Canada · 2024–2026
Canadian Layoff Tracker
Aggregating layoffs across Canada from employment standards filings, government notices, SEDAR+ corporate disclosures, union announcements, and verified media reporting
Last updated: August 10, 2026
People Laid Off
Companies
Industries Affected
Canadian Layoff Trends
This tracker currently covers layoff events from 325 companies, affecting more than 141,341 workers across Canada. Data is sourced from government labour adjustment notices, SEDAR filings, union statements, and verified media reporting.
The technology, financial services, and retail sectors have historically accounted for the largest share of reported layoffs — a pattern consistent with broader North American economic cycles. Ontario and British Columbia, home to the greatest concentration of corporate headquarters, tend to represent the largest share of national layoff volumes.
Camosun College announced workforce adjustments due to a $7.2-9 million budget cut caused by a 60% drop in international student enrollment. The college has issued Section 54 notices to its three unions and is exploring alternatives to layoffs including early retirements, voluntary severance, and reduced term contracts, though exact numbers of affected employees have not been disclosed.
Mission Hill Vineyards laid off workers following a catastrophic winter freeze that caused significant reduction in operations. A British Columbia arbitrator dismissed a grievance seeking severance pay for one of the affected workers.
Peel District School Board issued layoff notices affecting 331 permanent teachers (159 secondary and 172 elementary) effective August 31, 2026, citing declining enrollment and budget constraints. The layoffs were announced after the Ontario government took over the board's operations in January 2026 and rejected the board's request to use $1-2 million from its $130 million reserves to prevent the job cuts.
Nova Scotia Community College announced a $9.4 million cut to its operating grant that will result in approximately 230 job losses over the next four years, equivalent to eliminating one large campus. The cuts are expected to reduce staffing by three percent annually, with union representatives warning of significant impacts on student programs and the provincial economy.
Thompson Rivers University has shed more than 10% of its workforce in the last 15 months due to a 26% drop in international enrolment caused by federal immigration policy changes. The university expects to slash an additional $25 million from next year's budget, with ongoing layoffs and potential elimination of five academic student services due to unfilled retirements and sabbaticals.
College of New Caledonia is permanently closing its Fort St. James campus on March 31, 2026, due to an $8 million revenue shortfall caused by caps on international student visas. The closure follows previous staff layoffs and relocations at the campus, which previously served approximately 200 students in programs like culinary arts and trades.
Jahn Engineering, a Windsor-based tool and die shop, has experienced a nearly 70% drop in sales following U.S. policy changes including tariff increases and EV subsidy withdrawals, forcing the company to conduct layoffs. The disruption stems from major automakers canceling or delaying vehicle orders, creating widespread uncertainty across the North American auto supply chain.
Fifty-five front-line nurses and personal support workers at Ottawa's Bruyère Health are facing layoffs, according to their union. The organization is referring to the action as a 'redeployment process.'
EA has laid off developers across all four Battlefield Studios teams, including the Montreal-based Motive studio, despite Battlefield 6 being the best-selling game of 2025. The exact number of affected employees at each studio remains unclear, though EA stated the changes were made to better align teams around community priorities.
Hudson's Bay laid off 41 staff as it continues to unwind operations one year after filing for creditor protection on March 7, 2025. The retailer closed all 80 of its stores by June 2025 due to $1.1 billion in insurmountable debt, with 73 of the 96 vacated HBC and Saks properties remaining unopened as of March 2026.
Lightspeed Commerce has significantly reduced headcount in its customer support team after AI resolved over 80 percent of inbound chat interactions. The company boosted overall gross margins through this AI-driven workforce reduction.
BCE Inc. cut 1700 net jobs in 2025, reducing its workforce from 40,390 to 38,683 employees, marking the second consecutive year of major losses. The layoffs, attributed to industry contraction, cost-cutting measures, and technology upgrades, included 650 management positions and 40 Bell Media employees.
Stellantis laid off approximately 20 salaried, non-union employees at its Brampton assembly plant on March 6, 2026, for a 55-week period. The layoffs follow the company's decision to move Jeep Compass production from Brampton to Belvidere, Illinois due to U.S. tariffs on Canadian autos.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police will cut 76 positions at its national headquarters in Ottawa as the national police force looks to find billions of dollars in savings in its budget.
Loopio is reportedly cutting 30 positions in March 2026 as part of a restructuring effort. The specific details regarding affected provinces, cities, and percentage of workforce are not available from the title alone.
George Brown Polytechnic triggered a mass termination process for 51 employees (22 hourly and 29 salaried) due to a 29% decline in full-time enrolment and financial pressures from federal international student caps and stagnant provincial funding. The layoffs represent cuts across all departments following the suspension of several hospitality and culinary arts programs at the St. James campus.
Meanwhile, at Vancouver Community College, the administration says that 70 regular faculty member will be losing their jobs.
Kwantlen Polytechnic University is laying off unionized staff and cutting costs due to a sharp drop in international student enrolment, aiming to save $5 million—about 40–45 full-time positions—through staff reductions, frozen overtime, and unfilled vacancies.
Trinity Western University is laying off approximately 75 staff members due to federal restrictions on international student study permits, which have reduced enrolment and created financial pressures. The cuts are part of cost-saving measures implemented across the Canadian post-secondary landscape following a 7% reduction in maximum international student permits for 2026.
As luxury online retailer Ssense battles for survival, the Montreal-based fashion company reported layoffs at their Chabanel St. and St-Laurent locations to the Quebec government last month, bringing the total number of layoffs to 215 since the company filed for bankruptcy protection in August. Ssense also reported 20 layoffs in February 2025 and 72 layoffs in May, bringing the total count to 307 in the last year.
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