Nova Scotia has the highest WCB Premiums in Canada!

20 years of overpaying into a broken system, enough is enough.

Did you know?

Nova Scotia has the 3rd highest total payroll tax in Canada because WCB rates are the highest in the country!

Bar chart with an arrow, symbolizing the increase in WCB rates for small business owners Every year, your business is overpaying! In 2024, the rate was $1.18 above the Canadian Average! On a $50,000 salary, that’s $590 more per employee and $5,900 per ten employees.

In this graphic, we can see the 2024 average WCB rates (for NS, it is $2.65, which is much higher than the national average, resting at $1.47).

Claim durations are out of control!

The average composite claim duration in Nova Scotia was 167 days in 2022! In Manitoba it was only 35 days.

Stressed small business owner I don’t know when my people are coming back to work and it’s stressful!

Hon. Tim Houston, Premier of Nova Scotia & the Nova Scotia Workers’ Compensation Board

CC: My Member of Parliament

For 20 years, businesses in Nova Scotia have been paying the highest workers’ compensation rates in the country. If that wasn’t enough, claim durations are more than four months longer than in Manitoba.

My business is overpaying into an insurance system that is failing both employees and employers.

No business should have to pay into a broken system and my employees deserve better service when workplace injuries occur.

To help small businesses like mine, I am urging you to:

  • Keep small businesses who are currently excluded from WCB out of the system.
  • Reduce the average assessed rate in Nova Scotia to the Canadian average.
  • Introduce a plan to reduce claim durations to the Canadian average and get employees back to work in a timely manner.
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The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 97,000 members across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings.