Since July 1, 2024, it has been illegal in Ontario to operate a temporary help agency or work as a recruiter without a licence issued under the Employment Standards Act, 2000. Most coverage of that change focused on agencies. The part employers missed is that the penalty falls on the client too.
The fine is on the business that hires the agency
If you knowingly engage an unlicensed temporary help agency or recruiter, the Ministry of Labour can issue a penalty against your business:
- $15,000 for a first contravention
- $25,000 for a second contravention within a three year period
- $50,000 for a third contravention within a three year period
That is per contravention, and it is charged to the client, not to the agency. A company using two unlicensed suppliers is exposed twice over. For a business bringing in seasonal or peak-period labour through whoever answers the phone fastest, this is a real and underappreciated liability.
What a licence actually requires
Licensing is not a formality. An agency has to post $25,000 in security, either as an irrevocable letter of credit or a surety bond, which exists so there is money to recover unpaid wages if the agency fails to pay its workers. The Ministry can refuse or revoke a licence.
Licence terms changed recently. Licences from applications submitted before January 1, 2026 run for one year. Applications submitted on or after that date produce a licence valid for two years. That means renewal dates are now staggered across the industry, and an agency that was licensed in 2024 is not necessarily licensed today.
How to check, in about thirty seconds
Ontario publishes a free public registry of every licensed temporary help agency and recruiter. Search the legal or operating name and you get the licence type, the licence status, the licence number, the issue and expiry dates, and a plain-language line stating whether clients are permitted to use the agency’s services.
The registry is at tha.labour.gov.on.ca. Check every agency you use, not just new ones. A licence that has lapsed looks exactly like a licence that never existed, from your side of the invoice.
What to ask a staffing supplier
- Their legal name as registered, which is often not the name on their website
- Their licence number
- The expiry date on that licence
- Whether the registry entry says clients are permitted to use their services
Any licensed agency can answer all four without hesitating. An agency that deflects on the licence question is telling you something.
Where We Staff Canada stands
We Staff Canada Inc. is licensed by the Province of Ontario as both a temporary help agency and a recruiter. Both licences are active and listed on the public registry.
The distinction matters when you are choosing a supplier, because the two licences cover different activities. A temporary help agency licence permits assigning workers to your site on a temporary basis. A recruiter licence permits finding and referring candidates for you to employ directly. An agency doing both temporary placement and permanent recruitment needs both, and plenty of firms hold only one.
You can confirm our status, and that of any other supplier, on the public registry. That is what it is for, and we would rather you checked than took any supplier at their word, including us.
Why this is worth ten minutes of your time
Licensing pushed a number of operators out of the Ontario market, which is the intended effect. The practical consequence for employers is that the supplier who quotes suspiciously low may be doing so because they are not carrying the compliance costs everyone else is. The fine for finding that out the hard way starts at $15,000 and sits with you.
If you want to review your current staffing suppliers or talk about filling roles with a licensed agency, you can get in touch here.
This article is general information only and is not legal advice. Licensing status is current as at September 24, 2026 and can change. Confirm any agency’s status on the Ontario registry before engaging them, and confirm your own obligations with the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development or a qualified employment lawyer.
Sources
- Government of Ontario, Licensing for temporary help agencies and recruiters
- Government of Ontario, Your guide to the Employment Standards Act: Licensing
- Government of Ontario, Public registry: current status of applications and licences