Ontario plans to prohibit employers from asking for Canadian work experience in job applications

The Government of Ontario proposes legislation prohibiting employers from requiring "Canadian work experience" in job applications. Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development believes this will address labor shortages by allowing newcomers to secure better-suited jobs instead of settling for positions overqualified.

Ontario aims to enable internationally trained immigrants to work in their fields of study, fostering their integration and supporting the provincial workforce. Ontario's Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism, Michael Ford, states this change will benefit families, communities, and businesses.

Details of the Ontario plan to prohibit employers from asking for Canadian work experience

Officials estimate that supporting internationally trained newcomers to work in the professions for which they studied could boost the province's GDP by up to $100 billion over the next five years. They claimed that eliminating the requirement for Canadian experience would allow more qualified candidates to advance in the interview process.

Ontario hopes to prevent employers from requiring Canadian work experience and to relax provincial immigration eligibility so that international graduates of one-year college programs can obtain permanent residence.

The proposed changes are expected to go into effect next year and will be included in legislation introduced by the provincial government early next week.

More than 30 occupational and professional licensing bodies will be prohibited from using Canadian work experience requirements in licensing beginning December 1.

David Piccini, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development Stated:

"For far too long, far too many people arriving in Canada have been funneled into dead-end jobs for which they are overqualified." "We must ensure that these people can find well-paying and rewarding jobs that will contribute to addressing the labor shortage," "When newcomers to Ontario get a meaningful chance to contribute, everyone wins."

This year, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) will nominate 16,500 immigrants for permanent residence in critical sectors such as health care and the skilled trades. To ensure that the Province selects the best candidates possible, the government is also proposing changes that would increase the number of international students in Ontario who are eligible to apply to the OINP by revising eligibility requirements for hundreds of one-year college graduate certificate programs across the province. The province has also communicated to the federal government that Ontario should have significantly more say about which economic immigrants arrive in the province.

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