# Are Unpaid Internships Legal in Canada?

> Usually no. Federally, and in Ontario and Alberta, a person doing real work for a business is an employee entitled to at least minimum wage regardless of the 'intern' or 'trainee' label, unless a narrow statutory exemption applies (school- or college-approved programs, or federally recognized student-intern placements).

Published 2026-08-11 · Last reviewed 2026-08-03 · [Canonical page](https://canadalegalcenter.ca/articles/are-unpaid-internships-legal/)

Legal information, not legal advice.

## The verdict

**Usually no.** Federally, and in Ontario and Alberta, a person who performs real work for a business is treated as an employee entitled to at least minimum wage, no matter what the arrangement is called. This comes from how each law defines "employee": the Canada Labour Code treats a person doing knowledge- or experience-acquisition activities for a federally regulated employer as an employee for labour-standards purposes (s 167(3)), and Ontario's Employment Standards Act, 2000 treats someone called an "intern" or "trainee" as an employee if they are being trained in a skill that the employer's own employees use (s 1(1)). Alberta's Employment Standards Code works the same way in practice: an employer cannot ask someone to work for free or complete an unpaid trial period before being formally hired, and pay is required from the point of hire, including during orientation and training.

Unpaid internships are lawful only where a specific, narrow exemption applies. Outside those exemptions, calling the role an "internship" changes nothing about the legal analysis.

## The exemptions that actually make an internship lawful

Each jurisdiction carves out a small, defined category of unpaid placements. The common thread is that the placement has to be tied to a recognized educational or training program, not just informally agreed to be unpaid.

<div class="table-scroll">

| Jurisdiction | Who can lawfully be unpaid | What still applies |
|---|---|---|
| Federal (banks, airlines, telecoms, and other federally regulated employers) | "Student interns" under a defined Canada Labour Code category (s 167(1.2)), including eligible international students | Protections under the Standards for Work-Integrated Learning Activities Regulations, SOR/2020-145 |
| Ontario | Placements under a program approved by a college of applied arts and technology or university, a career college registered under the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005, or a school-board-authorized secondary school work-experience program (ESA s 3(5), paras 2 and 2.1); certain professional-training students (architecture, law, professional engineering, medicine, optometry) are excluded from minimum wage specifically | Health and safety obligations; WSIB coverage is separately extended to unpaid student trainees on approved government-funded placements |
| Alberta | Placements in officially recognized unpaid work-experience or apprenticeship programs, such as through a school board | Health and safety standards still apply even though minimum wage does not |

</div>

Outside these categories, an internship that involves doing productive work for the business, even part-time, unpaid "shadowing" that turns into real tasks, or a trial period before being hired, falls back to ordinary employee status and ordinary pay obligations.

## Why the "intern" label doesn't decide the outcome

Ontario's Employment Standards Act, 2000 expressly prohibits employers from mislabelling a real employee as an "intern," a volunteer, or an independent contractor to avoid the Act (s 5.1). The leading Ontario Labour Relations Board decision on this point, *Sherren*, held that the fact a person did not expect or negotiate for pay, and even agreed in advance to be unpaid, does not stop a tribunal from finding that their employment began when the unpaid training started. Alberta and the federal scheme apply the same functional logic: the label on the arrangement is not the test, the substance of the work is.

## What happens if the exemption doesn't apply

If an unpaid placement does not fit one of the narrow exemptions above, the worker is legally an employee and is owed at least minimum wage for the time worked, going back to when the unpaid work actually started (not just from any later point they began being paid). In Ontario, a worker in this position can bring a claim to the Ministry of Labour under the Employment Standards Act, 2000. In Alberta, the equivalent route is a complaint under the Employment Standards Code. For a federally regulated employer, the process runs through the Canada Labour Code's Part III labour standards regime. None of these processes require the worker to have raised the issue at the time the placement started.

Where an exemption does apply and the placement is genuinely lawful and unpaid, other protections can still exist alongside the lack of pay. In Ontario, workers' compensation coverage under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 is separately extended to unpaid student trainees on approved government-funded placements. In Alberta, health and safety standards continue to apply to workers in recognized unpaid work-experience programs even though minimum wage does not.

