Ontario’s Pay Transparency legislation, which requires employers to disclose specific compensation details in job postings, will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026.
By making pay data public, the policy intends to increase fairness and reduce discrimination that can lead to wage gaps based on race, gender and other factors. The hope is that a more level playing field will boost job satisfaction, improve motivation and foster a more collaborative environment.
It’s also something employees are demanding. According to a 2024 survey by Robert Half Canada, nearly a third of respondents said they would lose interest in a job posting that didn’t include salary information.
In the runup to the new requirement Robert Half Canada is sharing salary expectations for a wide range of junior and entry-level roles.
The recruiting firm – which specializes in finance/accounting, marketing/creative, tech, legal, administrative/customer support and human resources professionals – recently published its 2026 Salary Guide for Canadian employees in those fields.
The report breaks salaries down into low, mid and high averages. Those who only meet the minimum educational requirements, have limited prior experience or are based in less expensive jurisdictions will typically fall on the lower end of the salary spectrum, while those with more education, experience and in cities with higher costs of living are more likely to be on the high end. The employer’s size, industry and revenue may also influence salary expectations.
Below are figures for some of the most popular junior and entry-level positions, along with a brief description of the responsibilities and educational requirements:
Junior Accountant
- Educational requirements: Bachelor’s degree in accounting or a related field
- Job description: Entry-level accounting duties to support accounting department, such as data entry, invoice processing, managing financial records
- Salary: Low: $50,250; Mid: $55,750; High: $60,500
Junior Credit Analyst
- Educational requirements: Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, economics or a related quantitative field
- Job description: Assisting in the collection and management of financial data, performing basic financial calculations, preparing initial credit reports and summaries, monitoring existing client accounts for credit risk, conduct research to support credit assessment
- Salary: Low: $52,250; Mid: $65,250; High: $79,000
Junior Financial Analyst
- Educational requirements: Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, economics, or business administration
- Job Description: Supports senior analysists by gathering and analyzing financial data and creating reports, budget and forecasts
- Salary: Low: $62,000; Mid: $66,000; High: $70,000
Junior Tax Accountant
- Educational requirements: Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance or a related field
- Job Description: Supports accounting department with financial reporting, tax preparation, budgeting and estate planning assistance
- Salary: Low: $56,750; Mid: $65,500; High: $75,000
Trader/Sales Assistant
- Educational requirements: Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field
- Job Description: Administrative and analytical support to traders and sales teams
- Salary: Low: $42,750; Mid: $52,750; High: $62,250
Accounting Clerk
- Educational requirements: Completion of secondary school
- Job Description: Data entry, accounts payable and receivable, bank statement reconciliation and preparing financial reports
- Salary: Low: $47,000; Mid: $52,750; High: $58,250
Junior Law Clerk
- Educational requirements: Law clerk diploma or certificate
- Job Description: Document management, basic legal research, drafting legal documents, preparing case files and managing correspondence
- Salary: Low: $48,000; Mid: $54,000; High: $63,500
Legal Assistant
- Educational requirements: Completion of secondary school and a legal assistant diploma or certificate
- Job Description: Managing files, drafting legal documents, conducting legal research and coordinating client and court communications
- Salary: Low: $49,000; Mid: $58,000; High: $69,500
Legal Administrative Assistant
- Educational requirements: Completion of secondary school and a legal assistant diploma or certificate
- Job Description: drafting and managing legal documents, maintaining filing systems, scheduling appointments, communicating with clients and other parties and handling general office duties for legal professionals
- Salary: Low: $53,750; Mid: $61,750; High: $69,750
Office Clerk
- Educational requirements: Completion of secondary school
- Job Description: Office administrative tasks, including managing correspondence, filing documents, data entry, answering phones and maintaining office supplies to support daily operations
- Salary: Low: $41,000; Mid: $45,500; High: $54,500
Entry-Level Administrative Assistant
- Educational requirements: Completion of secondary school
- Job Description: Managing correspondence, scheduling meetings, maintaining files, performing data entry, ordering supplies and preparing documents and reports.
- Salary: Low: $48,250; Medium: $51,750; High: $57,750
Project Coordinator
- Educational requirements: Bachelor’s degree in business management, project management or a related field
- Job Description: Managing administrative tasks, coordinating teams, tracking progress and ensuring clear communication among stakeholders.
- Salary: Low: $57,500; Mid: $67,250; High: $77,750
Property Management Assistant
- Educational requirements: Completion of secondary school
- Job Description: Administrative, tenant and maintenance tasks for rental properties, including handling tenant inquiries, coordinating repairs, processing applications, managing finances, marketing vacant units and maintaining property records.
- Salary: Low: $51,250; Mid: $57,500; High: $62,500
Sales Assistant
- Educational requirements: Completion of secondary school
- Job Description: Answering customer questions, locating products, processing transactions and maintaining store appearance and organization.
