Ontario job posting rules, in force January 2026

Ontario changed what a job posting has to say. The rules came into force on 1 January 2026, and they apply to employers with 25 or more employees who publicly advertise a job.

They are not guidance. They are amendments to the Employment Standards Act, and they create obligations an employer can be held to.

The six requirements

1. Disclose the expected compensation

A publicly advertised posting must state the expected compensation, or a range. A posted range may span at most $50,000.

The requirement does not apply where the expected compensation, or the top of the range, is above $200,000 a year.

This is the change with the most immediate effect on candidates. A posting that says "competitive salary" no longer meets the standard.

2. Disclose the use of artificial intelligence

If artificial intelligence is used to screen, assess or select applicants, the posting must say so.

This covers more than it might sound like. Resume parsing that ranks or filters candidates counts. So does automated video assessment, and scoring tools applied before a human reads an application. If a machine narrows the field, applicants are entitled to know.

3. No Canadian experience requirements

A posting, and any associated application form, may not include a requirement for Canadian experience.

This one is worth being precise about, because it is often misread. The prohibition is on requiring Canadian work experience as such. It does not stop an employer from requiring knowledge of Canadian regulations, Canadian accounting standards, or a specific Canadian professional licence where that is genuinely necessary for the role. The line is between where you worked and what you know.

4. State whether the vacancy exists

The posting must say whether it is for a currently existing vacancy.

Postings made to build a candidate pipeline rather than to fill an open role are not prohibited. They just have to be honest about what they are.

5. Tell interviewed applicants the outcome

An employer who interviews an applicant must tell that applicant the outcome within 45 days of the last interview.

The notice can be given in person, in writing, or by phone. What is not permitted is silence.

6. Keep the records for three years

Copies of the posting, the application form, and the information provided to interviewed applicants must be retained for three years after the posting comes down or the notice is given.

What counts as a publicly advertised posting

The requirements attach to external, publicly advertised postings. Internal-only postings, and general recruitment campaigns that are not tied to a specific role, sit outside them.

If you are advertising a specific job to the public, assume you are in scope.

What this means if you are hiring from outside Canada

The obligation follows the work, not the head office. A company based in the United States that hires someone to work in Ontario is an employer under Ontario law for that employment relationship, whether the person is engaged directly, through a Canadian subsidiary, or through an employer of record.

Whether you personally cross the 25-employee threshold is a question worth answering before you post, not after.

How Hirea handles this

Every posting on this board is checked against these rules before it goes live, and the result is shown on the posting itself — including which requirements were not met.

The posting form asks the questions directly, so an employer filling it in honestly produces a compliant posting by default. Postings that clear every applicable requirement rank above those that do not.

We do not block a posting that falls short. These rules bind employers, not us, and an employer under 25 staff is not in scope at all. What we do is show the reader what was and was not stated, and cite the rule, so they can judge it themselves.

This is not legal advice

This page summarises the requirements as we understand them in order to build a compliance check into our posting form. It is not legal advice, it is not exhaustive, and Ontario is not the only province with rules about job postings. If the answer matters to your business, ask an employment lawyer.