Ontario will ban most employers from demanding Canadian work experience in job ads starting January 1, 2026, a shift that could reshape hiring for thousands of newcomers who already live in the province. Under changes to the Employment Standards Act, companies with 25 or more workers will no longer be allowed to post openings that list local experience as a requirement — a condition that has long shut out qualified immigrants with strong international resumes. The same reform package will also require new salary transparency rules in public job postings.
Purpose and rationale
The government says the goal is simple: people who have done the job abroad should have a fair chance to do it in Ontario, instead of being filtered out at the first screen because they lack local experience.
Officials argue that the traditional “Canadian work experience” line in postings has acted as a quiet barrier, even when employers are otherwise open to hiring from abroad. For many new arrivals, it has created a Catch-22: they cannot get a job without Canadian experience, and they cannot get that experience without a job.
Key changes (effective January 1, 2026)
- Ban on local experience requirements in job postings for employers with 25 or more employees.
- Salary transparency: public job ads by covered employers must state either a specific wage or a clear salary range, and that range may span no more than $50,000 per year.
- Exemption for very high pay: rule does not apply to roles paying more than $200,000 annually.
- Notification requirement: employers must tell candidates of their final hiring decision within 45 days of the last interview.
Who is covered
- Covered: employers with at least 25 employees at the time they post a vacancy.
- Not covered: many small businesses with fewer than 25 employees.
- Note: Ontario is the first province in Canada to ban Canadian work experience requirements this broadly in job advertising.
Background and context
The change builds on 2023 legislation that forced more than 30 regulated professions (including engineering, law and accounting) to remove local experience demands from their licensing rules. Professional Engineers Ontario was the first regulator to follow through after that earlier law came into force.
These reforms are part of the province’s wider Working for Workers agenda — a series of bills promising tougher protections for employees, more transparency in hiring and better support for newcomers trying to match their education with real jobs.
Monte McNaughton, Ontario’s Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, has promoted the changes as a way to unlock talent that businesses say they need. While his recent public comments on the announcement were brief, his message has been consistent: internationally trained immigrants should be able to work in the fields they trained for, not just survive in “survival jobs.”
Expected effects for newcomers
Advocates for immigrant workers say the shift could reduce unemployment and underemployment among newcomers, who are often funneled into roles far below their skill level. By removing Canadian work experience as a formal filter in job ads, larger employers will be pushed to look more closely at:
- international credentials,
- past roles overseas,
- actual skills and experience rather than locale-based criteria.
This does not guarantee a job, but it opens the door for résumés that might previously have been discarded at first glance. For many families, even getting that first interview can materially improve long-term prospects.
Practical examples
- A software engineer with a decade of experience in Lagos or Mumbai should no longer be excluded by a job posting in Ontario simply because their experience is not Canadian.
- A nurse with hospital experience in Manila likewise should be able to progress to interview stages without being filtered out on paper.
The province is not changing immigration rules or federal work permits, but it is adjusting what happens once people land and start applying. According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, many newcomers already hold permanent residence or work authorization; the barrier has often been employers’ expectations, not legal status.
Salary transparency: purpose and likely impact
The salary transparency rules aim to address pay opacity that disproportionately affects newcomers, who are statistically more likely to be underpaid or kept unaware of pay scales.
Benefits of the rule:
- Applicants can better judge whether a role will cover housing, childcare, and other rising costs.
- Posted pay ranges give applicants a clearer benchmark, making negotiation easier and fairer.
- Narrow maximum range ($50,000) reduces ambiguity around compensation expectations.
The province says details of the new standards will be set out in regulations and guidance under the Employment Standards Act, published on the official Employment Standards Act.
Enforcement and employer concerns
- The government has not banned employers from asking about previous roles in Canada during an interview.
- However, job postings and application forms cannot demand Canadian work experience as a condition.
- Inspectors under the Employment Standards Act will be able to review hiring records and job ads if complaints arise.
- The 45-day decision notification requirement is intended to cut down long, uncertain waits for candidates.
Some employer groups are likely to raise questions about practical implementation, especially in fields where local contacts and familiarity with Canadian norms have been viewed as valuable.
Limits and remaining challenges
- The changes do not guarantee equal outcomes for every applicant, nor do they eliminate informal biases that can arise during interviews.
- Newcomers with strong records abroad may still need to explain how their past roles connect to local standards and practices.
- Still, these rules remove a major automatic gatekeeper: the job ad itself.
For many immigrants, the combination of fairer access to job ads and clearer pay information could be the difference between staying in the province or looking elsewhere for opportunities — or even returning abroad with confidence someday.
Summary — what to watch
- Implementation details and guidance under the Employment Standards Act.
- How inspectors enforce the ban on Canadian experience requirements.
- Employer compliance with the $50,000 maximum salary range rule and the 45-day notification deadline.
- Whether these changes measurably reduce underemployment among newcomers in Ontario.
If you want, I can convert the key rules into a one-page checklist for employers or a plain-language guide for newcomers preparing applications.
Ontario will ban listing Canadian work experience in job ads for employers with 25+ employees from Jan. 1, 2026, and require salary transparency with a maximum $50,000 range. Roles over $200,000 are exempt. Employers must notify candidates of final decisions within 45 days of last interviews. The changes aim to reduce newcomer underemployment by encouraging evaluation of international credentials and clarifying pay expectations.
