How Is Ontario’s Bill 149 Affecting Hiring in 2026?

There’s been a lot of conversation about Bill 149.

Back in December, we hosted a webinar to help clients get ahead of the changes. In January, we shared what employers needed to know as the new rules came into effect.

Now, six months in, the question we’re getting is: “Is it actually changing hiring?”

If you’ve gone looking for recent news or analysis on whether the legislation is working, you’ve probably come up mostly empty-handed. There’s been very little coverage so far, outside of articles such as Why Ontario’s new ban on requiring Canadian work experience won’t fix discrimination against newcomers, published by The Globe and Mail on April 8, 2026.

Employers want to know whether the changes are making a difference, whether candidates are responding differently and whether hiring is starting to shift in a meaningful way.

The reality is, there isn’t much evidence available yet — and that, in itself, tells us something.

We’re in an in-between moment. The legislation is live and employers adjusted, but there’s still very little hard data or real-world analysis or effects to point to. So rather than waiting for a report that doesn’t exist yet, it feels more useful to share what we’re actually seeing on the ground.

‍

There’s little news so far because it’s still early

Ontario’s new job posting and pay transparency rules only came into effect in January 2026. Six months isn’t a long time for something this operational to settle in.

Right now, most organizations are still focused on compliance. They’re updating job postings, adding salary ranges, adjusting hiring processes and making sure their teams understand what’s changed. That alone can be a lift.

Because of that, we’re not quite at the stage where most companies are stepping back to evaluate the impact. We’re still in the implementation phase, and until the new practices are applied consistently, there won’t be much to measure.

‍

Compliance is happening, but hiring hasn’t transformed (yet)

From what we’re seeing, employers are making the required changes. Salary ranges are appearing more consistently, AI-use disclosures are common and hiring processes are being adjusted where needed, for example, letting candidates who interviewed for a role know if they didn’t get it within 45 days from the interview.

That doesn’t necessarily mean hiring strategies have fundamentally changed.

The broader goals behind the new rules include improving transparency, reducing bias and creating a better candidate experience. Those are important goals, but they’re also long-term outcomes.

For now, most organizations are focused on meeting the requirements in front of them, rather than completely rethinking how they hire. If that deeper shift happens, it will take time.

‍

Salary transparency is a step forward, but it’s not the whole answer

We fully support the move toward salary transparency. It’s something job seekers have been asking for, and it helps set expectations earlier in the hiring process.

That said, the impact so far has been relatively subtle.

One of the biggest challenges is how quickly the labour market moves. Salary expectations can shift in real time, especially across certain roles, skills, and geographical regions, which means a range that felt accurate a few months ago may already be slightly out of step with the market.

On top of that, when ranges are wide, sometimes up to $50,000, they don’t always give candidates the clarity they’re looking for. Generally, job seekers come into the interview process asking for the top of the range. Afterall, they believe their experience matches the top of the salary band, not to the bottom. But to employers, they generally wish to offer a salary in the bottom 50% of the range because they want room to move up into the position as the incumbent advances. This divide results in the usual conversation to align expectations with what’s possible (and this is not new due to this new legislation).

In many cases, a narrower range or even a clearly defined target salary can be more helpful than a broad one. It tends to lead to better-aligned conversations and a smoother experience on both sides.

So, while transparency is absolutely a step in the right direction, how it’s applied in practice makes a difference.

‍

Some of the intended impact will take longer to show up

There are parts of Ontario’s new hiring rules that have the potential to meaningfully improve the candidate experience, particularly when it comes to communication.

Over time, more consistent expectations around keeping interviewed candidates informed could help people feel more respected and less uncertain about where they stand. That kind of change matters.

But again, we’re not fully there yet.

We expect the impact to become more noticeable over the next 12 months as these practices become more familiar and embedded in employers’ hiring processes.

‍

So, is Bill 149 changing hiring?

Yes — but not yet in a way that’s easy to measure.

Changes are happening. Job postings look different, expectations are shifting and conversations about transparency are more front and centre than they were before.

What we’re not seeing yet is a major, immediate shift in hiring outcomes. We haven’t heard of any government audits or candidate complaints resulting in a review. We imagine the government is giving employers time to ‘get it right’.

‍

What employers should watch for next

If Bill 149 and Ontario’s related hiring rules are going to have a meaningful impact, it will likely happen gradually.

We’ll be watching how employers refine and tighten their salary ranges, whether greater transparency leads to better-aligned candidate pipelines and how the candidate experience evolves as communication becomes more consistent.

We’ll also be watching whether removing Canadian-experience requirements affects who applies for roles and who advances through the hiring process.

More than anything, we’ll see these changes play out in real time through the clients and candidates we work with every day.

If you’re hiring in Ontario and still working through the new requirements, you’re not behind. You’re in the same place as many organizations — adjusting, learning and figuring out what works.

As more data becomes available, we’ll have a clearer picture of the legislation’s long-term impact.

To talk through what these changes could mean for your hiring strategy, reach out to us at altisteam@altis.com. We’d be happy to connect.

Altis is a Canadian-owned staffing firm supporting organizations across the private and public sectors. We focus on relationship-driven recruitment, clear process and consistent delivery, helping employers hire with confidence and professionals build meaningful careers.