Pay transparency laws in Canada: province-by-province guide (2026)

Where pay transparency stands in Canada

As of 12 October 2026, four of Canada’s 13 provinces and territories require employers to include the expected pay or a pay range in qualifying public job postings: British Columbia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.

• Enacted, not yet in force: Newfoundland and Labrador passed its salary-posting requirement in 2022, but the provision hasn’t been brought into force (proclaimed). New Brunswick’s reporting, reprisal and enforcement provisions are also enacted but not yet in force.
• Other protections, but no general salary-posting requirement: Nova Scotia bans wage-history questions and protects pay discussions.
• No specific requirement: Quebec, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut have no general requirement to post pay information.
• Federal employers are separate. Federally regulated employers are not part of the provincial and territorial count. See federally regulated employers.

“Qualifying” means different things in each jurisdiction. Ontario’s rule applies to employers with 25 or more employees. The other three have no size threshold. The table below shows who each rule applies to.

Pay transparency laws by province: what is in force, what is coming

Canada doesn’t have one national pay transparency law for all employers. Instead, rules are set at the provincial level. That means your responsibilities depend on where your employees are based. If you hire across multiple provinces or support remote work, you’ll need to deal with a mix of different rules. Here’s how things currently stand across the country.

Status key: In force means the relevant provisions are operating now. Enacted, not yet in force means a law has passed but the relevant provisions haven’t taken effect. Proposed means a bill hasn’t passed. No specific requirement means no general requirement to post pay information. Federally regulated employers are covered separately.

Nova Scotia’s Bill 98 (Pay Equity and Pay Transparency Act) is proposed. It was introduced as a private member’s bill on 20 March 2025 and hasn’t passed (Nova Scotia Legislature).

How much of Canada’s workforce is covered?

As of 12 October 2026, provinces where a salary-disclosure requirement for job postings is in force account for approximately 55.5% of Canadian employment, based on Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey for September 2026.

Methodology can be found in the footer.

Does pay transparency law apply to my business?

Answer these questions in order.

1. Are you federally regulated (for example banking, telecommunications or interprovincial transport)? If yes, see federal employers. Provincial employment standards generally don’t apply to you, but check with a legal advisor.
2. Do you advertise jobs publicly where the work is done in British Columbia, Prince Edward Island or New Brunswick? If yes, the posting rule applies regardless of your size.
3. Do you advertise jobs publicly for work in Ontario? If yes, check your headcount. The rule applies if you employ 25 or more employees in Ontario on the day you post.
4. Do you hire in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Quebec or the other provinces and territories? No general salary-posting requirement applies today. See the entries below, and hiring across provinces if the role can be done from more than one place.

Pay transparency by province and territory guide

Every entry below uses the same fields. Each shows the legal status, when it took effect, who it applies to, what it requires and where the official source is.

British Columbia pay transparency rules

BC’s Pay Transparency Act has applied since November 2023. Every employer advertising a job publicly must include the expected pay or a pay range, whatever its size. Employers also can’t ask applicants about their pay history or penalize employees for discussing their pay. As of 1 November 2026, employers with 50 or more employees in BC must prepare annual pay transparency reports.

• Status: In force
• Effective date: 11 May 2023 (became law – royal assent) for the salary-history and reprisal rules. 1 November 2023 for the job posting rule. Annual pay transparency reporting was phased in by employer size from 2023 to 2026, with the final threshold of 50 or more employees taking effect on 1 November 2026.
• Applies to: All employers advertising specific job opportunity to the public. Annual reporting applies to employers with 50 or more BC employees, counted on 1 January of that year.
• Pay information in postings: The expected salary or wage, or a range, subject to any prescribed limits.
• Salary history: Employers can’t seek pay history from applicants, directly or through a third party, unless it’s publicly accessible.
• Pay discussions: Employers can’t penalize employees for asking about or sharing their pay.
• Reporting: Reporting employers must prepare an annual pay transparency report by 1 November and publish it on a public website. 
• Penalty / enforcement: The Act sets no fines or administrative penalties. Reports of non-compliance go to the Director of Pay Transparency, who supports employers with compliance. 
• Official source: Pay Transparency Act, SBC 2023, c.18 and the BC government’s guidance on pay transparency reports.

