Ontario Government Bans Questions About Canadian Work Experience

The Ontario government passed legislation in March 2024 to remove a barrier that internationally trained immigrants have faced when looking for their first job in Canada.

The law, a part of the Working for Workers Four Act, 2024, is intended to eliminate discrimination in Ontario workplaces by banning questions about Canadian work experience, noted Gillian Mason, CEO of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) in Toronto. TRIEC’s mentorship program matches skilled immigrants with mentors in their field.

“Ontario is a global leader in welcoming newcomers from a wide array of backgrounds, cultures and faiths around the world,” said Michael Ford, minister of citizenship and multiculturalism, in a statement in November 2023. “By banning Canadian work experience requirements in job postings, Ontario is leading the country in breaking down barriers to make it easier for internationally trained immigrants to find meaningful work and contribute to building Ontario.”

Immigration has been the driving force behind Canada’s labor supply for nearly a decade, Mason said. Between 2016 and 2021, immigrants accounted for four-fifths of Canada’s labor force growth, according to Statistics Canada. That number is expected to grow even further because 41 million people now live in Canada as of March 2024—just nine months after its population surpassed 40 million.

Eliminating the Canadian Experience Question

Employers once often asked immigrants in job screening interviews if they have “Canadian experience” to gauge whether the applicant could make a smooth transition into the Canadian workplace, Mason explained. This line of questioning in job interviews is now prohibited in Ontario.

The term “Canadian experience” encompasses both hard skills, such as an applicant’s education, credentials, and previous work experience, and soft skills, such as how a candidate fits into a workplace culture or interacts with their colleagues, explained Izumi Sakamoto, an associate professor at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto.

“Demanding immigrants to demonstrate their soft skills reflects distrust in their interpersonal abilities to assimilate into Canadian workplace culture,” Sakamoto said. “In my view, these skills are poorly defined, subjective, and susceptible to unconscious bias.”

Many major Canadian employers—including the “big five” banks Bank of Montreal, Scotiabank, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Royal Bank of Canada, and Toronto-Dominion Bank—have already moved away from using Canadian experience as a hiring criterion, Sakamoto noted. This shift can be attributed to an Ontario Human Rights Commission 2013 policy, which stated that the phrase “Canadian experience” is discriminatory.

However, many small to midsize companies may still struggle with avoiding questions about Canadian experience because they use the term as a proxy for trust and risk aversion in hiring, Sakamoto stated.

“This creates an impossible Catch-22 situation for job-seeking immigrants: If you don’t have Canadian experience, you can’t get a job. If you don’t have a job, you can’t get Canadian experience,” she added.

HR Is at the Center of Inclusive Recruiting

HR professionals in Ontario need to think about why certain skills are associated with Canadian experience and find ways to assess job candidates without using that term, Sakamoto said.

“This will ensure a fair and clear hiring process for everyone,” she added. “They must also be open to considering a candidate’s skills and past work experience—even if they don’t have Canadian experience.”

HR is crucial in ensuring inclusive recruitment practices, Mason said.

HR can also follow in TRIEC’s footsteps by implementing a comprehensive onboarding program and mentorship initiatives for new hires, Sakamoto said. This will create a nurturing work environment that benefits HR professionals, employers, and immigrant employees.

Catherine Skrzypinski is a freelance writer based in Vancouver, B.C.