Wrongful Dismissal in Canada: Your Rights and What To Do (2026)

A wrongful dismissal is a termination without cause where the employer gave less notice than the law requires. For most employees that means common-law reasonable notice, which is often far longer than the Employment Standards Act (ESA) minimum an employer may offer. This guide covers the gap between the two, just cause, constructive dismissal, the federal unjust dismissal complaint, your options and the duty to mitigate.

Wrongful dismissal law varies by province and employment classification. See related guides in our workplace rights hub.

Statutory minimum vs common law notice: the gap is enormous

Every province has an Employment Standards Act (or equivalent) that sets a minimum notice period or termination pay. These are the floor: not the ceiling.

Statutory minimums

The statutory minimum is usually 1 to 8 weeks of notice or termination pay, depending on your province and length of service; the full scales for each province and the Canada Labour Code are in the notice period guide. Ontario and federally regulated employers can also owe separate statutory severance pay, explained in the severance pay guide.

Common law reasonable notice

Under common law, courts apply the Bardal factors from the 1960 Ontario case Bardal v. Globe and Mail:

1. Age: older employees are harder to re-employ
2. Length of service: longer service = longer notice
3. Character of employment: more senior roles, more specialized skills = longer notice
4. Availability of similar employment: tighter job market = longer notice

Awards are measured in months rather than weeks and vary case by case. How courts set reasonable notice, and what a severance package can include, are on the severance pay guide.

Just cause dismissal: when you get nothing

An employer can terminate without notice or pay only if they have just cause: which is a very high bar in Canadian courts.

Just cause typically requires:

• Serious misconduct (theft, fraud, harassment, violence)
• Repeated, documented policy violations after warnings
• Wilful disobedience of a clear and reasonable directive
• Fundamental breach of trust

What does NOT constitute just cause:

• Poor performance (without documented progressive discipline)
• Economic downturn or business reasons
• Personality conflicts
• Excessive absenteeism without documentation
• Refusing an unreasonable direction

If your employer claims just cause and you disagree, the burden of proof is on the employer to prove it in court. Courts scrutinize just cause allegations closely and frequently find them unsupported.

Constructive dismissal

Constructive dismissal occurs when an employer unilaterally changes a fundamental term of your employment: making the job so different that it constitutes a dismissal in everything but name.

Examples that courts have recognized as constructive dismissal:

• A substantial pay cut
• Significant demotion or removal of responsibilities
• Forced relocation to a distant location
• Hostile workplace the employer failed to address
• Change from full-time to part-time

Timing matters: an employee who keeps working under the new terms for a long time can be treated as having accepted them. Constructive dismissal claims usually involve objecting promptly and resigning within a reasonable time, citing the changes, with the changes documented. A cut to your hours raises the same question; see your rights when your employer reduces your hours.

Federally regulated employees: unjust dismissal

Employees of federally regulated employers (banks, airlines, telecommunications, interprovincial trucking, federal Crown corporations) who are not managers, are not covered by a collective agreement and have 12 or more consecutive months of service have a right under Section 240 of the Canada Labour Code to file an unjust dismissal complaint: not just a wrongful dismissal claim.

Unjust dismissal can result in:

• Reinstatement to your former position
• Back pay and benefits
• Compensation for lost wages

This is significantly stronger than the provincial ESA route, which only provides monetary compensation. The complaint must be filed with the Labour Program within 90 days of the dismissal.

Your three options

When you are terminated, you generally have three paths:

1. Accept the ESA package and sign the release

Fastest, but a release usually gives up any claim to common-law notice, so it costs the most when the offer is well below your likely common-law entitlement.

2. Negotiate a better package

Many people acknowledge the termination in writing, ask for time to review the offer and have an employment lawyer respond. Most wrongful dismissal disputes settle through negotiation without a trial.

3. File a claim or complaint

• ESA complaint (provincial employment standards office): free, but limited to the statutory minimums, and in some provinces filing one limits a later lawsuit for the same issue. How to file, and the deadlines, are in the guide to filing an employment standards complaint.
• Wrongful dismissal lawsuit (civil court): File in small claims (amounts under $50,000 in Ontario, effective October 1, 2025) or Superior Court. Employment lawyers often take cases on contingency (paid only if you win).
• Federal unjust dismissal (s.240 CLC): For federally regulated employees only: potentially includes reinstatement.

Common mistakes

• Resigning under pressure. Quitting usually gives up wrongful dismissal entitlements unless the facts amount to constructive dismissal.
• Signing a release too soon. A signed release normally ends any further claim.
• Accepting a “just cause” label without details. Asking for the specific reasons in writing helps test the allegation.
• Waiting too long. Limitation periods apply; in most provinces a wrongful dismissal claim has to be started within two years.
• Posting about it publicly. Social media posts can be used as evidence.

Mitigation duty

Once terminated, an employee has a legal duty to mitigate: to take reasonable steps to find new employment. Courts will reduce wrongful dismissal damages if you did not actively look for work.

Keep records of every job application. If you find new employment during the notice period, the income earned typically reduces the wrongful dismissal award (the employer gets “credit” for the period you were employed elsewhere).

For severance calculation and tax treatment, see the severance pay Canada guide. For statutory amounts by years of service, see the termination and severance pay calculator.