Board says reduction leaves $160 million with employers, while province folds it into wider package of tariff relief
Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) will lower the average premium rate it charges businesses in 2027, a move the provincial government is presenting as part of its response to U.S. tariffs.
The average rate will fall to $1.18 per $100 of insurable earnings effective Jan. 1, 2027, down from $1.23 in 2026 and $2.35 in 2018, according to both the WSIB and Ontario government, which they say puts Ontario nearly 30 per cent below the national average.
Eligible businesses will be able to access their individual 2027 premium rate statements through the WSIB's online services beginning in November 2026.
The WSIB said the reduction will leave $160 million in Ontario's economy.
"We've been able to improve results for people and reduce administrative costs, and that means more money can stay in Ontario's economy," said Jeffery Lang, WSIB president and CEO. "We're able to help people recover and return to work while also helping over 80 per cent of businesses receive a rate cut."
The WSIB provides workplace safety and insurance coverage for about 5.6 million workers at more than 330,000 insured businesses and workplaces in Ontario. In late summer, the board said it was eliminating hundreds of positions and shuttering its physical offices across northern Ontario.
Province ties cut to tariff response
Ontario says it has returned $4 billion in WSIB rebates to eligible safe businesses since 2024, giving employers flexibility to keep workers on the job as they deal with the impact of U.S. tariffs.
"When businesses can invest in their workers, it creates more opportunity and greater stability for families and communities," said Trevor Jones, Ontario's Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. "This WSIB rate reduction gives employers more room to strengthen their teams, create safer workplaces and grow their businesses, supporting good-paying jobs across the province."
Jones linked the cut directly to trade pressures: "As Ontario businesses face pressures from U.S. tariffs, lowering costs helps them stay competitive."
The province listed the premium reduction alongside other measures it says are meant to lower costs for businesses and support workers:
- cutting the small business corporate income tax rate from 3.2 per cent to 2.2 per cent, which the government says delivers $1.1 billion in relief and up to $5,000 in annual savings to more than 375,000 small businesses
- $150 million through the Ontario Together Trade Fund to help businesses reach new markets and strengthen domestic supply chains
- expanded eligibility for the $1-billion Protect Ontario Financing Program, which offers low-interest loans to tariff-affected businesses
- $228 million through the Canada–Ontario Workforce Tariff Response to help affected workers access training
"In the face of unjustified U.S. tariffs and economic uncertainty, the WSIB's cut to premium rates will provide Ontario's small business owners with additional relief so they can manage costs, hire and retain staff, and remain competitive," said Nina Tangri, Associate Minister of Small Business.
Daniel Tisch, president and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, called the reduction "a welcome step to reduce costs for businesses" that would give chamber members, particularly small businesses, more flexibility to invest.
Earlier proposal to raise worker benefits
The premium cut follows a proposal earlier this year to increase what injured workers receive. In April, the province said it would raise WSIB loss-of-earnings (LOE) benefits to 90 per cent of a worker's take-home pay, up from 85 per cent, if legislation introduced at Queen's Park passed, Canadian HR Reporter reported. It would be the first increase to income replacement rates in almost three decades.
The proposal would also give the WSIB discretion to continue LOE payments past age 65 for workers who had planned to keep working, rather than ending them automatically.
When it comes to what's on the HR agenda, CPO Anna Filice says WSIB's challenges aren't entirely unique — but they're still important.
"We're considering how do we remain an employer of choice in the face of things like return to office, the rapid emergence of AI, and the impact to employees in terms of their experience at work and the skills they need to build," she says.
