Salary Ranges in Job Postings: How to Get It Right Without Undermining Your Own Hiring

Published by: Can X Global Solutions Inc.

A Number on a Job Posting Carries More Weight Than You Think

For most of the history of Canadian recruitment, salary was a late-stage conversation — disclosed grudgingly, negotiated quietly, and occasionally used as a trap. Post a role, collect applications, evaluate candidates, then reveal compensation somewhere between the second interview and the offer.

That era ended on January 1, 2026. Ontario’s Bill 149 now requires employers with 25 or more employees to include a salary amount or range in every publicly advertised job posting. The range, if posted, cannot exceed $50,000. A posting of $70,000-$115,000 is compliant. One that spans $60,000-$120,000 is not.

But the legislation only defines the floor. The strategic question — how to post a salary range that actually serves your hiring goals — is one the legislation leaves entirely to employers. And most are getting it wrong in one of two directions.

The Two Ways Employers Undermine Themselves

The Deliberately Vague Range

The first failure mode is posting the widest permissible range and calling it done. A posted range of $70,000 to $120,000 tells a candidate almost nothing about the level of the role, the genuine budget, or whether they are being considered at the junior or senior end of the spectrum. When a candidate does not know where they would land in that range, they mentally anchor to the top. If the offer comes in at $75,000, the perceived drop feels enormous — even if $75,000 is competitive for the actual role.

Vague ranges don’t save negotiating leverage. They erode trust at the offer stage and increase the likelihood that strong candidates decline.

The Over-Precise Range That Closes Doors

The second failure is the opposite: posting a range so tight it alienates qualified candidates who assume — correctly or not — that there’s no flexibility. A range of $83,500-$84,000 communicates that the employer has a rigid, non-negotiable number and doesn’t particularly value what a candidate brings to the conversation. Top-tier talent reads that and keeps scrolling.

What a Well-Constructed Salary Range Actually Does

A well-crafted range does three things simultaneously. It satisfies the legislative requirement. It signals the genuine level of the role so candidates can self-select appropriately. And it leaves enough width to reflect real variation in what a candidate might bring — without anchoring anyone unrealistically.

“44% of Canadian hiring managers say including salary ranges in job descriptions is the single most effective way to attract top talent in 2026.”

— Robert Half Canada, 2026 Salary Guide

In practice, this means defining your range based on honest internal pay data for the role, not on what you hope to pay the least possible. It means reviewing market compensation benchmarks before posting — not after you’ve already selected a candidate and realized your offer is below market.

It also means having a clear internal framework for how a candidate moves through the range. Years of experience? Specific certifications? Demonstrated leadership? If you can articulate what earns someone the top versus the bottom of the range, you can communicate that during the interview — and candidates respect the transparency.

The Internal Equity Landmine

The Retention Risk of Transparency

Here is the risk most employers aren’t discussing loudly enough: when you post a salary range publicly, your current employees can see it. If a long-tenured team member discovers that a new hire in a comparable role will be offered more than they’re currently earning, you have a retention problem. Potentially a serious one.

This is not a hypothetical. It’s a near-certain outcome for employers who have allowed compensation to drift below market over time without addressing it. The transparency the legislation creates is healthy for the labour market overall — but it’s uncomfortable for organizations that have been under-compensating their existing workforce.

The time to do a pay equity audit is now, before your next posting goes live. Identifying and correcting compression issues proactively is far less damaging than having current employees discover them through a job board.

How Recruitment Partners Help You Get This Right

Setting a defensible, market-aligned salary range requires current compensation data — not what roles paid eighteen months ago, but what they command right now in your specific geography and industry. CAN X Global provides employers with real-time market compensation intelligence as part of our recruitment advisory. We know what candidates in your target profile are currently earning, what competing employers are offering, and where your range needs to land to close strong candidates without paying above market.

Before your next posting goes live, let’s make sure your numbers work in every direction — for compliance, for candidates, and for the team you’re already paying.