British Columbia expands job-protected leave for Canadian Armed Forces reservists

At a glance

• British Columbia (BC) has broadened the scope of job-protected leave available to Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) reservists, with regulatory amendments having taken effect on 6 August 2026. 

• Reservists may now take up to 24 months of leave within any 60-month period for military skills training, pre- and post-deployment activities, and operational deployments.  

• The previous entitlement, which limited training leave to a maximum of 20 days per year, has been replaced to better reflect the demands of modern reserve service.  

• The changes align BC's employment standards framework with national benchmarks and are intended to support federal recruitment and retention objectives for Reserve Forces.  

• Employers should be aware that this leave is available to all eligible employees from the outset of employment, with no minimum service requirement. 

Background

BC first introduced statutory job-protected leave for reservists nearly two decades ago, and the province is home to approximately 3,000 part-time sailors, soldiers and aviators serving in the CAF Reserve Force. Since 2017, more than 1,000 BC-based reservists have been called upon to assist with provincial emergency responses, including pandemic operations, flooding and wildfire events.  

The amendments to the Reservists' Leave Regulation are part of a broader national effort to strengthen Canada's reserve capacity. Many Canadian provinces have now updated their employment standards legislation to improve unpaid leave entitlements for reservists.  

Key details of the amended entitlement

Under the revised regulation, reservists are entitled to take as long as 24 months of leave within a rolling 60-month window for the following purposes:  

• Military skills training. 

• Pre-deployment or post-deployment activities. 

• Deployments relating to CAF operations. 

Domestic deployments in response to national emergencies remain exempt from the 24-month cap.  

Under the Employment Standards Act, the right to reservists' leave applies to all eligible employees regardless of their length of service. Employees are required to give their employer at least four weeks' advance notice of upcoming training or deployment, unless they receive short-notice deployment orders, in which case notice must be provided as soon as practicable.  

Employer checklist

• Review internal leave and absence management policies to ensure they accommodate the expanded 24-month entitlement within a 60-month rolling period.  

• Note that no minimum period of employment is required before a reservist may exercise this right under the Employment Standards Act.  

• Ensure processes are in place to receive and manage the four-week advance notice that employees must provide before commencing training or deployment (unless they are deployed on short notice).  

• Consider whether financial support may be available through the federal Compensation for Employers of Reservists Program, which is intended to help offset costs arising from reservist absences.