Employment Law Across Canada: Five Considerations for the Year Ahead

Canadian employers are entering 2026 amid sustained legislative reform and shifting judicial signals. Across multiple provinces, governments have expanded statutory leave protections, tightened pay transparency rules and imposed new workplace health obligations, while appellate courts continue to refine the framework for assessing termination risk.

The following five developments warrant particular attention from employers operating nationally.

1. Extended Medical Leave. Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta have introduced or expanded unpaid long-term illness and injury leave to 27 weeks within a 52-week period. Although disability-related absences were already protected under human rights legislation, the statutory codification of these extended leaves creates parallel enforcement avenues under employment standards regimes. Employers must carefully manage reinstatement rights, benefit continuation and operational impacts, particularly where time off may be taken intermittently.
2. Pay Transparency Rules. Ontario’s new job posting requirements and British Columbia’s expanded pay transparency reporting obligations impose heightened disclosure standards. Ontario now mandates compensation ranges (subject to certain exceptions), disclosure of artificial intelligence in hiring processes and timely notification of hiring decisions. British Columbia has lowered the reporting threshold to employers with 50 employees. Recruitment processes and compensation frameworks should be reviewed for compliance.
3. Termination Clause Trends. Certain recent appellate decisions in Ontario and British Columbia appear to endorse a more practical and common-sense approach to interpreting termination provisions. While clauses must clearly comply with statutory minimum standards, courts may be more willing to uphold well-drafted agreements, strengthening employers’ position in wrongful dismissal disputes.
4. Changes to Alberta’s OHS Code. The Alberta Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Code now requires that employers’ violence and harassment prevention plans are combined into one, consolidated plan. The Code also now includes additional protections for employees working in late-night retail stores and stricter safety standards for blasting, explosives handling, and oil and gas operations.
5. Workplace Psychosocial Risks. Quebec employers must now formally identify, document and mitigate workplace psychosocial risks, which may include excessive workload, workplace harassment and feelings of isolation or a lack of recognition. This structured prevention framework reflects heightened regulatory focus on psychological health in the workplace.

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