I am a new parent
You could maybe receive Family Allowance, which is financial assistance provided to eligible families who have a dependent child under age 18 who lives with them.
To receive Family Allowance, you or your spouse must meet all the following conditions:
- Be responsible for the care and education of a child under age 18.
- Live or lived with the child before the child was placed or institutionalized temporarily by an institution in the health and social services sector.
- Live in Québec (under the Taxation Act).
- Have one of the following statuses:
- Canadian citizen;
- permanent resident;
- temporary resident who has been living in Canada for the last 18 months;
- protected person.
To receive Family Allowance, you and your spouse must file your
income tax returns each year, even if you have no income to declare. If one of your income tax returns has not been sent before the deadline set by Revenu Québec, the Family Allowance payments will be suspended until your income tax return has been filed.
Good to know
In the case of a birth in Québec, if you meet the eligibility requirements for Family Allowance,
you do not have to file an application.
Following the birth of your child in Québec, hospital staff will ask you to complete the Application for Simplified Access to Birth-related Government Programs and Services, which is enclosed with the declaration of birth from the Directeur de l'état civil. This process allows you to inform several government departments and agencies of your child's birth at the same time.
Retraite Québec will therefore automatically be informed of your child's birth. Retraite Québec will then be able to pay you Family Allowance within 45 calendar days.
Do you live in Québec but gave birth outside the province?
If your child was born elsewhere than in Québec and you would like to receive Family Allowance, you must file an application with Retraite Québec. Consult the
Application for Family Allowance Payments web section to find out about the options available.
A confirmation of the eligibility for Family Allowance is uploaded to the My documents section of
My Account and mailed in the weeks following the birth. The document shows the payment amounts that will be received by July.
Consult the
Family Allowance section to find out how the Family Allowance amount is calculated and find out about the payment methods.
To estimate the amount of Family Allowance payments you could receive, use the
CalculAide tool.
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