The 2027 Canada Salary Guide From Robert Half provides salary benchmarks, hiring data and expert insights to help employers and professionals make informed compensation and career decisions. From specialized skills to total rewards and salary trends, it offers a comprehensive view of Canada's evolving labour market.
Canada’s labour market is always changing, but staying on top of the latest compensation trends doesn’t have to be complicated. The 2027 Canada Salary Guide from Robert Half has exclusive data and insights on almost everything shaping today’s job market, from total compensation and benefits to the specialized skills employers pay more for.
Here’s a look at what you can find in this year’s guide.
What employers need to know in 2027
Canada’s job market in 2027
Amid continued economic and technological uncertainty, hiring, salary and compensation remain a core focus for employers and job seekers. Rather than applying salary increases across the board, many organizations are focusing their compensation budgets where they can have the greatest impact, particularly for critical positions and in-demand skill sets. According to research in the 2027 Salary Guide, they’re paying more for candidates with specialized skills, especially in AI, that are harder to find.
To compete for skilled talent, employers are also increasing pay transparency and strengthening their total rewards packages.
Specialized skills command higher salaries
Specialized skills remain a major driver of compensation decisions as Canadian businesses work to hire and retain in-demand talent with targeted pay increases, particularly for professionals with relevant AI capabilities.
Robert Half data shows that companies are adjusting compensation to secure in-demand skills:
6 in 10 organizations are modestly increasing compensation budgets to help attract and retain in-demand talent despite other cost pressures.55 per cent are offering salaries above their planned range to secure top talent, with 61 per cent citing specialized skills as a reason. 63 per cent are offering higher pay for relevant AI skills, with nearly a third (32 per cent) offering higher salaries for AI-related skills than for other tech skills.
Rather than increasing salaries broadly across the workforce, this shows that employers are targeting compensation increases towards professionals with specialized or hard-to-find capabilities. AI-related skills are among the fastest growing drivers of salary premiums.
This shift reflects a more targeted compensation strategy, where employers are investing in the skills that directly support innovation, productivity and business growth.
Discover how the demand for specialized skills is influencing the hiring landscape in these key sectors:
Explore each area to see how roles are evolving and what that means for hiring, retention, and salary expectations in 2027.
Pay transparency and salary benchmarking
Salary expectations are becoming part of the hiring conversation much earlier in the recruitment process.
Plus, more provincial jurisdictions are mandating pay transparency laws, prompting many organizations to evaluate and adjust how they communicate compensation to prospective employees:
64 per cent of companies already review salaries for parity96 per cent of companies already or intend to establish clear pay bands across roles and levels. 93 per cent use—or plan to use—external market data to benchmark salaries.
Reliable data helps ensure these benchmarks are credible. Accurate salary benchmarking also helps organizations make more competitive offers while giving professionals greater confidence when evaluating opportunities or negotiating compensation.
Employers who provide salary ranges upfront report:
Higher quality candidate pools (49 per cent) More efficient salary negotiations (46 per cent) Reduced time to hire (33 per cent)
Total rewards and compensation
To stand out in today’s hiring environment, however, employers need to offer more than just a competitive paycheque.
Total rewards combine salary with bonuses, profit-sharing incentives, work-life balance, benefits and other perks. A robust total rewards strategy can help organizations compete for skilled talent, recognize top performers and strengthen retention:
91% of job seekers say some types of better benefits and perks could motivate them to change employers even if base salary stayed the same. 38 per cent of businesses are planning to expand their benefits offerings, while others remain cautious because of rising health and wellness costs.
Employers are also evolving the total reward packages they’re offering to address employee well-being and manage healthcare costs. New offerings may include GLP-1 medications for weight loss, sleep health programs, in vitro fertilization, or paid eldercare support programs. These total rewards packages will continue to shift and change alongside the needs of prospective and current employees.
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A data-deep dive: How the Salary Guide comes together
How does the 2027 Salary Guide from Robert Half come together? With in-depth salary information for 360+ roles across different industries, collecting and compiling the data is no easy task.
Each year, Robert Half publishes its Salary Guide to help employers and job seekers stay ahead. The guide includes exclusive data gathered from recent Robert Half surveys and salary information for professionals we’ve matched with employers across the country.
It offers the latest insights they need to lead the way in hiring, compensation planning, and career decisions.
For more insights, read the latest Robert Half Canada’s Demand for Skilled Talent Report or Labour Market Overview
Where our salary data comes from
The salary benchmarks in the Canada Salary Guide From Robert Half are the result of a rigorous, multistep process designed to reflect projected market trends for 2027. They are based on actual compensation for professionals Robert Half has placed nationwide, along with third-party job posting data from Textkernel that we use for independent validation. We gain additional local insights from our talent solutions professionals in offices across the country.
Non-salary data and insights come from the results of online surveys developed by Robert Half and conducted by an independent research firm. Respondents include 1,365 hiring managers and 1,500+ professionals at small (10-99 employees), midsize (100-999 employees) and large (1,000-plus employees) private, publicly listed and public sector organizations across Canada.
Understanding the salary ranges
The figures in the Salary Guide represent starting compensation—the pay offered to someone entering a new position or joining a new employer. They don’t include annual merit increases or bonuses.
Starting compensation can vary significantly based on a professional’s skills, experience and certifications. Factors such as industry; company size, complexity and revenue; and demand for the role can also influence an offer. To reflect this variability, the Salary Guide presents compensation in 3 levels:
Low: The candidate is new to the role or has limited experience and is still developing core skills.Mid: The candidate has moderate experience in the role or one similar, meets most requirements and may hold transferable skills or relevant certifications.High: The candidate has extensive experience in the role, demonstrates advanced skills and often brings specialized certifications or industry experience.
The low figure is not the bottom of a salary range, and the high figure is not a maximum or cap. Rather, these levels represent the most common starting compensation points in today’s market.
Other factors can influence salary, including but not limited to:
Industry: Organizations in high-growth sectors where talent is in high demand may offer increased pay for specialized skills. Company size, complexity and revenue: Larger organizations with more complex structures and higher revenue typically offer higher salaries to top candidates. Demand for a role or skill: Salaries may increase for business-critical roles or when specialized talent is in short supply.
The figures in the Robert Half 2027 Canada Salary Guide represent starting salaries only, meaning the base pay for someone newly hired into a role. They do not include bonuses, benefits or perks.
How we account for regional differences
The salary ranges we list are national averages. Since compensation can vary significantly by geographic location, we provide local variances in the Robert Half Salary Guide, and you can use the latest Salary Calculator to adjust salaries to your specific market in Canada.
Connect with a Robert Half recruiter in your area today: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Other Locations.
Regional salary differentials are derived from an analysis of approximately 91,200 external job postings mapped to specific cities across Canada, combined with input from our local management team due to their knowledge of their markets.
We also review last year’s variance numbers and consider the following factors that may impact variances for the next year:
Job growth Hiring demand and the ability to attract skilled talent Local business trends (e.g., new companies moving to or leaving the area) Variances for neighbouring cities in the region or similar cities in other parts of the country
In highly competitive markets or for roles in high demand, employers may need to offer salaries above the guide’s starting ranges, especially if benefits, perks, or flexible work options are limited.
Whether you're hiring, planning compensation or evaluating your next career move, the 2027 Canada Salary Guide from Robert Half is your go-to resource for reliable, market-driven insights. Backed by real-world data and expert analysis, the guide helps employers and job seekers across Canada make confident, informed decisions.
If you're looking to hire or looking for a job, Robert Half Canada can help. Explore the latest edition to see how our insights come together, and how they can help you stay ahead in a competitive hiring landscape.
