Summary of the Evaluation of the Labour Standards Program, 2026

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Summary of the Evaluation of the Labour Standards Program, 2026 [PDF - 266 KB]

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About the program

• The Labour Standards Program (the Program) promotes fair and equitable workplaces within the federal jurisdiction by administering Part III of the Canada Labour Code (the Code). Part III of the Code outlines the minimum employment conditions for wages and other entitlements in federally regulated industries.
• The Program supports and encourages employer compliance with the Code through awareness and education activities. The Program is legally required to investigate all admissible complaints received under Part III of the Code and applies escalating measures, as appropriate, in response to non-compliance.

Key findings

• Complaints related to labour standards have significantly increased in 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, following the legislative and regulatory changes that expanded leaves and strengthened rights for employees, along with the expansion of the road transportation sector. Nonetheless, the Program has consistently met its target of maintaining fewer than three founded contraventions per 1,000 employees.
• The Program has not met its service standards for responding to inquiries and resolving complaints for several years pointing to resource constraints and limited capacity. Complaints and complaint backlogs have grown steadily, with notable increase in 2022-2023 and 2023-2024.
• The Program has increased its proactive activities to encourage employer compliance with labour standards. However, targeting high-risk sectors - those with a higher likelihood of contraventions under Part III of the Code - and the effectiveness of proactive inspections remain limited. Operational challenges also continue to constrain the reach and impact of proactive efforts.
• The Program collects extensive data and reports on a broad range of indicators. However, data gaps, limited analytical capacity, and weak integration of internal data to inform operational and program decisions limit the effective use of administrative data for enforcement.

Recommendations

• Recognizing the program's operational context, continue to advance efforts to improve timeliness in complaint resolution and reduce complaint backlogs.
• Explore ways to enhance data integration within the operating system and analytical capacity to better support evidence-based planning, effectively monitor compliance outcomes and enable equity assessments.
• Refine targeting and resource allocation to high-risk sectors to improve the reach and impact of proactive inspections and outreach activities