Ontario’s new pay transparency rules will shake up hiring – MoneySense

Pay transparency laws are gaining traction in North America, with similar rules already in place in other provinces such as BC and Prince Edward Island, as well as parts of the US.

Pay transparency can help level the hiring field

Some of the key changes coming to Ontario on January 1, 2026 include requiring employers with more than 25 employees to list compensation ranges in publicly advertised job openings and disclosing the use of AI in screening, assessing or selecting applicants.

“It generally puts workers and employees in a better position to get that information and know what a position pays before they decide to apply for it,” says Nora Jenkins Townson, the founder of HR consultancy Bright + Early. “From an employee perspective, I think having a good understanding of how compensation works in the organization, how those decisions are made, what the margins are… it’s just a lot fairer, it takes us away from the ‘squeaky wheel gets the grease’ scenario.”

She said pay transparency can help level the playing field by tailoring pay to a specific job role and level of output, creating a more objective system compared to subjective aspects such as an employee’s relationship with their manager. She added that companies that haven’t done the foundational work to develop compensation strategies are “scrambling to catch up.”

“You can’t just add a number to a job posting. You need accurate, researched market data. You need a philosophy about where you pay within that data and why,” said Jenkins Townson. However, she said that in other markets where pay transparency rules already exist, some employers are trying to circumvent the rules by making pay ranges for job openings very wide.

New rules limit wage differences

Ontario’s upcoming rules state that the annual salary range for a position cannot exceed $50,000 unless the job pays more than $200,000, or where the top end of the range is more than $200,000.

Deb Bottineau, general manager of Robert Half Canada, said the new pay transparency rules are a “pretty important step forward.”

“It’s going to level the playing field,” she said. “That impact will not only apply to those applying for positions, but it also creates a greater landscape of accountability and awareness for internal employees when it comes to pay rates and compensation.” It can also help reduce existing gender or racial pay gaps.

The changes may also prompt business leaders to take stock of what other companies are paying for similar positions, or risk having trouble attracting and retaining talent, Bottineau said.

Most job seekers are happy with salary transparency

Data released in November from Indeed shows that 83% of respondents in BC, Ontario and Quebec view the changes positively. The survey was conducted online between September 29 and October 3 and interviewed 900 people. Seventy-three percent said they would be more likely to apply for a job with a salary range.

With employers now required to mention in job advertisements where AI is used, Bottineau says the human element in the recruitment process will also become more important for companies to maintain their ‘brand impression’ and ability to attract talent.

“When candidates apply for a job and it takes multiple steps before they interact with a human in that process, that gap is palpable for both the employee and the employer,” she says. “I think we’ll continue to hear a lot of conversations in the new year about the role of AI in recruitment practices. How do we create the right balance so that the employer brand (and) the candidate experience all remain front and center?”

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