Ontario is set to bar employers from requiring Canadian work experience. It could open the door for some immigrants – but employment discrimination isn't black and white.
For its size, Canada admits a lot of immigrants. In 2023, Canadian immigration authorities logged 526,000 new "permanent residents", or newcomers living in the country who are not yet citizens,
to a country of roughly 38 million. By comparison, the US, which has nearly ten-times Canada's population, welcomed just more than a million newcomers in 2023.
Yet these new Canadian permanent residents can find themselves frustrated when applying for a job that matches their educational experience. Canada's immigration system largely revolves around
a skill-based "points" system that rewards foreign applicants with advanced degrees, yet researchers and newcomers alike consistently note how some immigrants seem to be shut out of qualifying
job opportunities and forced to hustle low-wage, precarious jobs, regardless.
"The story goes that you have a good resume, good experience and good education, but you don't have Canadian experience in the field, so we can't hire you," says Izumi Sakamoto, an associate
professor at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, who studies immigrants.
In November 2023, the Ontario government took what may seem like a bold step: it introduced Bill 149, legislation to ban employers from requiring Canadian work experience when advertising for
jobs in the country's most populous province. It also requires roughly 30 professional associations, regulatory bodies responsible for controlling who can work in fields such as medicine or teaching,
to drop the policy. The legislation, part of a suite of employment-rule changes, is still moving through Ontario's legislature, but experts predict it to pass, potentially as soon as within the next few
months, thanks to the ruling Progressive Conservative Party's commanding majority.
Researchers and newcomer-employment professionals believe this ban is good step to help skilled immigrant applicants, who constantly face discrimination or disqualification based on where they
received their degree or had work experience.
However, there is rarely a smoking gun in cases of hiring discrimination, and this law doesn't necessarily fix that. "It's difficult to prove how they have been discriminated against to get the job," says
Sakamoto. "Hiring practices are behind closed doors. We usually don't get the reasons why some people did not get hired."
