Hiring in Canada

Canada's employment law is split between federal and provincial jurisdictions, which makes it more complicated than most countries. The federal Canada Labour Code only covers about 6% of workers in industries like banking, telecommunications, and interprovincial transport. Everyone else falls under their province's employment standards legislation, and those rules can differ quite a bit from province to province. This is one of the main reasons companies turn to an EOR when hiring in Canada, because you're not just dealing with one set of rules.

Termination notice periods are a good example of how provinces diverge. In Ontario, the Employment Standards Act requires 1 week of notice for employees with 3 months to 1 year of service, scaling up to 8 weeks for employees with 8+ years. BC follows a similar escalating pattern but adds severance after 3 years. Alberta requires between 1 and 8 weeks depending on tenure. Quebec has its own system too, and unlike common law provinces, it has stronger protections against dismissal without just cause after 2 years of continuous service. On top of statutory minimums, common law reasonable notice in Canada can be much longer, sometimes up to 24 months for long-tenured senior employees.

Vacation minimums also vary by province. The federal standard starts at 2 weeks (4% vacation pay) after 1 year, increasing to 3 weeks after 5 years and 4 weeks after 10 years. Ontario gives 2 weeks after 1 year and 3 weeks after 5 years. Saskatchewan starts everyone at 3 weeks. BC gives 2 weeks after 1 year and 3 weeks after 5 years. Quebec offers a minimum of 2 weeks after 1 year and 3 weeks after 3 years. Statutory holidays range from 5 to 10 depending on the province, with most landing around 8 or 9 paid holidays per year.

For payroll, employers need to manage several mandatory contributions. CPP (Canada Pension Plan) contributions in 2026 are 5.95% on earnings between $3,500 and $74,600, with employers matching dollar for dollar. There's also CPP2, a second tier at 4% on earnings between $74,600 and $85,000. Employment Insurance premiums are 1.63% for employees, and employers pay 1.4 times that amount (about 2.28%). Quebec is its own beast: it uses the QPP instead of CPP (slightly higher rate), has its own parental insurance plan (QPIP) which replaces EI for parental benefits, and employees there pay a reduced EI rate. Workers' compensation is managed province by province through separate boards, and the rates depend on industry classification.

Parental leave in Canada is generous compared to the US. Through Employment Insurance, birth mothers get 15 weeks of maternity benefits, and then parents can share either 35 weeks of standard parental benefits (at 55% of earnings up to a max) or 61 weeks of extended benefits (at 33% of earnings). Quebec's QPIP plan is even more generous, offering higher replacement rates and coverage for self-employed workers. Overtime rules generally follow a 44-hours-per-week threshold in most provinces (40 hours federally, 44 in Ontario, 44 in Alberta, 40 in BC, 40 in Quebec), after which employers must pay 1.5 times the regular rate.