Canadian companies plan to raise salaries by three percent in 2026
Most organizations are maintaining a cautious approach to budgets due to economic uncertainty.
Consulting firm Normandin Beaudry released the results of a quick survey involving nearly 400 Canadian organizations in the last quarter of 2025. According to the findings, employers are planning to raise their employees' salaries by 3% this year, not including cases where wages are frozen.
Comparison with Previous Forecasts
Current figures are almost identical to summer forecasts, when the expected increase for non-unionized workers was 3.1%.
Caution Amid Uncertainty
According to Darcy Clark, Senior Compensation Leader at Normandin Beaudry, Canadian companies are taking a careful approach when setting their salary increase budgets. This strategy is driven by ongoing economic instability and uncertainty in trade relations affecting the Canadian market.
Organizational Plans
The study found the following breakdown of company intentions:
- About 75% of organizations don't plan to adjust their original salary increase budget forecasts from last summer
- 16% of survey participants plan to reduce their planned spending
- 10% of companies intend to increase their initially allocated budget
