Cancelling your participation

Once you have registered to participate, you have 60 days in which you may cancel your participation without having to pay any premiums.

After this 60-day period, you may still terminate your participation if you have never received EI special benefits as a self-employed person. In other words, after you receive EI special benefits, your participation will continue and you will have to continue to pay EI premiums for the entire duration of your self-employed career, regardless of any change in the nature of your self-employment.

Note that you will not receive a refund of any EI premiums.

Instructions on how to cancel your participation are available from My Service Canada Account. You will have to notify the Canada Employment Insurance Commission by filing a notice of termination.

Official termination date

Termination is not immediate: Your participation in the EI program will be officially terminated on December 31 of the year in which you file a notice of termination. This means that regardless of the date you file the notice of termination, you must pay EI premiums on your self-employment income for the entire calendar year.

Withdrawing a notice of termination

Your access to EI special benefits continues until the end of the calendar year in which you file your notice of termination, so you may still apply for and receive EI special benefits during that period. For example, if you file a notice of termination on April 20, 2012, and you then become sick, you may still apply for and receive EI sickness benefits in September 2012. Your notice of termination will automatically be withdrawn because you are receiving benefits, and your participation in the EI program, including paying your EI premiums, will continue for the duration of your self-employment career.