Canadian employers entered the second half of 2026 with a more positive hiring outlook than they had last fall. That is the headline from a spring survey of hiring managers, and it is encouraging. However, another finding deserves just as much attention: slightly more employers now say they have roles they cannot fill, while more than a quarter report that hiring takes longer than it did two years ago. For organizations trying to close out the year with the right team in place, that is the part worth planning around.
Key Takeaways
- 74% of Canadian hiring managers feel positive about their hiring outlook for the rest of 2026, up from 67% in fall 2025 (Express Employment Professionals-Harris Poll, surveyed May 15 to June 1, 2026).
- 32% say their company has open positions it cannot fill, up from 29%. Finding qualified candidates is the most common challenge employers expect this year, cited by 45%.
- Confidence is up, but hiring plans are largely unchanged from last fall: 43% plan to add staff, compared with 44%.
- Nationally, Statistics Canada counted 3.0 unemployed people for every job vacancy in the second quarter of 2026. This suggests that, for many employers, the challenge is matching the right person to the right role rather than a lack of available workers overall.
- 30% of hiring managers say a hire takes at least four weeks. With the year in its final quarter, that timeline deserves a place in Q4 planning, whether the solution is a permanent hire, contract or temporary support, or temp-to-hire.
Canadian Employer Hiring Confidence Is Up
The figures come from the Job Insights survey, conducted online by The Harris Poll for Express Employment Professionals between May 15 and June 1, 2026. The survey asked 508 Canadian hiring decision-makers how they viewed the remainder of the year. Nearly three-quarters (74%) said they felt positive about their company’s hiring outlook, a seven-point increase from fall 2025. When asked to describe that outlook, the words selected most often were optimistic (39%), hopeful (35%) and confident (30%).
The reasons behind those hiring plans are also important. Among companies planning to grow headcount, 56% pointed to increased volumes of work, while 44% said they were filling newly created positions. Replacing employees who left (29%) and staffing expansion into new categories or markets (29%) rounded out the list. The survey authors described these plans as being driven by operational needs rather than optimism alone, and the responses support that view. For many employers, the work is already there and the need is immediate.
There is one important timing caveat. The survey was conducted in late spring, so it reflects how employers viewed the second half of the year before it began. It remains a useful recent snapshot of Canadian hiring sentiment, but conditions may have shifted since then, particularly across individual industries and regions.
Confidence Is Up, Hiring Plans Are Flat
This is where the picture becomes more nuanced. Confidence rose seven points, yet the share of companies planning to add staff barely changed, moving from 44% last fall to 43%. About half (47%) plan to maintain current staffing levels, while 8% expect to reduce headcount. At the same time, the share of employers reporting open roles they cannot fill increased from 29% to 32%.
Employers may feel better about the year, but that confidence has not translated into larger hiring plans. The increase in unfilled roles is modest at three%age points, so it would be premature to call it a broader trend based on this survey alone. What it does show is that roughly one in three employers is carrying at least one position it has not been able to fill.
Most employers also expect challenges before the year is over. In total, 86% anticipate hiring-related difficulties. Finding qualified candidates leads by a wide margin at 45%. Other concerns include navigating AI in recruitment and hiring (28%), difficulty planning labour needs because of recession concerns or government policy changes (20%), and increased competition in the job market (20%).
Is Canada Facing a Labour Shortage?
With roughly one-third of employers reporting roles they cannot fill, it may be tempting to describe the situation as a broad labour shortage. The national data, however, presents a more complicated picture.
Statistics Canada’s Job Vacancy and Wage Survey for the second quarter of 2026, released September 15, put the job vacancy rate at 2.8%, unchanged from both the previous quarter and a year earlier. There were 3.0 unemployed people for every vacancy. The share of long-term vacancies, defined as positions employers had been trying to fill for 90 days or more, also declined to 25.9% from 28.0% in the first quarter. Across the economy overall, these figures suggest vacancies were being filled somewhat more easily than earlier in the year.
How can both findings be true? National figures are averages, and averages can obscure significant differences between occupations, industries, regions and experience levels. One reasonable explanation is that hiring difficulty is concentrated in particular roles or skill sets, where qualified candidates who are available at the right time remain harder to find. If one of those positions is critical to Q4 priorities, a healthier national vacancy picture does not necessarily make the search easier.
It is also important to be clear about the limits of the data. The Express-Harris Poll figures reflect what 508 hiring decision-makers reported about their own organizations, while Statistics Canada measures vacancies across the broader economy. The two sources answer different questions, and neither identifies exactly which roles will be hardest to fill in a specific market. Read together, however, they point more toward a talent-matching challenge than a universal shortage of workers.
Time to Hire and the Q4 Calendar
A second release from the same survey, published August 12, 2026, examined how long hiring takes. More than a quarter of hiring managers (28%) said it takes longer to hire now than it did two years ago. Nearly one-third (30%) said a hire takes at least four weeks once resume review, interviews and the final decision are included. On average, candidates go through three interviews before receiving an offer.
Some searches do not result in a hire at all. Hiring managers reported that, on average, 17% of their open positions close without being filled, while 21% said open positions go unfilled entirely.
