Apply for benefits

You might be able to get Employment Insurance (EI) benefits. 

And, you might be able to get EI even though you were fired. It depends on the reason you were fired.

Your employer might say you were fired for misconduct. If EI staff agree, they will not give you benefits. But they can decide that your employer is wrong.

What is misconduct is often not clear. So you should apply for EI even if you were fired. You can find out more about the rules to qualify for EI in Employment Insurance.

If you don’t qualify or you’re waiting for EI, you might be able to get social assistance benefits from Ontario Works (OW). To get OW assistance, you must qualify financially. This means that you must need financial help so that you have enough money to live on.

You must also meet OW rules about:

• income, which is how much money you already get
• assets, which are things you own and any money or savings you have

You can apply for OW online.

The information you enter online goes to your local OW office. Within 3 business days, a worker from that office is supposed to phone you to set up an appointment to complete the application.

If you don’t have a phone number, call your local OW office to make the appointment.