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Special thanks to our articling student Brianna Grieff for contributing to this update.<\/em><\/p>\n In recent years, provincial legislatures across Canada have increasingly focused on compensation transparency as a tool to address pay disparities in the workplace. While the federal government requires that federally regulated private sector employers across Canada conduct pay equity exercises, no federal law currently requires them to publicly report compensation information. Nevertheless, the direction of travel appears clear as legislative activity in provinces such as New Brunswick<\/strong>, British Columbia<\/strong>, Prince Edward Island<\/strong>, Newfoundland<\/strong>, Nova Scotia<\/strong>, and Ontario <\/strong>suggests a growing expectation that employers prepare to provide greater visibility into compensation practices and to justify pay differences.<\/p>\n For multinational employers, the trend will feel familiar. Much like developments in the European Union, the United Kingdom, and many US states, Canadian lawmakers are increasingly using salary disclosures, restrictions on salary history inquiries, and compensation reporting requirements to promote pay fairness and accountability. For employers operating across multiple Canadian jurisdictions, the challenge is navigating a growing patchwork of requirements. Below is a summary of the current legal landscape in Canada.<\/p>\n New Brunswick recently joined the growing list of provinces imposing pay transparency requirements.<\/p>\n As of June 12, 2026, employers must include the expected salary, hourly wage, or compensation range in both publicly advertised and internal job postings through the Pay Transparency Act<\/em>. The legislation also prohibits employers from requesting, directly or indirectly, an applicant’s compensation history, subject to limited exceptions, or relying on voluntarily disclosed compensation history when making hiring or compensation decisions.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The legislation goes further by introducing reporting requirements that will come into force on a future date to be proclaimed, which is expected to occur before March 2028. Employers with 50 or more employees will be required to prepare annual pay transparency reports, make those reports publicly available, and file them with the provincial government. The law also protects employees who discuss compensation and limits the use of confidentiality provisions that restrict such discussions.<\/p>\n As of January 1, 2026, Ontario employers with 25 or more employees must comply with new pay transparency and job posting requirements introduced through the Working for Workers Four Act, 2024<\/em> amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA)<\/em> and Ontario Regulation 476\/24.<\/p>\n Below is a summary of the key compensation-related requirements:<\/p>\n “Compensation” may include base salary or hourly wages, commissions, guaranteed bonuses, and other non-discretionary pay.<\/p>\n The Act also contains recordkeeping requirements: employers must retain copies of publicly advertised job postings and associated application forms for three years after public access to the posting is removed.<\/p>\n The requirements are enforced through Ontario’s ESA <\/em>enforcement regime, which may include inspections, compliance orders, notices of contravention, and prosecutions.<\/p>\n British Columbia is one of Canada’s most established pay transparency jurisdictions. Since November 2023, employers have been required to include wage or salary information in publicly advertised job postings through the Pay Transparency Act<\/em>. The Act also restricts inquiries into an applicant’s pay history and protects employees who seek information about or discuss compensation.<\/p>\n British Columbia has also implemented phased pay transparency reporting requirements. Employers with 50 or more British Columbia-based employees must prepare annual pay transparency reports by November 1 each year and publish them as soon as possible after they are prepared.<\/p>\n Since 2022, employers in Prince Edward Island must include the expected pay or a pay range in any publicly advertised job posting, regardless of company size.<\/p>\n Employers are also prohibited from asking about an applicant’s salary history and from preventing employees from discussing their wages with other employees.<\/p>\n In Nova Scotia, pay transparency rules under the Labour Standards Code<\/em> ban employers from asking job applicants about their salary history and protect workers who discuss their pay. However, Nova Scotia does not yet legally require companies to list wage ranges on public job postings.<\/p>\n Similarly, in 2022, Newfoundland and Labrador passed the Pay Equity and Pay Transparency Act<\/em>.While the Act has been enacted, its pay transparency provisions have not yet come into force. The pay transparency provisions will require employers to include information regarding pay in publicly advertised job postings, prohibit employers from asking job applicants about their salary history, prevent employers from penalizing employees or applicants for inquiring about pay or pay policies, and require employers to prepare a pay transparency report.<\/p>\n As the legislation highlighted above shows, pay transparency obligations are continuing to expand across Canada. Accordingly, employers should consider taking proactive steps:<\/p>\n Special thanks to our articling student Brianna Grieff for contributing to this update. In recent years, provincial legislatures across Canada have increasingly focused on compensation transparency as a tool to address pay disparities in the workplace. While the federal government requires that federally regulated private sector employers across Canada conduct pay equity exercises, no federal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[97],"tags":[41454,20079,8388,14540,26714,11007,23899,13293,542],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-7054683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-legal","tag-brunswick","tag-canadas","tag-continues","tag-direction","tag-momentum","tag-pay","tag-signals","tag-transparency","tag-travel"],"yoast_head":"\nNew Brunswick: The Latest Province to Act<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Ontario: New Requirements Effective January 1, 2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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British Columbia: A Mature and Expanding Framework<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Prince Edward Island: Ahead of the Curve<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Partial Enactment in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Key Takeaways for Employers<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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