(October 21, 2026) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labour law practice representing management, has released its 2026 Canadian Employer Survey Report. The survey finds Canadian employers responding to business and economic pressures—including by pausing hiring, conducting layoffs and increasing automation—while also navigating an evolving regulatory environment, rapid artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, changing workplace expectations and ongoing labour relations challenges.
The report draws on responses from 200 in-house lawyers, C-suite executives and HR leaders at organizations across a range of industries and company sizes.
Challenging economic headwinds are impacting Canadian workplaces, with 77% of respondents taking at least one workforce-related action in response to business or economic pressures over the past year. Paused or reduced hiring was the most common response, cited by 46% of respondents, followed by layoffs or reductions in force (35%) and increased use of automation or AI to reduce labour needs (28%).
U.S. tariff-related disruption is factoring into these decisions. Among employers that took workforce actions, 83% say such disruptions played a role—with 54% saying they contributed to a large or moderate extent.
“Economic uncertainty and trade disruption are clearly influencing workforce decisions, and those impacts could intensify if U.S.-Canada trade...
Health care entities may be able to pay less than half the steep fines ordinarily associated with False Claims Act (FCA) violations by voluntarily reporting issues under a new pilot program launche...