Ontario's Job-Posting Pay Transparency Rules (Working for Workers Act, 2026) — Salary Ranges Required, Enforcement Criticised as 'Toothless'

Ontario's Working for Workers reforms introduced job-posting rules that took effect on 1 January 2026. Employers with 25 or more employees must state the salary or hourly wage range in publicly advertised postings; an annual range may not be wider than $50,000. Employers must also disclose use of artificial intelligence to screen or select applicants, respond to interviewed candidates within 45 days, avoid requiring 'Canadian experience', and retain postings for three years.
Ontario joins British Columbia and Prince Edward Island in requiring posted pay information. The separate Pay Transparency Act, 2018 was never proclaimed in force after the government amended it in November 2018, so the 2026 rules arrive about eight years later and via employment-standards law.
Enforcement is the weak point: there is no dedicated mechanism, complaints rely on employees, and employment standards officers act on 'repeated and habitual' violations. A Toronto labour lawyer quoted by The Globe and Mail called the rules 'toothless'.
Evidence caveat: the rules are only months old, no outcome data on pay gaps exist yet, and the rules do not require employers to report gender pay gaps.

Read the full analysis: https://www.cp24.com/local/toronto/2026/01/05/new-pay-transparency-laws-are-now-in-effect-in-ontario-heres-how-it-could-change-the-hiring-process/