- Salary: Low: $51,250; Mid: $56,500; High: $64,750
Receptionist
- Educational requirements: Completion of secondary school
- Job Description: Front desk management and administrative duties
- Salary: Low: $48,000; Mid: $51,500; High: $58,500
Call Centre Specialist
- Educational requirements: Completion of secondary school
- Job Description: Provides customer support, handles complaints and offers information about products and services over the phone
- Salary: Low: $45,250; Mid: $51,250; High: $56,500
Customer Service Specialist
- Educational requirements: Completion of secondary school
- Job Description: Respond to customer inquiries, provide information about products or services, resolve customer issues and complaints, escalate complex issues to relevant departments
- Salary: Low: $56,250; Mid: $58,500; High: $61,750
Medical Office Administrator
- Educational requirements: Completion of secondary school
- Job Description: Manage administrative operations of healthcare facilities, such as scheduling appointments, maintaining patient records and managing office finances
- Salary: Low: $48,250; Mid: $56,250; High: $64,000
Logistics Specialist
- Educational requirements: Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, business or a related field
- Job Description: Coordinating the movement, storage and distribution of goods, materials and products to ensure efficiency and cost-effectiveness
- Salary: Low: $51,500; Mid: $56,250; High: $67,500
Purchasing Assistant
- Educational requirements: Completion of secondary school
- Job Description: Researching vendors, negotiating prices, creating purchase orders and tracking orders to ensure timely delivery of goods and services
- Salary: Low: $55,750; Mid: $63,250; High: $71,000
HR Coordinator
- Educational requirements: Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business administration or a related field
- Job Description: Managing employee records, assisting with recruitment and onboarding, coordinating benefits and training and processing payroll
- Salary: Low: $55,000; Mid: $65,000; High: $69,750
HR Assistant
- Educational requirements: Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business administration or a related field
- Job Description: Assisting with recruitment, record maintenance, payroll processing and employee onboarding
- Salary: Low: $50,500; Mid: $56,000; High: $63,750
Account Coordinator
- Educational requirements: Completion of secondary school
- Job Description: Build and maintain client relationships, coordinate client meetings and presentations, assist in developing and executing advertising campaigns, prepare campaign materials and manage project timelines and deadlines.
- Salary: Low: $52,000; Mid: $57,250; High: $62,500
Marketing Coordinator
- Educational requirements: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business administration, communications or a related field
- Job Description: Assist in developing and executing marketing campaigns and events, coordinate with internal teams, manage event logistics, marketing budgets and expenses
- Salary: Low: $52,250; Mid: $63,500; High: $70,750
Social Media Specialist
- Educational requirements: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, journalism or a related field
- Job Description: Develop and execute social media strategies, create engaging content, manage online communities and analyze data to increase brand awareness, engagement and traffic
- Salary: Low: $57,000; Mid: $66,750; High: $77,750
Digital Marketing Specialist
- Educational requirements: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, communications or a related field
- Job Description: Develop and implement social media strategies and content aligned with marketing goals, optimize content for search engines, execute email marketing campaigns, manage paid advertising campaigns and monitor website traffic and user behaviour
- Salary: Low: $58,250; Mid: $65,750; High: $77,750
SEO Specialist
- Educational requirements: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, IT or a related field
- Job Description: Optimize websites to improve visibility and rankings on search engines by conducting keyword research, analyzing website performance, creating and implementing SEO strategies, monitoring algorithm changes and collaborating with marketing, content and development teams
- Salary: Low: $60,000; Mid: $70,250; High: $81,000
Web Analytics Specialist
- Educational requirements: Bachelor’s degree in computer science, statistics, marketing or a related field
- Job Description: Implement, configure and manage web analytics platforms, develop and maintain dashboards, reports and data visualizations; analyze website traffic, user journeys, conversion funnels and engagement metrics; conduct A/B testing and multivariate testing to provide recommendations to marketing, content and development teams; monitor data quality and integrity; stay current with new web analytics tools, techniques and Canadian digital privacy best practices.
- Salary: Low: $64,500; Mid: $77,000; High: $91,000
Marketing Specialist
- Educational requirements: Bachelor’s degree in a related field like marketing, business, communications or journalism
- Job Description: Plan, execute and analyze marketing campaigns across channels to boost brand awareness and generate leads for a company’s products or services
- Salary: Low: $60,000; Mid: $66,750; High: $74,250
Help Desk Tier 1
- Educational requirements: Completion of secondary school with relevant coursework or certification, or post-secondary education in computer science, IT or a related field
- Job Description: Taking initial telephone or email inquiries and troubleshooting and managing relatively simple hardware, software or network problems, recognizing and escalating more difficult problems to Tier 2 support and logging call activity
- Salary: Low: $50,250; Mid: $58,500; High: $64,750
Network Administrator
- Educational requirements: Post-secondary diploma or degree in a related field such as computer science or information technology
- Job Description: Install, configure and maintain network hardware and software, monitor network performance and security, identify and resolve incidents, perform routine network maintenance, manage user accounts and provide technical support and troubleshooting for network-related issues
- Salary: Low: $ $71,250; Mid: $87,000; High: $102,250