New Rule, Old Problem
Newcomers "can't get a job without Canadian experience and they can't get Canadian experience without a job." Ontario's Human Rights Commission wrote that in 2013. That finding leaned on federal research from 2003. Thirteen years later, on January 1, 2026, a new rule finally reached the job posting itself.
Employers with 25 or more staff can no longer ask for Canadian work experience. Not in a job posting. Not on an application form. The change comes from Ontario's Employment Standards Act, the law that sets minimum workplace rules for the province.
A 2025 survey asked 246 permanent residents in London-Middlesex why it was hard to find matching work. All 246 had said the search was difficult. Lack of Canadian experience topped their list, named by 43.5% of them. Four more reasons followed close behind:
Not enough jobs matching their qualifications (28.0%)
Skills that Canadian employers wanted done a different way (18.7%)
English fluency (18.3%)
Not knowing anyone who could help them get in the door (16.7%)
So the new rule answers the loudest reason on that list. It leaves the other four standing. A job posting can no longer ask for Canadian experience. Nothing yet changes how a resume gets read once it arrives. Nothing changes how an interview goes. Nothing changes whether the region has enough of the right jobs open in the first place.
What about retraining? Get a Canadian credential and the problem goes away. Sounds simple. The same survey asked a different question. How likely are you to go back to school for a Canadian credential? The average answer, out of 7, was 2.7.
Going back to school means redoing years of education finished somewhere else. Most people, reasonably, do not want to repeat that. This survey never asked a narrower question. Can you get the credential you already hold recognised here, without repeating the whole degree? London-Middlesex has no local data on that yet. Worth asking for.
If you hire people. Check your job postings now. Check your application forms too. If your organization has 25 or more employees, neither one can ask for Canadian work experience. Ontario.ca has the details.
If you are job hunting, or helping someone who is. Employers can no longer put this barrier in a job ad. The other four reasons are still there. Call 2-1-1. Ask what employment help is available near you. The line is free and available day and night, in many languages. WILL Employment Solutions works on exactly this in London.
One sentence changed in 2026. Four reasons on the list did not.
Sources: Ontario Human Rights Commission, Policy on Removing the "Canadian Experience" Barrier (2013). Ontario Employment Standards Act amendments in force January 1, 2026. Lammert, J., Oshiogbele, G., Nielsen, E., & Esses, V. (2025). Survey of Newcomers to London-Middlesex (Part A). NEST, Western University, for the City of London.