Employment Law Across Canada: Five Considerations For The Year Ahead

Canadian employers are entering 2026 amid sustained legislative reform and shifting judicial signals. Across multiple provinces, governments have expanded statutory leave protections, tightened pay transparency rules and imposed new workplace health obligations, while appellate courts continue to refine the framework for assessing termination risk.

The following five developments warrant particular attention from employers operating nationally.

1. Extended Medical Leave. Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta have introduced or expanded unpaid long-term illness and injury leave to 27 weeks within a 52-week period. Although disability-related absences were already protected under human rights legislation, the statutory codification of these extended leaves creates parallel enforcement avenues under employment standards regimes. Employers must carefully manage reinstatement rights, benefit continuation and operational impacts, particularly where time off may be taken