Canada Labour Code

The Canada Labour Code is the federal law setting work rules for federally regulated employers, such as banks, airlines and interprovincial trucking.

Also called: CLC, Canada Labour Code Part III, federal labour standards

What canada Labour Code means

The Canada Labour Code is the federal law that governs employment in federally regulated industries. Part III of the Code sets the labour standards: minimum wage, hours and overtime, holidays, vacation, leaves, termination notice, severance and unjust dismissal. It plays the same role for federal employers that a provincial employment standards act plays for everyone else.

Most small businesses are provincially regulated and never deal with it. But if you run, for example, an interprovincial trucking company, a small airline, a telecommunications business or a bank branch, the Code applies to you instead of your province's law, even though your staff live and work in that province.

How it works

First, confirm whether you are federally regulated. It depends on what your business does, not where it is. If you are unsure, check the federal labour standards pages before you decide which rules to follow.

Part III sets these key minimums. Minimum wage is $18.15 an hour since 1 April 2026, adjusted each 1 April for inflation. Overtime is owed after 8 hours a day or 40 a week, at 1.5 times regular pay. There are 10 paid public holidays. Vacation is 2 weeks (4%), 3 weeks (6%) after 5 years and 4 weeks (8%) after 10 years. Amounts owed on termination are due within 30 days, and vacation pay within 30 days of the last day worked.

Ending employment has extra rules. Termination notice is 2 weeks after 3 months of service, plus 1 more week per completed year from 3 years, to 8 weeks. Severance pay is also owed after 12 months: the greater of 2 days' regular wages per completed year or 5 days' wages, unless the dismissal is for just cause. Non-manager employees with 12 months of continuous service who are not covered by a collective agreement can complain of unjust dismissal within 90 days; the Canada Industrial Relations Board decides those cases. A group termination of 50 or more employees within 4 weeks needs 16 weeks' notice.

Complaints about unpaid wages or other amounts go to the Labour Program within 6 months from the last day the employer was required to pay. A layoff of 3 months or less is not a termination.

Is it the same in every province?

The Canada Labour Code applies the same way across the country to federally regulated employers, wherever their employees work. Provincially regulated businesses follow their province's employment standards law instead. Federal Employment Insurance rules, such as the Record of Employment, apply to all employers either way.

Example: A trucking firm in Moncton

Anil runs a 20-person trucking company in Moncton that hauls freight between New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec. Because his trucks cross provincial borders, he is federally regulated and follows the Canada Labour Code, not New Brunswick's employment standards.

His minimum pay rate is $18.15 an hour, not New Brunswick's $15.90. When he ends the job of a dispatcher with 4 years' service without cause, he gives 4 weeks' notice and also pays severance of 8 days' wages, since 2 days x 4 years is more than 5 days.

Employment standards by province

Staffkin's free employment standards by province page includes a federal row next to every province for minimum wage, overtime, holidays, vacation, notice and final pay.

See the rules by province

Free tools and guides for this

Questions about canada Labour Code

Who does the Canada Labour Code apply to?

Employers in federally regulated industries, for example banks, airlines, interprovincial trucking and telecommunications, and their employees. Most other businesses follow provincial law.

What is the federal minimum wage?

$18.15 an hour since 1 April 2026. It changes each 1 April based on inflation.

Is severance pay required under the Canada Labour Code?

Yes, after 12 consecutive months of continuous employment: the greater of 2 days' regular wages per completed year or 5 days' wages, unless dismissed for just cause.

What is unjust dismissal under the Canada Labour Code?

A complaint process for non-manager employees with 12 months of continuous service and no collective agreement, filed within 90 days of dismissal and decided by the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

Official sources

General information for Canadian employers, not legal advice. Rules differ by province and territory and change over time, so check with your provincial employment standards office (or the federal Labour Program if you are federally regulated) before you rely on it. See employment standards by province.

Checked against official sources on 4 November 2026.