What is wrongful dismissal in Canada?

In Canada, most employment is governed by provincial employment standards legislation and the common law. 'Wrongful dismissal' is not about whether the employer had a good reason to dismiss (employers can dismiss most employees for almost any reason), but whether sufficient notice of termination was given — or pay in lieu of notice. This is fundamentally different from the UK unfair dismissal regime.

The statutory minimum notice periods are set by provincial employment standards laws (e.g., the Ontario Employment Standards Act). These are floor minimums — typically 1 week per year up to 8 weeks. However, courts can award much longer 'reasonable notice' periods based on common law (the Bardal factors): the employee's age, length of service, character of employment, and availability of similar work. Long-serving, senior employees can be entitled to 12–24+ months' pay in lieu.

Just cause dismissal — where an employee is dismissed for serious misconduct — requires no notice. But Canadian courts set a very high bar for just cause; minor misconduct is rarely sufficient without progressive discipline. Constructive dismissal (where an employer makes a fundamental unilateral change to terms) is also recognised and entitles the employee to treat themselves as dismissed and claim reasonable notice.