Pay transparency and job posting rules in Canada
Since 1 January 2026, Ontario employers with 25 or more employees must put expected pay (or a range no wider than $50,000 a year) in public job postings, say whether AI screens applicants, drop Canadian experience requirements, say whether the vacancy exists, and tell interviewees about the hiring decision within 45 days. British Columbia has required pay in postings since November 2023.
Ontario job ads must now show pay and AI use
What happened
From 1 January 2026, Ontario employers with 25 or more staff must put the expected pay or a pay range in public job ads. They must also say if they use AI to screen applicants and whether the job is a real, open vacancy.
What it means for you
A pay range can be no wider than $50,000 a year. Ads cannot ask for Canadian experience. If you interview someone, you must tell them within 45 days whether a hiring decision has been made.
Dates to know
- 1 November 2026British Columbia employers with 50 or more staff must post their first pay transparency report.
Source: Government of Ontario. We check this page every week. Last checked .
Pay transparency in Canada is set province by province, plus a separate federal regime for federally regulated employers. Ontario's rules, in Part III.1 of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 and O. Reg. 476/24, apply to publicly advertised job postings made on or after 1 January 2026 by employers with 25 or more employees on the day the posting goes up. A posting must state the expected compensation or a range no wider than $50,000 a year (unless the pay, or the top of the range, is above $200,000 a year), say whether artificial intelligence is used to screen, assess or select applicants, not require Canadian experience, and say whether there is an existing vacancy. Employers must tell interviewed applicants within 45 days whether a hiring decision has been made, and keep postings and interview records for 3 years. British Columbia's Pay Transparency Act has required the expected wage or wage range in every public job posting since 1 November 2023, has banned asking applicants about pay history since the Act took effect in May 2023, and phases in an annual pay transparency report due by 1 November each year: 1,000 or more employees from 2024, 300 or more from 2025 and 50 or more from 2026. Federally regulated employers with an average of 10 or more employees must meet the federal Pay Equity Act instead, including a posted pay equity plan and an annual statement due by 30 June.
What must an Ontario job posting include from 1 January 2026?
An Ontario employer with 25 or more employees must include, in every publicly advertised job posting made on or after 1 January 2026, the expected pay or a pay range, a statement if artificial intelligence is used to screen, assess or select applicants, and a statement of whether the posting is for an existing vacancy. It must not require Canadian experience in the posting or its application form.
The pay range can be no wider than $50,000 a year. The pay rule does not apply where the expected pay, or the top of the range, is above $200,000 a year. A general statement that AI is used is enough. Licensing or registration requirements set by a professional body are not caught by the Canadian experience ban. Stating an existing vacancy does not oblige the employer to fill it.
Which Ontario employers and postings are covered?
Employers with 25 or more employees on the day the posting goes up, counting every employee across all Ontario locations (part-time and casual staff each count as one), for external postings that advertise a specific job to the general public.
The rules do not cover general recruitment campaigns or help wanted signs that do not advertise a specific role, postings open only to existing employees, or postings for work done entirely outside Ontario. Employers must keep copies of each posting and application form for 3 years after public access ends.
What do Ontario employers owe the people they interview?
If you interview an applicant for a publicly advertised posting, you must tell them whether a hiring decision has been made within 45 days of the interview, or of the last interview if there were several. You can tell them in person, in writing or using technology.
This applies to interviews held on or after 1 January 2026, even if the posting went up earlier. A record of the information given must be kept for 3 years.
What does British Columbia require?
Since 1 November 2023, every British Columbia employer must include the expected salary or wage, or a salary or wage range, in public job postings. Since May 2023, they must not ask applicants about their pay history. Larger employers must also publish an annual pay transparency report by 1 November each year.
The report threshold is set by headcount on 1 January of the year: 1,000 or more employees for 2024, 300 or more for 2025, and 50 or more for 2026, so most employers with 50 or more British Columbia staff file their first report by 1 November 2026. Employers cannot penalise employees for asking about or disclosing their pay.
Which other provinces have pay transparency rules?
Other provinces are moving at different speeds, so check the rules where the job is based. Newfoundland and Labrador has passed pay transparency provisions, including a job posting pay rule, but they await proclamation and are not in force. No equivalent job posting pay rule was found in force in Nova Scotia.
What applies to federally regulated employers?
Federally regulated employers with an average of 10 or more employees are covered by the federal Pay Equity Act, in force since 31 August 2021. Employers covered from the start had to post their final pay equity plan by 3 September 2024 and must file an annual statement by 30 June each year.