Ontario pay transparency rules

Since 1 January 2026, Ontario employers with 25 or more employees must include the expected pay or a range in public job postings. A range can’t be wider than $50,000, and the rule doesn’t apply when pay is above $200,000. Postings must also say whether AI is used to screen, assess or select applicants and whether a vacancy exists, and they can’t ask for Canadian experience. Employers must tell interviewed applicants within 45 days whether a hiring decision has been made, and keep postings and related records for three years.

• Status: In force
• Effective date: 1 January 2026
• Applies to: Employers with 25 or more employees on the day the job posting is published. All Ontario employees count, including part-time and casual employees, across all locations. The Crown and Crown agencies are excluded. Postings for work performed outside Ontario aren’t covered.
• Pay information in postings: The expected compensation or a range. A range can’t exceed $50,000. The requirement doesn’t apply if the expected compensation is more than $200,000 a year, or the range ends above $200,000.
• Other posting rules: The posting must state whether artificial intelligence (AI) is used to screen, assess or select applicants, and whether a vacancy exists. It can’t include Canadian experience requirements. Employers must tell interviewed applicants whether a hiring decision has been made within 45 days of the interview. Postings and related records must be kept for three years.
• Salary history: Not addressed by the job-posting rules.
• Pay discussions: Not addressed by the job-posting rules.
• Reporting: None.
• Penalty / enforcement: An employment standards officer can issue a compliance order, a notice of contravention or prosecute. A notice of contravention is $250 for a first contravention, $500 for a second within three years and $5,000 for a third or subsequent one. On prosecution, an individual can be fined up to $100,000. A corporation can be fined up to $100,000 for a first conviction, $250,000 for a second and $500,000 for a third or subsequent one. 
• Official source: Ontario’s guide to the ESA: publicly advertised job postings, O. Reg. 476/24 and O. Reg. 289/01 penalties.

What counts as a posting. An external posting for a specific position, advertised to the general public in any manner. It doesn’t include a general “we’re hiring” sign, a general recruitment campaign, or a posting only open to existing employees. If a posting links to another page with pay details, that page counts as part of the posting.

AI disclosure. You don’t need to describe the system. It’s enough to say AI is used to screen, assess or select applicants. That includes tools in your applicant tracking system that score, rank or filter candidates, and it applies when a recruiter does this for you.

Prince Edward Island pay transparency rules

PEI has required pay information in public job postings since 1 June 2022, with no minimum employer size. Employers advertising a specific job must include the expected pay or a range, and they can’t seek applicants’ pay history or penalize employees for discussing pay. The rules carried into PEI’s new Employment Standards Act, which came into force on 30 June 2026.

• Status: In force
• Effective date: 1 June 2022. The rules carried into the new Employment Standards Act, which was proclaimed in force on 30 June 2026.
• Applies to: Any employer advertising a specific job to the general public. There’s no size threshold. Recruitment campaigns, general help-wanted signs and internal-only postings are excluded.
• Pay information in postings: The expected pay or a range.
• Salary history: Employers can’t seek pay history by any means, directly or through an agent. An applicant can volunteer it, and an employer can ask about pay ranges for comparable positions.
• Pay discussions: Employers can’t intimidate, dismiss or penalize an employee for asking about pay or sharing their own pay with another employee.
• Reporting: None.
• Penalty / enforcement: Fines of $200 to $5,000 for an individual and $1,000 to $25,000 for a corporation on summary conviction. Inspectors can also order administrative penalties set by regulation.
• Official source: Employment Standards Act (PEI), ss. 18, 19, 92 and 93 and the PEI government’s page on changes to the Act.

New Brunswick pay transparency rules

New Brunswick’s Pay Transparency Act received royal assent on 12 June 2026, and its job-posting and salary-history rules took effect the same day. Employers under provincial authority must include the expected pay or a range in public and internal postings, whatever their size, and can’t seek or rely on an applicant’s pay history. Annual pay reporting for employers of 50 or more, and protections for employees who discuss pay, will start on dates still to be proclaimed.

