Finding a job in Ontario has long been an exercise in uncertainty for students and recent graduates. Job postings often list vague compensation details, unclear screening processes, and requirements that can feel exclusionary — particularly for international students. As of January 1, a new set of provincial rules aims to change that.

Under Ontario’s updated job-posting legislation, employers with 25 or more employees must publicly list an expected salary range of no more than $50,000 for positions paying under $200,000, and disclose whether AI is used in the hiring or screening process. 

Employers are also prohibited from listing “Canadian experience,” meaning prior work experience gained in Canada, as a requirement — a change that may ease barriers for international students with work experience earned abroad. 

For students navigating an increasingly competitive labour market, these changes are intended to make job searching more transparent and accessible. However, while the policy shift has been welcomed, students say the reality of job hunting remains more complicated than clearer postings alone can address.

Transparency in salary ranges

Ontario’s new rules promise better information for job seekers, but they do little to address the imbalance between a growing number of applicants and a limited supply of entry-level roles. In some cases, salary ranges and disclosure requirements may even intensify competition by allowing applicants to assess and act on opportunities more quickly.

From an employer’s perspective, transparency is meant to reduce delays in the hiring process by filtering candidates earlier. David King, senior managing director at employment agency Robert Half, argued in a December 2025 CTV article that clearer salary information helps align expectations sooner, allowing both applicants and organizations to determine whether a role is a good fit.

However, greater clarity does not necessarily ease pressure on applicants. By making compensation easier to compare, transparency may concentrate applications around roles that meet certain salary thresholds, rather than dispersing interest across a wider range of positions. 

“Salary does make the job more or less appealing depending on the nature of the job and my expectations on the job’s salary,” wrote Vicky Ongpipattanakul, a fourth-year Rotman Commerce student, in an email to The Varsity.

AI disclosure and expectations

Another major component of the new legislation requires employers to disclose whether AI is used in hiring, as many now rely on tools that screen resumes, rank candidates, or filter applications. Many students already expect employers to use AI during screening, but this disclosure removes the guesswork from the process.

For some applicants, the new requirement addresses concerns about authenticity in hiring. Abhinav Sahal, a fourth-year chemistry specialist currently on his co-op term, wrote to The Varsity that knowing whether AI is involved matters for how he approaches applications. “I’d prefer knowing that a real person is reading my resume and cover letter, and I don’t have to try and ‘cheat’ the system by flooding my documents with buzzwords.”

While disclosure does not change how widely AI is used, it signals an effort to make screening practices more transparent. 

Removing “Canadian experience” as a requirement

For years, the “Canadian experience” requirement has functioned less as a qualification and more as a filter, screening out applicants whose work experience was earned outside Canada. 

Its removal from job postings under Ontario’s new rules is intended to widen access for candidates with international experience. This may particularly benefit international students who primarily worked abroad, as their experience has often been discounted in Canada simply because it was earned elsewhere.

Among students, however, there is little consensus on how far the change will go.

Some see the policy shift as largely symbolic. Ongpipattanakul wrote that while the change may “somewhat give more international students more opportunities in getting a job in Ontario,” employers may still “favour institutions that they are more familiar with [such as Canadian universities or employers].”

Others view the change more optimistically. Sahal wrote that removing the “Canadian experience” requirement could “surely ease the pressure faced by applicants,” particularly international students whose prior work would otherwise be discounted.

Ontario’s new rules make job searching more transparent, reducing some of the uncertainty students have long faced. But transparency does not guarantee opportunity. For many, finding the right job remains as difficult as ever.