Consider what that timeline means in the fourth quarter. If a role opens in early October and takes four weeks to fill, a successful candidate who is currently employed may still need to provide notice before starting. That can push the start date into December, when holidays, vacations and year-end priorities are already putting pressure on calendars. The hiring process may work exactly as intended and still bring someone in later than the business originally needed.
Candidates experience that friction as well. In the companion Job Seeker survey of 508 Canadian adults, conducted from May 19 to June 8, 2026, 35% said dealing with an automated hiring process rather than feeling heard by people was a challenge in their search. Another 32% said they believe some companies claim to be hiring when they are only collecting resumes. When a process is slow or communication is limited, employers risk losing strong candidates to organizations that move faster or simply keep applicants better informed.
What This Means for Employers Heading Into Q4
The data does not call for dramatic changes. It does, however, make a strong case for being deliberate about two things: choosing the right hiring approach for the need and ensuring your own process can move efficiently.
- Separate the work from the role
Before opening a requisition, consider what problem you are actually trying to solve. Sometimes the immediate need is additional capacity for the next few months. In other cases, it is a capability the organization will need for years. Both are legitimate needs, but they may require different solutions. Treating every talent gap as a permanent search can add unnecessary time when the pressure is short-term.
- Look at your own process first
If your hires are taking four weeks or longer, look closely at where that time is being spent. The number of interview rounds, the speed of internal decisions and the frequency of candidate communication are all factors employers can influence. More than one-third of job seekers in the survey said they struggle with feeling unheard, which means timely, human communication can make a meaningful difference in the candidate experience.
- Match the hiring model to the need
Permanent hiring, contract and temporary staffing, and temp-to-hire are not competing options. They are different tools for different workforce needs, and many employers use more than one at the same time. The table below outlines where each approach may fit in a Q4 context.
Permanent hire | Contract or temporary | Temp-to-hire | |
Best suited to | Ongoing roles that are central to long-term capability | Workload peaks, defined projects, leave coverage and year-end deadlines | Roles where fit matters and you want to see the work before committing |
What it solves in Q4 | Builds lasting capacity and keeps knowledge inside the organization | Keeps work moving and protects the core team from carrying extra load | Covers the work now while creating a path to a permanent hire |
Timing to consider | A search opened in October may not produce a start date until the new year | Defined scope and dates can support a shorter runway to a start | Starts on a contract basis; converts when both sides are ready |
What to plan for | Start early, limit interview rounds, set decision dates | Clear scope, start and end dates, and a proper onboarding plan | Agree on conversion criteria and timing at the outset |
- Consider temp-to-hire when fit is the open question
If you are not yet certain whether a role, or a particular candidate, is the right long-term fit, temp-to-hire can allow the work to begin while both sides evaluate the arrangement. It tends to work best when conversion criteria and timing are established at the outset, so expectations are clear from the beginning.
- Get January hiring moving now
If a permanent search is likely to extend beyond the holidays, beginning in October rather than December can create a more realistic path to a January start. Contract support can help cover the workload in the meantime, reducing pressure on both the search process and the existing team.
The Bottom Line
Canadian employers are more confident than they were last fall, and the reasons behind their hiring plans are tied to real operational needs. Confidence alone, however, does not fill an open position. About one-third of hiring managers report roles they cannot fill, and more than one-quarter say hiring takes longer than it did two years ago. For Q4, the more useful question is not simply whether to hire, but how to keep the work moving while finding the right people.
Whether you need a permanent hire, contract or temporary support, or a combination of both, Executrade works with employers across Canada to match the right talent to the need. Start the conversation at www.executrade.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Canada facing a labour shortage heading into Q4 2026?
Across the market as a whole, the data does not point to a broad labour shortage. Statistics Canada reported 3.0 unemployed people for every job vacancy in the second quarter of 2026, with the vacancy rate steady at 2.8%. At the same time, 32% of Canadian hiring managers say they have open positions they cannot fill, suggesting that hiring difficulty is concentrated in certain roles rather than evenly distributed across the labour market.
How long does it take to hire in Canada right now?
In the Express Employment Professionals-Harris Poll survey, 30% of Canadian hiring managers said a hire takes at least four weeks, while 28% said hiring takes longer than it did two years ago. Candidates go through an average of three interviews before receiving an offer.
What is the biggest hiring challenge for Canadian employers in 2026?
Finding qualified candidates, cited by 45% of hiring managers. Other expected challenges include navigating AI in recruitment and hiring (28%), planning labour needs amid economic or policy uncertainty (20%), and increased competition in the job market (20%).
Why are Canadian companies hiring in the second half of 2026?
The main reasons are operational. Among companies planning to add staff, 56% cite increased volumes of work, 44% are filling newly created positions, 29% are replacing employees who left and 29% are expanding into new categories or markets.
Should I hire permanently or use contract staffing for Q4?
It depends on the need. Permanent hiring is generally better suited to ongoing roles that are central to long-term capability. Contract and temporary staffing can be useful for workload peaks, defined projects, leave coverage and year-end deadlines. Many employers use both, with contract support keeping work moving while a permanent search continues.
What is temp-to-hire?
Temp-to-hire is an arrangement in which a professional begins on a contract basis with the option to move into a permanent role. It can give employers immediate coverage while allowing both sides time to assess fit before making a longer-term commitment.
