New parents will be able to share at least five additional weeks of leave following the birth of a child _ provided they also share the job of caring for the baby.
Measures proposed in today's Liberal budget provide new parents with a total of five additional weeks if they've opted for the traditional 12-month parental leave, or eight weeks under the new 18-month option introduced late last year.
The option isn't expected to come into effect until June 2019.
The change is one of several the Liberals plan to make to the social safety net as they continue to curry political favour with middle-class families trying to foot the bill for raising children.
The budget doesn't add any money to the $7.5-billion, 10-year child care windfall outlined last year, but does allow new parents and those on sick leave to work while collecting employment insurance benefits.
The Liberals are also spending $1 billion to enrich and expand eligibility for an existing tax benefit for low-income workers, and also provide extra benefits to employees who lose out on pay, vacation and severance when an employer files for bankruptcy.