Canadian Workforce: At A Glance

At JobArc, we get a lot of questions about hiring in Canada. Here’s our summary of what Canadians have to offer.

Education

Canada has an excellent tertiary education system with 62% of Canadian 25-34-year-olds holding a tertiary qualification (post-secondary education) in 2018. This compares to the OECD countries average of 44% (source: Education at a Glance 2019: OECD indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris). Furthermore, three Canadian universities (University of British Columbia, University of Toronto and McGill University) ranked in the top 50 according to the Times World University Rankings 2020.

Employment

The 40-hour work week is standard in Canada and overtime rates are usually applicable for more than 8 hours worked in a day (or 40 hours weekly).

Canadians have the right to maternity/parental leave of 55% of previous earnings up to 55 weeks, with a further 29 weeks of extended leave available at a lower rate (33%). If only one parent takes leave, then the benefit period is reduced (to 50 weeks and 76 weeks respectively).

Other

Canada consists of ten provinces and three territories that set their own standards, but there are a lot of similarities between the provinces. Additionally, the provinces have primary jurisdiction over education and healthcare.

The province of Quebec holds around 25% of Canada’s population, is predominantly French speaking and has a civil law legal system. The remaining nine provinces are primarily English speaking with a common law legal system.

A Professional Employer Organization such as JobArc assumes responsibility for payroll, benefits, tax filings, etc. Also, JobArc is responsible for compliance with provincial labour laws. We greatly simplify the hiring of Canadian talent. Ask us how we can help!