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Pay transparency is a key factor for most job seekers
Editorial by Christian Saint Cyr
National Director / Canadian Job Development Network
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Increasingly, employers who fail to post salary in their job postings are losing prospective candidates and limiting their candidate pool. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of Canadian workers say they would be more likely to apply for a job that includes the pay range in the posting, according to a report from Indeed Canada.
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In recent years, pay transparency has become a key focus for a number of provinces looking to grow their workforce with more favorable employment legislation. The idea is that provinces able to attract a more skilled workforce will be a magnet for corporations and economic investment.
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British Columbia brought in legislation several years ago requiring salaries to be posted in jobs and that employers will need to report each year on the pay differential between their male and female employees.
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Ontario has similar legislation that will go into effective on January 1st 2026, requiring employers with at least 25 employees to post salaries as well as report whether AI will be used in the sorting and evaluation of candidates.
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They are also preventing employers from ghosting some job candidates. Ontario requires employers to notify candidates who were unsuccessful in the interview process.
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Salary is an important factor for many employees. Indeed reports, 59 per cent of job seekers say they have withdrawn from an application or interview process after seeing the salary range.
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More than half of respondents (54%) cited ensuring equitable compensation as a top benefit of pay transparency legislation, and 63 per cent believe the legislation will help reduce pay inequities.
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Despite these demonstrated benefits, many workers remain unaware of pay transparency laws. Only 35 per cent of Ontarians are aware that employers will be required to disclose salary ranges in job postings beginning January 2026.
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This awareness gap is not isolated to Ontario. In British Columbia, where mandatory pay transparency has been in effect since November 2023, just 38 per cent of residents are aware of the policy.
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This lack of awareness persists despite 83 per cent of respondents feeling positively about pay transparency policies, and 96 per cent believing that mandatory salary disclosure is beneficial overall.
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Ontario's legislation sets specific parameters for salary ranges. Employers must disclose pay ranges no wider than $50,000, unless the top end exceeds $200,000 annually, in which case there is no limit. Additionally, employers must notify interviewed candidates whether a hiring decision has been made within 45 days from the date of their last interview.
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Respondents to Indeed’s survey express differing views on appropriate salary range width. The largest share of respondents, 17 per cent, felt a $10,000 range was suitable, while 13 per cent considered a band wider than $50,000 acceptable.
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In BC, 68 per cent of respondents feel that pay transparency legislation has achieved its objective of making pay fair, according to Indeed’s recent survey of 900 workers.
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Disclosure of wages is certainly improving the situation, but saying it's now 'fair' is a bit of a leap. British Columbia now produces an annual Pay Transparency Report that shows in an improvement from a gap of 45 per cent down to 36 per cent in the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industries. But to be clear, in these industries, there is still a 36 per cent gap between what men and women are making.
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The gap shrank from 24 per cent to 17 per cent in mining, quarrying and oil-and-gas extraction. Wholesale trade saw a positive shift from 18 per cent down to 11 per cent.
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More encouragingly, the gender pay gap shrank for young women with post-secondary trade certificates and diplomas from 21 per cent in 2017 to just 8 per cent in 2025.
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Sure, there's progress, but women are still making between 8 per cent and 36 per cent less than their male counterparts in each of these sectors.
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As part of BC's legislation, each year a larger number of businesses are required to report their wage differential. When the legislation was introduced, it only applied to crown corporations and employers with at least a thousand employees. As of November 1st, 2025, organizations with 300 employees or more are required to track and report pay transparency numbers.
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What job seekers are doing with this information is quite interesting. Only 28 per cent of BC workers have attempted to negotiate their pay following the legislation's implementation, and just 15 per cent negotiated successfully.
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Despite overwhelming support for the legislation, 83 per cent of respondents identify potential drawbacks. The top concern is potential resentment if new hires earn more than current employees with greater experience, cited by 41 per cent of respondents. An additional 33 per cent worry that colleagues and employees will expect increased compensation to match market rates, and 30 per cent fear reduced negotiating power when salary bands are publicly known.
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Employers must pay attention to pay transparency rules, and it's not just about abiding by legislation, according to recruitment firm Mercer.
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To employers they say, "whether you have been providing salary information internally and externally for years or are just getting familiar with these concepts, your journey to pay transparency is crucial for your organization's overall evolution."
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"Pay transparency is not a passing fad, and will continue to accelerate with shifting expectations and continuing legislative activity."
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Here's what employers should do in view of the coming pay transparency rule change in Ontario, according to the legal firm Achkar Law:
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Review your compensation practices - Make sure job postings reflect accurate pay ranges within the required $50,000 limit. Confirm whether roles fall under the $200,000 exemption.
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Audit and update hiring processes - Identify any use of AI in your screening or selection process and ensure it's disclosed. Remove "Canadian experience" from job applications.
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Plan for candidate communication - Create a system to notify all interviewed applicants within 45 days and keep records. For many, this can be automated using existing HR tools.
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Train HR and hiring teams - Educate everyone involved in recruitment about the new requirements and what changes need to be made to templates and workflows.
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Strengthen recordkeeping systems - Set up a process to store all required records, including postings, applications, and communications, for at least three years.
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Since my earliest days in career development, one of the questions that causes job seekers the most anxiety is, "what sort of salary would you like?"
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Marginalized job seekers are likely to suggest a low salary while the most qualified candidates shoot high. This would suggest employers are likely to hire the candidate requesting the lower salary but often this weakens the candidate's case. The employer sees them as the lesser candidate.
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More often than not, the employer will try to negotiate down the higher salary, the other candidate is requesting, believing they are getting a better quality candidate.
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So often in the Canadian Job Development Network, we use this opportunity to ask ourselves, what does this mean for the job seeker and what does it mean for the employer?
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Salary disclosure eliminates one of the most stressful parts of the job search process. In an interview, a candidate can simply say, they noted the job listed a salary range of $15 to $20 and they feel they are worth the high end of this scale. If the employer isn't listing a salary, they can look at competitor job postings to get a sense of what the position should pay.
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Our lesson for employers is that there is power in posting salaries. Job postings with salaries will attract 73 per cent more applicants.
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Buffer, a social media company with fully transparent pay practices, reported a 116 per cent increase in job applications after implementing open salaries.
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Posting salaries is a great example of ways that employers are willing to surrender their power and influence in the hiring process. It's a willingness to publicly demonstrate openness and transparency.
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I would suggest, if you focus your attention on local employers willing to share salaries, you will also find employers more likely to embrace job development supports and inclusive hiring.
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We’ll be discussing the benefits of posting salaries at our #MotivatingMondays meeting of the Canadian Job Development Network, Monday December 8th at 8:30am Pacific; 9:30am Mountain; 10:30am Central; 11:30am Eastern; 12:30pm Atlantic and at 1pm in Newfoundland.
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On the morning of Monday December 8th 'Click this Link' to watch this session on YouTube.
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'Filling My Public Speaking Engagements for 2025'
35% Discount Until December 18th
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Each year, I get the privilege of speaking and doing dozens of professional development sessions for career development organizations; employers; industry associations; government; clients and students. In these roles, I'm able to speak and provide comprehensive training in labour market information; job development; effective recruitment and retention. I'm currently booking sessions for 2026 and every organization that books a session for next year by December 18th, will benefit from a 35% discount.
To learn more, email Christian Saint Cyr, at: csaintcyr@labourmarketonline.com.
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