Canada does not have a national COBRA clone. What you have is a conversion privilege, a provincial health card, and a clock.
When a job ends, extended health, dental, and group life often end at the last day of the month or the last day worked — read the booklet. Provincial medicare still covers medically necessary physician and hospital care (with the usual provincial gaps). It does not cover the drug, para-medical, and dental bills that made the group plan feel like “health insurance.”
The conversion window
Many group contracts let you convert group life, and sometimes health, to an individual policy without proving insurability if you apply within a short period (often 31 days). The individual product will be more expensive and may be thinner. It still matters if you have a condition that would fail a medical questionnaire.
Missing the window because HR was slow is a preventable disaster. Ask for the conversion package in writing on the day you resign or are let go.
What group did that individual must replace
| Benefit | Typical group | Individual market |
|---|---|---|
| Prescription drugs | Formulary + co-pay | Can be expensive; underwriting applies |
| Dental | Annual caps | Waiting periods for major work |
| Life / AD&D | Multiple of salary | Convert or buy term while healthy |
| Disability | Often the most valuable piece | Harder to replace after symptoms exist |
Spousal plans
If a partner still has group coverage, adding you may be cheaper than an individual plan. Coordination of benefits has rules; you cannot collect 200% of a dental bill. You can avoid a gap. Enrol on the partner’s plan immediately — their plan has a window too.
A Montreal example
An employee left a firm with a generous drug plan while taking a specialty medication. They assumed a new job’s benefits would start on day one. The new plan had a three-month wait. Conversion on the old life policy was used; the drug gap was patched with a short-term individual product that still required disclosure. The expensive lesson was calendar math, not pharmacology.
Self-employed after the exit
If you are leaving for contracting, budget benefits as a line item. Association plans (professionals, chambers) can help but read exclusions. Disability insurance is easier to buy before you need it; do not wait for the first unpaid sick week.
A 10-day punch list
- Get the benefits booklet and end date.
- Ask HR for conversion forms the same week.
- If there is a spouse plan, enrol.
- Price an individual health plan with your actual drug list.
- Do not let group life vanish if you have dependents and no personal term policy.
Job changes are career events. They are also underwriting events. Treat the booklet with the same respect as the offer letter.