Live and Work in Toronto: Jobs, Rent and Permits in 2026

Toronto is the city most newcomers picture when they think about Canada, and it is where the largest share of new arrivals in Ontario end up. It is also the most expensive place in the province to make a mistake, because a Toronto lease can absorb half your pay before you have found your footing.

This guide looks at the city as it stands in September 2026: who is hiring, what the law says you must be paid, what housing really costs, which immigration routes lead to Ontario and how health coverage works once you land. Immigration rules and rents both move, so confirm each detail on the official pages before you commit money.

Toronto's job market in 2026

The labour market has loosened from its worst point. Statistics Canada put the unemployment rate in the Toronto census metropolitan area at 6.7% in August 2026, unchanged on the month and down from a recent high of 9.0% in July 2025. Ontario as a whole sat at 6.9%, against 6.4% nationally.

Read that as a market that is functioning but competitive. A rate near 7% in a city of this size still means many qualified people chasing the same posting, and newcomers are usually competing without Canadian references.

Which industries actually hire

Toronto's economy is unusually broad, which is its main advantage over smaller Canadian cities. The clusters that draw newcomers most often are:

• Financial services. The country's banks, insurers and pension funds are headquartered downtown, along with the accounting, legal and compliance work that surrounds them.
• Technology. Software, data, cybersecurity and product roles across both large employers and a deep startup layer, spreading west into Mississauga and north into Markham and Waterloo Region.
• Health and social care. Hospitals, long-term care, community agencies and support work. Regulated roles need a licence first.
• Construction and skilled trades. Electricians, plumbers, welders, crane operators and site supervisors, driven by transit building and residential towers.
• Logistics and manufacturing. Warehousing, distribution and food processing across the surrounding suburbs, where most of the space is.
• Education, research and public sector. Universities, colleges, school boards and municipal services.
• Film, television and creative work. A steady production industry, but heavily freelance and contract-based.

Pay, minimum wage and your rights

Ontario sets the wage floor, and it changes every October. The general minimum wage is CAD 17.60 an hour to 30 September 2026, rising to CAD 17.95 an hour on 1 October 2026. The student rate for those under 18 working limited hours is CAD 16.60, rising to CAD 16.90 on the same date. Ontario indexes these rates to inflation and publishes the next figure by 1 April.

Nationally, Statistics Canada reported average hourly wages of CAD 37.02 in August 2026, up 2.0% on the year. That is a national average across all employees, not a Toronto salary you should expect, and it says nothing about what any single employer will offer you.

Some ground rules worth knowing before you sign anything:

• Your written offer is the only pay figure that counts. Ignore numbers quoted verbally or in a chat.
• Employment standards in Ontario cover you regardless of immigration status, including overtime, public holidays and vacation pay.
• Nobody should charge you a fee to find you a job. Treat any request for payment as a reason to walk away.

What it costs to live in Toronto

Housing is the line that decides whether Toronto works for you. CMHC's 2025 rental market survey put the average purpose-built two-bedroom apartment in the Toronto area at CAD 2,034 a month, with the vacancy rate at 3% — inside what CMHC treats as a balanced range.

There is a little good news in the trend. In its 2026 mid-year update, CMHC found Toronto was the exception among major markets: extra supply and wage growth improved affordability, asking rents for two-bedroom units had drifted down through late 2025, and landlords were offering incentives such as free parking or move-in credits to fill units.

Whatever you rent, read the lease before signing and check which body settles disputes: in Ontario that is the Landlord and Tenant Board.

The immigration routes that lead to Toronto

There is no "Toronto visa". You arrive either on a temporary permit or as a permanent resident, through federal or Ontario programs.

Work permits

Most employer-driven permits need the employer to prove they could not fill the role locally, through a Labour Market Impact Assessment, before you can apply. Some permits are exempt from that under international agreements or employer-specific programs. Open work permits, which are not tied to one employer, go to specific groups such as recent graduates of Canadian institutions and some spouses. Our guide to working in Canada as a foreigner explains how the categories differ.

Express Entry

Express Entry manages the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Federal Skilled Trades Program. Candidates are scored and the highest-ranked are invited to apply. Alongside general rounds, IRCC runs category-based rounds; in 2026 the categories were French-language proficiency, health care and social services, STEM, trades, education, transport, physicians with Canadian experience, senior managers with Canadian experience, researchers with Canadian experience, and skilled military recruits. Most categories now require 12 months of qualifying full-time experience in the past three years.

Cut-off scores change from round to round, so treat any specific number you read as history rather than a target. Our Canada Express Entry guide covers the profile itself.

Ontario's provincial route

Ontario has restructured. The province states that the new Ontario Workforce Priority stream has launched and all other OINP streams are now closed. In outline, it runs employer-first:

1. Your employer registers on the employer portal and submits the job offer, which produces a job offer ID.
2. You register an expression of interest using that ID, within 30 calendar days.
3. If invited, your employer submits its part within 14 calendar days.
4. You then submit your own application within 17 calendar days.

Applicants need work experience of roughly three to nine months depending on the occupational category, language results, education credentials, legal status if already in Canada, and an intention to live and work in Ontario. Eligible self-employed physicians with the right registration and an OHIP billing number can apply without a job offer.

A nomination is not permanent residence. Ontario nominates; IRCC decides. If you want a comparison with a smaller province's approach, see our guide to living and working in Manitoba.

Healthcare: getting an OHIP card

Ontario's public plan is OHIP, and Ontario confirms there is no longer a waiting period once you are eligible. You must be physically present in Ontario for 153 days in any 12-month period, present for 153 of the first 183 days after arriving, and make Ontario your primary home. Then you need one of the status grounds, which include:

• Permanent resident, or an applicant for permanent residence whose eligibility IRCC has confirmed.
• Work permit holder employed full time in Ontario for at least six months.
• Caregiver or seasonal agricultural programme participants, refugees and protected persons.

Applying in person means bringing three original documents: one proving your status, one proving Ontario residency and one proving identity.

Your first weeks: a settling-in checklist

• Apply for a Social Insurance Number. You cannot be paid properly without one.
• Open a Canadian bank account and keep the documents that prove your income.
• Apply for OHIP as soon as you meet the grounds, and hold private cover until then.
• Register with a settlement agency. The City of Toronto points newcomers to settlement workers and publishes a welcome brochure.
• Get a TTC card and learn your route before your first day at work.
• Start any credential assessment or licensing application for your profession.
• Register children with the local school board and get a library card, which is free and unlocks online learning resources.
• Read your lease before signing and confirm which tribunal handles disputes.

Is Toronto the right choice?

Toronto rewards people who arrive with a plan, a cushion of savings and flexibility about where in the region they live. Its breadth means you can change industries without changing city, and the unemployment trend has improved through 2026. What it does not offer is cheap housing or a quick start in a regulated profession.

If your field is concentrated in the city — finance, tech, film, specialist health care — the premium is usually worth paying. If it is not, compare the numbers against other Canadian markets before you sign a Toronto lease.

Nothing here is a promise of a job, a permit or permanent residence. Check the current rules with Ontario and IRCC before you act.