Not in BC or PEI. Ontario doesn't ban it — its 2026 rules are about what the posting must say, not what you may ask. The EU bans it everywhere once national law is in force. Asking what someone expects is fine in all of them.
| Jurisdiction | Asking pay history | Since | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| British Columbia | Banned — directly or through a third party, unless publicly available | Nov 1, 2023 | Pay Transparency Act s. 3 |
| Prince Edward Island | Banned — directly or indirectly; may ask about ranges for comparable roles | Jun 1, 2022 | Employment Standards Act |
| Ontario | Not banned by the ESA posting rules | — | ESA Part III.1 is silent on it |
| EU member states | Banned — current or previous employment | National laws 2025–27 (Italy, Poland in force) | Directive 2023/970 Art. 5 |
| Other provinces / federal | No ban in force that we could confirm | — | — |
In BC the ban covers seeking pay history by any means — so a recruiter asking on your behalf, or a reference-check script that asks the former employer what the person earned, is your problem. Update the script.
What are your compensation expectations for this role? Allowed everywhere. It gets you the information that actually matters — whether your range works for them — without anchoring on what a previous employer paid, which is the thing the bans exist to stop.
We do not ask about your current or previous pay. — it reassures applicants and documents the practice.Ontario employers who also hire in BC, PEI, or the EU need one process anyway, and the simplest one is: never ask. It also removes a recurring source of pay-equity complaints. There is no upside to the question that "what do you expect?" doesn't give you.
Paste a posting or an application form into the free checker; it flags pay-history requests for BC, PEI, and the EU.
Checked on September 12, 2026. Information, not legal advice.