New Fed rules crack down on temp worker exploitation
Fact Sheet & Media
Author(s): Thomas, S.
Date: 2026
Resource: Canadian HR Reporter.
Coming changes to the Canada Labour Code will mean a significant shift in how federally regulated employers use temporary workers.
The amendments, set to come into force in “early 2026”, prohibit wage differences between temporary agency workers and permanent employees performing substantially the same work, require employers to justify any pay disparities within 90 days of an employee request, and extend the same protections to part-time workers who have historically earned less per hour than full-time counterparts.
While the changes apply to the roughly 10 per cent of workers in federal jurisdiction – including banks, telecommunications companies, interprovincial transportation and port operations – Ottawa has positioned the rules as “a model to emulate” for provincial adoption.
The end of cheap temporary labour
For Catherine Connelly, professor at McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business and director of the McMaster Centre for Research on Employment and Work, the amendments could mean “a fundamental rethink of temporary agency firm strategy.”
Related Research Areas: Vulnerable Workers