Canada: Employee Benefits & Compensation

Hiring temporary foreign workers can help address labour shortages and support business growth, but it also comes with important and ongoing employer compliance obligations.

The Ontario Court of Appeal's decision in Wigdor v. Facebook Canada Ltd. awarded a former employee over US$4.7 million in Restricted Share Units, establishing that such benefits must continue vesting during statutory notice periods. This landmark ruling emphasizes the critical importance of statutory compliance in employment agreements, particularly following business acquisitions, and clarifies that forfeiture provisions cannot override employees' rights to contractual benefits during notice periods.

À compter du 20 octobre 2026, les employeurs de compétence fédérale devront respecter de nouvelles exigences en matière d'égalité de traitement et de recours aux agences de placement temporaire. Ces dispositions introduites au Code canadien du travail précisent les critères permettant de comparer les employés, les écarts salariaux permis et les nouvelles obligations en matière de tenue de registres.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times—and which side you are on may depend on which case you are reading. On August 6 and 7, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its highly anticipated decisions in Baker v. Van Dolder’s Home Team Inc.1, Li v. Wayfair Canada2, and Daniel Wigdor v. Facebook Canada Ltd. and Meta Platforms, Inc.3.

Employment and Social Development Canada has raised provincial wage thresholds for high-wage versus low-wage Labour Market Impact Assessment streams, creating new challenges for employers seeking to hire temporary foreign workers. The department warns that simply increasing wages to meet high-wage thresholds may not be sufficient and could result in application refusals.

Le gouvernement fédéral canadien a publié de nouvelles lignes directrices précisant les exigences de formation en accessibilité numérique pour les organisations sous réglementation fédérale.

Manitoba and federal governments have announced increases to minimum wage rates that will take effect in 2026. Provincially regulated employers must prepare for the October 1 increase to $16.40, while federally regulated employers face an April 1 adjustment to $18.15 per hour.

Recent global legal developments, from trees gaining legal rights in Quebec to Italy mandating pet bereavement leave, signal a broader trend of rapidly evolving employment standards.

The Alberta Human Rights Commission (“AHRC”) has fought an uphill battle to resolve complaints in a timely fashion. There are a lot of complaints and there are finite judicial resources to process them