The federal Liberals are looking for answers after the government's program to help workers in hard-hit economic regions of the country blew past budget expectations, with spending now topping $1.3-billion.

The government figured that just 235,000 people would use extra weeks of employment insurance benefits when they unveiled the program last year to help workers in 15 regions of the country with stubborn unemployment rates.

That was projected to cost the government $827.4-million between April 2016 and March 2019.

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But as of July 9, Employment and Social Development Canada said that it had spent just under $1.31-billion on the extra weeks of benefits for 317,261 claimants.

The spending figure may yet change as officials pore over the last few claims that trickled in by last week's deadline for program eligibility.

A report will be coming out in September with a revised cost for the program.

A spokesman for Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said that the high cost for the program was one of the reasons it wasn't renewed and that a review is underway to determine why costs exceeded estimates.

Opposition critics argued the fault lay in the Liberals' economic policy.

Conservative critic Pierre Poilievre said the government's moves to increase taxes had a negative effect on hiring, which meant more spending on employment insurance programs.

"The government should, instead, cut payroll taxes so employers can afford to hire more and employees can enjoy the rewards of their labour."

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NDP jobs critic Brigitte Sansoucy said the Liberals were right to extend EI benefits, but the numbers suggest Canadians are struggling more than the Liberals are willing to admit.

She called on the government to make more permanent improvements to EI, suggesting the high spending and claimant figures show such changes are badly needed.

The program was rolled out in 2016 for workers in 15 economic regions of the country that had seen a hard and sustained drop in employment as a result of the sharp downturn in energy prices.

Eligible workers received an extra five weeks of regular benefits effective July 2016 but retroactive to January 2015.

Long-tenured workers in the regions were also eligible for an extra 20 weeks of benefits, to a maximum of 70 weeks – again, starting last July but retroactive to January 2015.

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A by-the-numbers look at extended EI benefits to hard-hit economic regions

Last year's federal budget unveiled a program to help eligible workers in 12 regions of the country hard hit by a downturn in commodity prices. Three regions were added in May.

Here is a breakdown, by region, of the number of claims and how much they have cost as of July 9, the day after eligibility closed.

Claims for an extra five weeks of EI:

Newfoundland and Labrador: 48,950

Sudbury, Ont.: 3,774

Northern Ontario: 21,222

Northern Manitoba: 5,958

Saskatoon: 5,649

Southern Saskatchewan: 6,148

Northern Saskatchewan: 8,870

Calgary: 27,068

Edmonton: 30,261

Northern Alberta: 9,707

Southern Alberta: 21,602

Southern Interior B.C.: 21,161

Northern B.C.: 13,579

Whitehorse: 774

Nunavut: 526

Total: 225,249

Claims by long-tenured workers

Newfoundland and Labrador: 6,078

Sudbury, Ont.: 1,322

Northern Ontario: 4,864

Northern Manitoba: 897

Saskatoon: 2,914

Southern Saskatchewan: 3,028

Northern Saskatchewan: 2,655

Calgary: 19,120

Edmonton: 19,424

Northern Alberta: 4,825

Southern Alberta: 15,222

Southern Interior B.C.: 7,095

Northern B.C.: 4,202

Whitehorse: 244

Nunavut: 122

Total: 92,012

Extra benefits paid:

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Newfoundland and Labrador: $194.5 million

Sudbury, Ont.: $18.2 million

Northern Ontario: $93.1 million

Northern Manitoba: $22.8 million

Saskatoon: $34.4 million

Southern Saskatchewan: $38.2 million

Northern Saskatchewan: $48.5 million

Calgary: $224.9 million

Edmonton: $230.3 million

Northern Alberta: $62.1 million

Southern Alberta: $169 million

Southern Interior B.C.: $101.1 million

Northern B.C.: $63.4 million

Whitehorse: $3.6 million

Nunavut: $2.4 million

Total: $1.306 billion

(Source: Employment and Social Development Canada)