Workplace culture in Ontario - first names, accommodation and "Canadian experience"

Newcomer guides and settlement organisations commonly point to these differences:

• First names are the norm. Colleagues usually call each other, including managers, by their first names; very formal settings and senior officials are exceptions (IRSA newcomer guide).
• Being on time and giving notice matter. Arriving on time and telling your employer as early as possible if you will be late or absent are basic expectations.
• Speaking up is welcome. Contributing your own ideas, in an appropriate way, is generally seen positively, and helping colleagues beyond your job description is often expected.
• Scent-free workplaces. Some workplaces ask staff not to wear perfume or other scented products, because scents can trigger serious reactions in people with allergies, asthma or environmental sensitivities.
• "Canadian experience." Many newcomers are told they lack Canadian experience, and some take volunteer work or "survival jobs" outside their field to gain it.

Human rights law shapes the workplace. Ontario's Human Rights Code protects employees and job applicants from discrimination on grounds including race, ancestry, place of origin, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age and disability.

• The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) states that a strict requirement for "Canadian experience" is prima facie discrimination and can only be justified in narrow circumstances (policy approved February 1, 2013). Since January 1, 2026, Ontario's Employment Standards Act also bars employers with 25 or more employees from requiring Canadian work experience in public job postings.
• Employers have a duty to accommodate sincerely held creed-based practices, such as religious holidays and dress, up to the point of undue hardship (OHRC creed policy, approved September 17, 2015).
• Scent-free policies are a form of disability accommodation: the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety notes that environmental sensitivity is recognized as a disability under human rights law.

Minimum standards for hours, breaks, overtime and vacation are set by Ontario's Employment Standards Act; see our guide to employment rights in Ontario.

• Sector and size: a bank, a hospital, a start-up and a construction site have very different dress codes, hierarchies and communication styles. Federally regulated workplaces follow the Canada Labour Code.
• Team culture: guides disagree on how flat Canadian hierarchies are; it depends on the employer. Watch how colleagues interact with managers and ask when unsure.
• Unionised workplaces have a collective agreement that sets additional rules on scheduling, seniority and grievances.