Provincial job posting rules follow provincial jurisdiction, so a federally regulated employer, such as a bank or an interprovincial carrier, should check its own obligations rather than assume a provincial posting rule applies. Employers covered in 2021 must post a revised plan by 4 September 2029.
Hiring in Canada?
What Teamed handles for you when you recruit in Canada
Every Canadian hire starts with a posting, and the rules for that posting now depend on the province and the size of the employer, so Teamed works through the posting duties that fall on the legal employer before the role goes live and through to the decision.
These sit with us
- Pay ranges checked against Ontario's $50,000 width limit
- AI screening and existing vacancy statements in Ontario postings
- No Canadian experience requirements in postings or application forms
- Interviewees told of the hiring decision within 45 days
- No pay history questions for British Columbia applicants
You keep
The role, the budget and the choice of candidate. We carry the employment duties that come with being the legal employer.
Which posting rules apply depends on where the job is and how many people the employer has, so the check happens per role, not once.
Key figures
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Ontario job posting rules: start date and threshold | Apply to publicly advertised job postings made on or after 1 January 2026 by employers with 25 or more employees on the day the posting is posted (O. Reg. 476/24, section 1; Employment Standards Act, 2000, Part III.1). (source) |
| Ontario pay range cap and exemption | A disclosed range of expected compensation must not exceed $50,000 a year (O. Reg. 476/24, s. 4, for ESA s. 8.2(3)). No disclosure is required where the expected compensation, or the top of the range, is more than $200,000 a year (s. 3, for ESA s. 8.2(2)). (source) |
| Ontario AI disclosure | A posting must state if artificial intelligence is used to screen, assess or select applicants. AI is defined as a machine-based system that infers from its input to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations or decisions (O. Reg. 476/24, s. 2(1), for ESA s. 8.1). (source) |
| Ontario interviewee response window | Within 45 days after the interview, or after the last interview if the applicant is interviewed more than once, the employer must tell the applicant whether a hiring decision has been made (O. Reg. 476/24, s. 5, for ESA s. 8.6). (source) |
| Ontario Canadian experience ban and vacancy statement | Postings and associated application forms may not require Canadian experience. Postings must state whether there is an existing vacancy. Postings, application forms and interview information must be kept for 3 years. (source) |
| British Columbia job posting pay information | Employers must state the expected salary or wage, or a salary or wage range, in advertisements for publicly advertised job opportunities (Pay Transparency Act, s. 2), in force 1 November 2023 (s. 15). Employers must not seek pay history information about applicants (s. 3). (source) |
| British Columbia pay transparency report phase-in | Reports are due on or before 1 November each year (s. 5). Reporting employers by headcount on 1 January: 1,000 or more for 2024, 300 or more for 2025, 50 or more for 2026 (s. 1(3)). (source) |
| Newfoundland and Labrador pay transparency status | Not in force. Sections 11 to 15 of the Pay Equity and Pay Transparency Act, SNL 2022, c. P-3.02, including the job posting pay rule in section 12, come into force on a day to be proclaimed (s. 20(2)). (source) |
| Federal Pay Equity Act | In force 31 August 2021 for federally regulated public and private sector employers with an average of 10 or more employees. Final pay equity plans for employers covered from the start were due by 3 September 2024; annual statements are due by 30 June each year, the first by 30 June 2025; a revised plan is due by 4 September 2029. (source) |
Frequently asked questions
Does Ontario's pay range rule apply to a small employer?
No. The job posting rules apply only to employers with 25 or more employees on the day the posting is published. Every employee counts as one, including part-time and casual staff, across all Ontario locations.
Can an Ontario posting give a range of $60,000 to $120,000?
No. A range can be no wider than $50,000 a year. The exception is a role where the expected pay, or the top of the range, is above $200,000 a year, where no pay disclosure is required.
Do I have to describe the AI tool in the posting?
No. Ontario requires a statement that artificial intelligence is used to screen, assess or select applicants. A general statement is enough; you do not have to describe the tool.
When is British Columbia's first pay transparency report due for a company with 60 employees?
By 1 November 2026, if the company had 50 or more British Columbia employees on 1 January 2026. Reports are then due by 1 November each year.
Is there a federal pay range rule for job postings?
Not in the sources checked. Federally regulated employers with 10 or more employees are covered by the federal Pay Equity Act, which requires a pay equity plan and an annual statement rather than pay ranges in postings.
Canada has fourteen sets of employment standards, one federal and one for each province and territory. When Teamed is your legal employer, we apply the right one for where each person works and update your contracts, policies and payroll as the law changes, so you never have to read a statute to stay compliant.
