To qualify for maternity leave, your income will have to drop by at least 40 per cent during your leave – not including any employer top up – and you’ll have had to pay into Employment Insurance (EI) for at least 600 hours in the previous year. Under the EI program, maternity leave covers up to 15 weeks, while 35-weeks of parental leave – which is open to both parents of a newborn or a newly adopted child – can be shared.

For most people, the basic rate for calculating EI benefits is 55 per cent of your average insurable weekly earnings, up to $50,800 for 2016 – that’s $537 per week. Of course, if your employer offers a top up, your weekly pay will be more.

Whether or not one gets an employer top up can be an important factor in determining who takes parental leave. For example, if your spouse can use top ups to increase their benefit rate to 80 per cent, it may be best if they use most of the 35 weeks.

Keep in mind that EI and top-up benefits are added to your taxable income, but any regular tax deductions are based on the benefit amount. In other words, it doesn’t take into account salary you received before your leave, nor any employer contributions, which could result in a tax bill. You can avoid getting hit with a huge tax bill by asking your employer to deduct more tax from their top ups.

EI benefits vary slightly by province and territory so be sure to learn the rules in your region, and take a good look at benefits offered by your employer(s).

Tomlinson recommends doing the research early – they were able make adjustments to their budget and felt comfortable knowing at least that part of their pregnancy was under control. “There are a lot of things that you have no say in when you’re pregnant, like raging hormones and swollen feet,” she says. “My leave plan though – that’s set in stone.”