New federal wage protections took effect in Canada on October 20, restricting differences in pay based on employment status and adding safeguards for workers supplied by temporary help agencies.
The change is the commencement of legislation enacted in 2018, not a bill newly passed this week. An April order, published in the Canada Gazette in May, fixed a 180-day preparation period. Official Labour Program guidance identifies October 20 as the effective date.
The equal-treatment rules cover comparable work in the same industrial establishment, requiring substantially the same skill, effort and responsibility under similar conditions. Full-time, part-time, casual or temporary status alone cannot justify a lower wage. Legitimate systems based on seniority, merit, productivity and prescribed factors can still support differences.
Employees can request a wage review. Employers must respond in writing within 90 days, explaining compliance or increasing the wage; retaliation for requesting review is prohibited. Employers cannot meet the requirement by cutting another employee’s rate.
Temporary help agencies face restrictions on recruitment, assignment and job-preparation fees charged to workers. They cannot obstruct direct hiring by a client. A separate limit on fees charged to a hiring client has a six-month exception measured from the worker’s first assignment.
The new federal regime applies to workplaces under federal labour standards, not every Canadian employer or the federal public service. Existing collective agreements permitting the relevant wage differences have transitional protection for up to two years. That qualification matters: commencement does not automatically displace every negotiated pay provision on the first day.