• Status: In force in part. The Pay Transparency Act received royal assent on 12 June 2026.
• Effective date: 12 June 2026 for the posting and salary-history rules.
• Applies to: All employers and employees under the province’s authority, even if the work is done partly outside New Brunswick. There’s no size threshold for the posting rule.
• Pay information in postings (in force): Any new publicly advertised or internal job posting must include the expected hourly wage or salary, or a range.
• Salary history (in force): Employers can’t seek an applicant’s compensation history, directly or through a third party, unless it’s publicly accessible. They also can’t rely on the compensation history of applicant volunteers.
• Pay discussions (enacted, not yet in force): Employers will be barred from reprisals against employees who discuss compensation, and from using non-disclosure agreements to restrict pay discussions.
• Reporting (enacted, not yet in force): Employers with an average of 50 or more employees must prepare, file and publish an annual pay transparency report. First filing dates: public-service employers by 31 March 2028, employers with 100 or more employees by 31 March 2029, and employers with 50 to 99 employees by 31 March 2030.
• Penalty / enforcement (enacted, not yet in force): Inspectors, orders, administrative penalties and offence provisions come into force by proclamation. Penalty amounts will be set by regulation. 
• Official source: Pay Transparency Act, 2026, c.1 and the Government of New Brunswick’s announcement.

Newfoundland and Labrador pay transparency rules

Newfoundland and Labrador passed the Pay Equity and Pay Transparency Act in November 2022, but its pay transparency provisions (sections 11 to 15) haven’t been proclaimed. That means there’s no salary-posting, pay-history or reporting requirement for private employers yet. Once the provisions come into force, employers advertising a job publicly will have to include the expected pay or a range.

• Status: Enacted, not yet in force
• Effective date: The Act received assent on 9 November 2022. The pay equity part came into force on 1 April 2023. The pay transparency provisions (sections 11 to 15) are not yet proclaimed.
• Applies to: Once proclaimed, employers advertising an external, specific job to the general public. Recruitment campaigns, help-wanted signs and internal-only postings are excluded.
• Pay information in postings (not yet in force): The expected pay or a range.
• Salary history (not yet in force): Employers will be barred from seeking pay history about applicants.
• Pay discussions (not yet in force): Employers will be barred from penalizing employees or applicants who ask about or share pay.
• Reporting (not yet in force): Prescribed employers will have to prepare and post pay transparency reports.
• Penalty / enforcement: A wilful contravention carries a fine of up to $1,000 for an individual and $25,000 for a corporation. Complaints go to the Director of Labour Standards. These apply once the provisions are in force.
• Official source: Pay Equity and Pay Transparency Act, SNL 2022, c.P-3.02. 

Nova Scotia pay transparency rules

Nova Scotia doesn’t require pay information in job postings. Its Labour Standards Code bars employers from asking applicants or employees about their wage history, and it protects employees who discuss their pay. A private member’s bill, Bill 98 (the Pay Equity and Pay Transparency Act), would add posting and reporting requirements, but it hasn’t passed.

• Status: No specific salary-posting requirement. Other protections in force.
• Effective date: 10 March 2020 (royal assent). The Labour Standards Code wage-history rule (s. 57A) and pay-secrecy rule (s. 57B) were added by SNS 2020, c. 14.
• Applies to: Employers covered by the Labour Standards Code, including recruiters acting for them.
• Pay information in postings: No requirement.
• Salary history: Employers can’t ask a job applicant or employee about wage history, or require that wage history meet criteria such as a minimum or maximum. An individual can voluntarily provide written authorization for the employer to confirm it.
• Pay discussions: Employers can’t stop employees discussing wages in the workplace, or discipline them for it.
• Reporting: None.
• Penalty / enforcement: Complaints are handled through Labour Standards. No pay-transparency-specific penalty applies.
• Proposed: Bill 98 (Pay Equity and Pay Transparency Act) hasn’t passed.
• Official source: Nova Scotia Labour Standards: protecting pay.

Provinces and territories with no pay transparency law

Quebec, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut don’t require employers to include pay in job postings, ask about pay history or publish pay reports. Several have equal-pay rules instead, which are a different obligation from pay transparency. If you’re federally regulated and operating in any of them, the federal Pay Equity Act still applies to you.

