Pay Transparency Laws in Canada: Salary Ranges in Job Postings by Province

Pay transparency laws change two things for a job seeker: what an employer has to tell you before you apply, and what it may ask you. In some provinces a public job posting must show the expected pay or a pay range; in some, an employer may not ask what you earned in past jobs. The rules differ by province, cover different employers and took effect on different dates, so this page sets them out one jurisdiction at a time, followed by what a posted range does and doesn’t tell you in a negotiation. It is part of the salary negotiation guides.

British Columbia

B.C.’s Pay Transparency Act covers both job postings and pay-history questions.

Job postings. In British Columbia, provincially regulated employers must include the expected wage or salary, or the expected range, in every publicly advertised job posting, a rule in force since November 1, 2023.

• It applies to all employers with employees in B.C. except federally regulated ones.
• An open-ended figure such as "$20 per hour and up", "up to $30 per hour" or "competitive wage" does not meet the requirement.
• Applicants can still ask for a salary outside the posted range, and the employer can offer one.

Pay history. In British Columbia, an employer must not seek a job applicant's pay history, directly or through a third party, unless the information is publicly accessible.

B.C. employers above a certain size also publish annual pay transparency reports on gender pay gaps; the Government of B.C.’s pay transparency page explains the reporting rules and the protection for employees who ask about or share their pay.

Ontario

Ontario’s rules are part of the Employment Standards Act, explained in the province’s guide to the requirements for publicly advertised job postings.

Job postings. In Ontario, employers with 25 or more employees must include the expected compensation, or a range no wider than $50,000 a year, in publicly advertised job postings made on or after January 1, 2026, unless the pay is more than $200,000 a year.

• The requirement doesn't apply to an employer with fewer than 25 employees on the day the posting is posted.
• A posted range can be no wider than $50,000 a year.
• It doesn't apply when the expected compensation, or the top of the range, is more than $200,000 a year.
• The posted figure doesn't oblige the employer to hire at that pay or within that range.

After an interview. In Ontario, an employer covered by the job posting rules that interviews you for a publicly advertised job must tell you within 45 days of the interview whether a hiring decision has been made.

The same guide sets other posting rules, including a ban on requiring Canadian experience. It does not set a rule on pay-history questions.

Prince Edward Island

P.E.I.’s rules are in its Employment Standards Act.

Job postings. In Prince Edward Island, an employer that advertises a specific job to the general public must include the expected pay or pay range in the posting; recruitment campaigns, general help wanted signs and internal-only postings are excepted.

Pay history. In Prince Edward Island, an employer must not seek a job applicant's pay history, directly or through an agent, though an applicant may volunteer it.

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia’s Labour Standards Code deals with wage history and talking about pay, not with job postings.

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador's Pay Equity and Pay Transparency Act requires expected pay or a pay range in publicly advertised job postings and bars employers from seeking pay history, but those sections come into force on a day to be proclaimed. The Act’s text sets out the commencement; the province’s labour standards office can confirm whether those sections are in force.

What these laws cover, and what they don’t

Three different things often travel under the name “pay transparency”:

• Ranges in job postings tell you, before you apply, what the employer expects to pay.
• Limits on pay-history questions keep your current salary from becoming the anchor for an offer. Where no rule applies, the question can still be asked; the salary negotiation guide covers common ways people answer it.
• Pay transparency or pay equity reports describe pay gaps inside an organization. They say nothing about a specific job’s pay.

The posting rules apply to jobs advertised to the public. Internal postings, general recruitment campaigns and “help wanted” signs are generally outside them, as each province’s rules above set out. B.C.’s guidance also excludes federally regulated employers, which follow federal rather than provincial employment law.

Using a posted range when you negotiate

A posted range is the employer’s own statement of what it expects to pay for the job, which makes it a strong anchor: it is hard for an employer to argue that a figure inside its own range is unreasonable. Where an offer lands inside the range usually reflects how the employer rates your experience against the role, so a counter that explains why your experience fits the upper part of the range speaks the employer’s language.

The range is not a ceiling or a floor in law. Both B.C.’s guidance and Ontario’s guide say the employer isn’t bound to hire within it, and candidates can ask for more. A range that is very wide says little about the actual budget, and one that sits below what comparable jobs pay is a signal worth checking against market data, such as the government wage figures on our salaries by profession pages.

The salary is also only one part of the package. Bonus, benefits, pension and vacation can be worth as much as a move within the range; the total compensation guide and the job offer checklist cover how to weigh them.

If an employer doesn’t follow the rules

Each province’s employment standards or labour standards office handles questions and complaints about its own rules, and B.C.’s rules are explained on the Government of B.C. pay transparency page. For other rights at work, including notice, overtime and leaves, see our workplace rights guides.

Related pages

• How to negotiate salary in Canada
• How to evaluate a job offer
• Should you take a job with a lower salary?
• Salaries by profession