajdu said it's "disappointing" Genuis has been "completely silent about affordable childcare."

"I noted one of his objectives was actually to reduce licensed childcare and provide for more informal settings, something many families actually don't really prefer," she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2026.

By Kyle Duggan | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.