Quebec

• Status: No specific requirement
• Pay information in postings: No requirement to include salary information.
• Related rules: Quebec’s Pay Equity Act requires employers with 10 or more employees to take proactive measures to address pay differences between jobs held mostly by women and jobs held mostly by men. That’s a pay equity obligation, not a pay transparency one.
• Salary history, pay discussions and reporting: No specific rules.
• Penalty / enforcement: n/a
• Official source: Pay Equity Act, CQLR c E-12.001

Alberta

• Status: No specific requirement
• Pay information in postings, salary history, pay discussions and reporting: No specific rules.
• Related rules: The Alberta Human Rights Act requires equal pay for men and women doing the same or substantially similar work for the same employer.
• Penalty / enforcement: n/a
• Official source: Alberta Human Rights Act. 

Saskatchewan

• Status: No specific requirement
• Pay information in postings, salary history, pay discussions and reporting: No specific rules.
• Related rules: The Saskatchewan Employment Act bars employers from paying employees differently for similar work based on sex or other prohibited grounds.
• Penalty / enforcement: n/a
• Official source: Saskatchewan: pay discrimination.

Manitoba

• Status: No specific requirement
• Pay information in postings, salary history, pay discussions and reporting: No specific rules for private-sector employers.
• Related rules: Manitoba’s Employment Standards Code (s. 82) bars employers from paying one sex on a different wage scale for the same or substantially the same work. Manitoba’s Pay Equity Act applies to the public sector only. 
• Penalty / enforcement: n/a
• Official source: Employment Standards Code (Manitoba). 

Yukon

• Status: No specific requirement
• Pay information in postings, salary history, pay discussions and reporting: No specific rules.
• Related rules: Yukon’s Employment Standards Act includes equal pay provisions.
• Penalty / enforcement: n/a
• Official source: Yukon: Employment Standards Act.

Northwest Territories

• Status: No specific requirement
• Pay information in postings, salary history, pay discussions and reporting: No specific rules.
• Related rules: The Human Rights Act (s. 9) bars pay discrimination on a prohibited ground between employees doing the same or substantially similar work in the same establishment. The Public Service Act separately requires equal pay for work of equal value in the GNWT public service.
• Penalty / enforcement: n/a
• Official source:  NWT legislation 

Nunavut

• Status: No specific requirement
• Pay information in postings, salary history, pay discussions and reporting: No specific rules.
• Related rules: Nunavut’s Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination in employment on listed grounds, including sex. Nunavut has no pay equity law of its own.
• Penalty / enforcement: n/a
• Official source: Government of Nunavut: labour and employment standards.

Federally regulated employers

Federally regulated employers (for example banks, telecommunications companies and interprovincial transport) are not included in the provincial and territorial count above. They’re covered by federal law, and provincial employment standards generally don’t apply to them. Check with a legal advisor on which rules apply to your business.

The Federal Pay Equity Act applies to federally regulated employers with 10 or more employees. It requires a pay equity plan, annual statements and plan updates at set intervals. It’s a pay equity law, not a requirement to post pay in job ads.

• Penalty / enforcement: The Pay Equity Commissioner can impose administrative monetary penalties of up to $30,000 per violation for employers with 10 to 99 employees and up to $50,000 per violation for employers with 100 or more.
• Official source: Overview of the Pay Equity Act (Canada.ca) and the Pay Equity Regulations (SOR/2021-161).

Pay equity vs pay transparency. Pay transparency is about disclosing compensation: pay ranges in postings, pay history restrictions, pay discussions and pay reports. Pay equity is about correcting pay differences between jobs of equal value held mostly by women and jobs held mostly by men. Some jurisdictions have both, and the two shouldn’t be mixed up.

Which provinces ban salary-history questions?

Asking candidates about their previous salary can reinforce existing pay gaps. That’s why some provinces have introduced salary-history bans to encourage fairer pay decisions.

In BC, PEI and Nova Scotia an applicant can still volunteer their history in some circumstances. Check each entry for the details. Official sources are linked in each entry.

Hiring across provinces and remote jobs

Most posting rules are written around where the work is done, not where the employer is based. That’s why a national or remote posting needs a bit of planning. This section is general information, not legal advice.

What should I consider if a role can be performed in more than one province? Compare the rules for each place the work could be done. The strictest rule is a sensible default for a single posting. For example, if Ontario is an option and your company has 25 or more employees in Ontario, plan for a range of $50,000 or less, an AI statement and a vacancy statement.

