Canada’s uneven road to pay transparency

Pay transparency in Canada has evolved from a trend to an expectation, but not yet a uniform one. Across provinces, new disclosure obligations are reshaping how employers and especially staffing and payrolling firms advertise roles, negotiate pay, and record compensation data. The result is a patchwork of rules that reflect different philosophies about openness, fairness, and the role of employers in addressing pay equity.

British Columbia led the way with the Pay Transparency Act, now fully in effect. Employers must include a salary or wage range in every publicly advertised job posting and are barred from asking candidates about their past compensation. The province also requires larger employers to publish annual pay transparency reports that expose gaps between men, women, and non-binary workers; a first in Canada.

Ontario is next in line, but with a distinctive approach. The Working for Workers Four Act, effective January 1, 2026, mandates that salary information be disclosed on external postings, with a maximum permitted range of $50,000 for jobs below $200,000 in compensation. Employers must also provide written information on pay and conditions to new hires, and will have to disclose when AI is used in recruitment. Other provinces, including Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador, have introduced or proposed similar measures, though few have progressed beyond early frameworks. At the federal level, the Pay Equity Act continues to apply to federally regulated employers, but it stops short of requiring salary ranges in postings.

For staffing firms, this fragmented regulatory landscape introduces both complexity and risk. A single job posting visible nationwide can trigger obligations in multiple jurisdictions: a national posting platform showing an Ontario vacancy to a BC audience may need to comply with BC’s stricter disclosure requirements. For multi-province employers or agencies managing postings on behalf of clients, the absence of homogeneity between provincial rules creates operational friction, especially when the same job must meet different disclosure thresholds, format requirements, and timing obligations.

Beyond compliance, the rules are transforming recruitment itself. With salary information public upfront, candidate expectations are shifting and negotiation dynamics are changing. Roles with transparent pay attract faster applications but also expose inconsistencies between similar positions or regions. For staffing firms that price talent across multiple markets, range accuracy and internal alignment now matter as much as speed of posting.