## Frequently asked questions

**Does signing an unpaid internship agreement protect the employer?**

No. In Ontario, an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision (Sherren) holds that agreeing to be unpaid does not stop a placement from being found to be employment, and the Employment Standards Act specifically prohibits calling a real employee an 'intern' to avoid the Act. Alberta and federal law take the same functional approach: what the person actually does determines their status, not the label on the paperwork.

**Can a student get academic credit for an unpaid internship?**

Yes, but credit alone is not what makes it lawful. In Ontario, the placement must fall under a program actually approved by a college, university, career college, or school board. In Alberta, it must be an officially recognized work-experience program. A placement that merely happens to offer credit without that formal approval does not qualify for the exemption.

**Are federally regulated employers allowed to have unpaid interns?**

Federally regulated employers (banks, airlines, telecoms, and similar) may have unpaid 'student interns' under a specific category in the Canada Labour Code, but those interns still receive protections set out in the Standards for Work-Integrated Learning Activities Regulations, including for international students who meet the eligibility conditions.

**What can an unpaid intern do if they think they should have been paid?**

In Ontario, a worker can file a claim with the Ministry of Labour under the Employment Standards Act. In Alberta, a complaint can be made under the Employment Standards Code. Federally regulated workers can raise the issue under the Canada Labour Code's Part III labour standards process. Each process can result in an order for unpaid wages if the exemption did not actually apply.


## Sources

1. [Justice Laws Website – Canada Labour Code](https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/l-2/section-123-20210101.html), Canada Labour Code, RSC 1985, c L-2, s 167(3)
2. [ESDC – Interns and student interns (IPG-102)](https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/laws-regulations/labour/interpretations-policies/interns-students.html), Canada Labour Code, RSC 1985, c L-2, s 167(1.2); Standards for Work-Integrated Learning Activities Regulations, SOR/2020-145
3. [Canada.ca – Federal labour standards for interns and student interns](https://www.canada.ca/en/services/jobs/workplace/federal-labour-standards/interns.html), Standards for Work-Integrated Learning Activities Regulations, SOR/2020-145
4. [Ontario.ca – Your guide to the Employment Standards Act: Employee status](https://www.ontario.ca/document/your-guide-employment-standards-act-0/employee-status), Employment Standards Act, 2000, SO 2000, c 41, s 1(1) and s 3(5), paras 2 and 2.1
5. [Ontario.ca – Your guide to the Employment Standards Act](https://www.ontario.ca/document/your-guide-employment-standards-act-0), Employment Standards Act, 2000, SO 2000, c 41, s 5.1
6. [Ontario ESA 2000 Policy and Interpretation Manual, Part I: Definitions](https://www.ontario.ca/document/employment-standard-act-policy-and-interpretation-manual/part-i-definitions), 1153800 Ontario Inc o/a Baker's Dozen Donuts v Sherren, 2000 CanLII 4482 (ON LRB)
7. [Ontario.ca – Your guide to the ESA: Young workers' rights](https://www.ontario.ca/document/your-guide-employment-standards-act-0/young-workers-rights), Employment Standards Act, 2000, SO 2000, c 41, s 3(5)
8. [Ontario.ca – Workplace insurance: college and university students on unpaid work placements](https://www.ontario.ca/page/workplace-insurance-college-and-university-students-unpaid-work-placements), Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997, SO 1997, c 16, Sched A
9. [alis.alberta.ca – What You Need to Know About Employment Standards](https://alis.alberta.ca/succeed-at-work/employment-laws-and-standards/what-you-need-to-know-about-employment-standards/), Employment Standards Code, RSA 2000, c E-9
10. [Government of Alberta – An Employer's Guide to Employment Rules](https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/9f169067-3b0c-45b1-a611-279390072d7e/resource/8e5f9bd4-4714-4545-aae4-ee30d9dee442/download/employersguide.pdf), Employment Standards Code, RSA 2000, c E-9 / Employment Standards Regulation, Alta Reg 14/1997