When Can Employers Require Sick Notes in Canada? Manitoba and PEI Introduce New Rules

Key Updates:

• Manitoba: Beginning October 1, 2026, employers, generally, cannot require a sick note unless an absence lasts more than one week or the employee has been absent because of injury or illness for more than 10 scheduled workdays in the calendar year. Employers must also reimburse employees for the cost of a required sick note.
• Prince Edward Island: As of June 30, 2026, employers, generally, cannot require confirmation of illness or injury unless an employee has been absent for, for requests sick leave of, five consecutive working days or more.
• Across Canada: Most jurisdictions have now implemented rules respecting an employer’s ability to request an employee provide a sick note. However, the rules differ significantly by jurisdiction and restrictions on sick notes do not necessarily prevent employers from requesting appropriate medical information for purposes such as accommodation or return-to-work assessments.

Manitoba Introduces New Restrictions on Sick Notes

Manitoba has joined a growing number of Canadian jurisdictions in legislating restrictions on an employer’s ability to request sick notes from its employees for short-term absences.

New amendments to Manitoba’s The Employment Standards Code, which take effect on October 1, 2026, provide that employers cannot require a sick note from an employee unless the absence extends beyond one week or the employee has been absent for more than 10 scheduled workdays in the calendar year due to illness or injury.

Manitoba has also gone further than some other jurisdictions and legislated an employer-reimbursement mechanism for employee costs related to obtaining a sick note.

Prince Edward Island Raises the Threshold for Sick Notes

A comparable shift has also taken place in Prince Edward Island. As of June 30, 2026, amendments to Prince Edward Island’s Employment Standards Act have come into effect. Prior to June 30, 2026, an employer was entitled to request a sick note for an absence of three consecutive days or more. Now, however, the threshold has been raised to five consecutive days.

Jurisdictions Without Statutory Restrictions on Sick Notes

With these developments, Alberta, Newfoundland & Labrador, Nunavut, and the Yukon now stand as the only Canadian jurisdictions that have not implemented sick-note related legislation.

In these jurisdictions there are no specific statutory restrictions on when an employer may request a sick note from an employee; however, human rights and privacy considerations still act as limits on the medical information that an employer can reasonably request from an employee.

When Can an Employer Require a Sick Note in Canada?

The requirements vary by jurisdiction. Below is a high-level overview of each jurisdiction’s legislative requirements for requesting sick notes in non-unionized workplaces, current as of the date of publication only. 

Federal

An employer may only require a medical certificate from a health‑care practitioner after an employee has taken at least five consecutive days of medical leave. 

Note: The request must be made in writing within 15 days of the employee's return.

Alberta

No statutory requirements.

British Columbia

An employer cannot request a sick note for the first 2 health‑related absences of 5 consecutive days or fewer in a calendar year.

Note: If an employee is using their statutory entitlement for personal illness or injury days (5 paid and 3 unpaid), an employer is only permitted to request “reasonably sufficient proof of illness or injury,” even if it is for an absence of greater than 5 days or the employee’s  third or subsequent absence. “Reasonably sufficient proof” may not include a sick note, depending on the circumstances. Note also that the definition of “health-related absences” for the purposes of restricting sick notes includes absences due to illness or injury of the employee, or an immediate family member.

Manitoba

An employer cannot require a sick note unless:

• the absence is more than one week; or the employee has been absent due to illness or injury on more than 10 scheduled workdays in the calendar year.

New Brunswick

An employer may only request a medical certificate certifying the employee’s illness or injury and incapacity to work due to the illness or injury when a leave of absence persists for four or more consecutive days.

Newfoundland & Labrador

No express statutory requirements; however, in 2024, Newfoundland & Labrador eliminated a prior statutory requirement obligating employees to provide a medical certificate after three consecutive days of sick leave.

Northwest Territories

The employer may request that an employee provide a medical certificate only if the sick leave exceeds or is expected to exceed three consecutive days.

Nova Scotia

An employer cannot require a medical note unless:

• the employee is absent more than five consecutive working days; or the employee has had two non-consecutive absences of five or fewer working days in the preceding 12 months.

Nunavut

No statutory requirements.

Ontario

An employer cannot require a medical certificate to substantiate that an employee is entitled to utilize their statutory entitlement to three unpaid sick days.

Note: This restriction does not restrain an employer’s ability to request a medical certificate where the employee has exhausted their statutory entitlement to three unpaid sick days or where the absence is unrelated to the same.

Prince Edward Island

An employer may request a sick note only in respect of absences of five consecutive days or more.

Quebec

An employer cannot require any document attesting to the absence for the first 3 short-term absences (of 3 consecutive days or fewer) in a 12-month period, as measured from the first such absence. An employer may therefore require supporting documentation in the following cases:

• from the fourth short-term absence in that 12-month period; or
• for any absence exceeding 3 consecutive days, even if it is the first absence.

Note: Employers are also prohibited from demanding medical certificates for absences taken to meet family or caregiver obligations, regardless of length; however, other non-medical evidence reasonably related to the absence may still be requested, such as a receipt from a pharmacy attesting to the purchase of a prescribed drug or a parking receipt from a clinic.

Saskatchewan

An employer cannot require a medical certificate unless:

• the absence exceeds five consecutive working days; or
• the employee has had non‑consecutive absences of two or more working days due to illness/injury in the preceding 12 months.

Note: This restriction also applies to leave connected to an immediate family member’s illness or injury. Request for a medical certificate must be in writing.

Yukon

No statutory requirements.

Notwithstanding the restrictions set out in the above chart, an employer will still generally be permitted to request reasonable medical substantiation in order to assess whether an employee is fit to return to work from an absence and to assess accommodation options or requirements.

What Should Employers Do Now?

For Manitoba Employers

Before October 1, 2026, Manitoba employers should consider:

• reviewing sick-leave and attendance policies;
• updating procedures for requesting medical documentation;
• ensuring managers and HR personnel understand when a sick note may, and may not, be requested;
• consider establishing a process for reimbursing employees for required sick-note expenses;
• reviewing forms, templates, and communications that automatically request doctor's notes; and
• distinguishing between short-term absence verification and medical information requested for accommodation or return-to-work purposes.

For Employers Operating Across Canada

• Employers with employees in multiple jurisdictions should avoid applying a single sick-note policy nationally without considering applicable provincial, territorial or federal requirements. Employers should familiarize themselves with the rules applicable to their workforce and ensure their compliance with the same.

Cautionary Note: The above provides only a high-level overview of applicable sick-note related requirements in Canada, with further nuanced rules existing under the legislation in each province or territory.

If you have any questions regarding employee absences and your rights and obligations as an employer, please contact any member of our National Labour & Employment Team.

A special thank you to Nimrit Mann, summer student, for her efforts and collaboration on this publication.