What if my business is based in one province but the employee works in another? Check the rules where the employee will actually work. A head office in Alberta, which has no posting requirement, doesn’t exempt a role performed in British Columbia or Ontario. Confirm with a legal advisor, as employment law can turn on where the work is ordinarily performed.

What about fully remote jobs advertised across Canada? Don’t assume one rule covers them. Include a pay range that meets the strictest rule you might face, and note any pay differences by location in the posting. Keep a record of each version of the posting.

Do any rules explicitly address location or remote postings?

• Ontario: Yes. The job-posting rules don’t apply to a posting where the work is performed outside Ontario. If the work is split between Ontario and elsewhere, the rules don’t apply when the work outside Ontario isn’t a continuation of work done in Ontario.
• New Brunswick: Yes, in part. The Act binds employers and employees under the province’s legislative authority even if the work is done in whole or in part outside New Brunswick.
• British Columbia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador: The Acts don’t explicitly address remote postings.

What to do next

Updating job ads is the legal minimum. Do these in order to avoid problems with your existing team:

1. Review internal pay first. If your new advertised range is higher than what a current employee earns in the same role, expect questions. Build pay bands from market data. Our guide to salary benchmarking can help.
2. Audit your job ads. Check each public posting against the rules for the places the work is done.
3. Brief hiring managers. They’ll field the questions about where people sit in a band.
4. Check your hiring tools. Ontario employers need to disclose AI use in screening, so ask your vendors how AI is used.
5. Keep records. Ontario requires three years for postings and related records.
6. Check dates. BC employers with 50 or more employees on 1 January 2026 have a report due on 1 November 2026.

Employment Hero’s HR software and applicant tracking system are built for Canadian businesses. This guide is general information, not legal advice, and laws change. Check each official source and speak with a legal or HR advisor before you act.

Sources

• Pay Transparency Act, SBC 2023, c.18, BC Laws
• Ontario’s guide to the Employment Standards Act: publicly advertised job postings, Government of Ontario
• O. Reg. 289/01 (penalties), Government of Ontario
• Employment Standards Act, Prince Edward Island, Legislative Counsel Office
• Pay Transparency Act, 2026, c.1, Government of New Brunswick
• Pay Equity and Pay Transparency Act, SNL 2022, c.P-3.02, Newfoundland and Labrador
• Protecting pay, Nova Scotia Labour Standards, Government of Nova Scotia
• Bill 98, Pay Equity and Pay Transparency Act, Nova Scotia Legislature
• Overview of the Pay Equity Act, Government of Canada
• Pay Equity Regulations (SOR/2021-161), Justice Laws
• Labour Force Survey, September 2026, Table 14-10-0287-01, Statistics Canada

Methodology

• Data: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Table 14-10-0287-01, employment, seasonally adjusted, September 2026 (released 9 October 2026). 
• Legal status date: 12 October 2026.
• Jurisdictions counted: British Columbia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, where a requirement to include pay information in job postings is in force. Newfoundland and Labrador is excluded because its provision isn’t in force.
• Denominator: Total Canadian employment in the Labour Force Survey (10 provinces). The survey’s national total doesn’t cover the territories, so they aren’t in the numerator or the denominator.
• What this measures: All employment located in each covered province. It isn’t adjusted for federally regulated workers, self-employed people or employers below a size threshold (Ontario’s rule applies only to employers with 25 or more employees), because the dataset doesn’t separate them. The share of workers whose employers must follow a posting rule is lower than this figure.

Disclaimer: The information in this article is current as at 12/10/26, and has been prepared by Employment Hero Pty Ltd (ABN 11 160 047 709) and its affiliates (Employment Hero). The views expressed in this article are general information only, are provided in good faith to assist employers and their employees, and should not be relied on as professional advice. Some information is based on data supplied by third parties. While such data is believed to be accurate, it has not been independently verified and no warranties are given that it is complete, accurate, up to date or fit for the purpose for which it is required. Employment Hero does not accept responsibility for any inaccuracy in such data and is not liable for any loss or damages arising directly or indirectly as a result of reliance on, use of or inability to use any information provided in this article. You should undertake your own research and seek professional advice before making any decisions or relying on the information in this article.