It’s difficult to find international work while displaced. Job seekers in refugee circumstances must not only navigate the uncertainty of the job search process but also the complexity of displacement, all while working to project stability and confidence to the potential employers they’re hoping to be hired by.

This means that, when it comes to discussing salary, the stakes can feel very high. You may feel that you should be grateful for any offer that you receive. You may worry that negotiating will cause an employer to rescind their offer. You may have heard that your lack of Canadian work experience requires that you devalue your expertise.

The truth is that your resilience, adaptability and creativity are tools that have helped you survive challenging circumstances, and also assets to potential employers. This post will help you discuss salary expectations with confidence and better assess the fairness of an offer, even from outside Canada. 

Thanks to a generous $50,000 grant from the KPMG Foundation, TalentLift is making resources like this accessible to youth living as refugees, helping them put their best foot forward and pursue meaningful careers. We recently welcomed Elaine Lau, a recruitment professional with KPMG, as a guest speaker at a virtual event, to share her expertise on CV development and navigating the Canadian job market. We’re grateful to share some of her insights here. 

Understanding salaries

As you look through different job opportunities, it can be hard to know if the listed wage or salary is reasonable when you don’t have experience in the Canadian job market. To address this and understand what a good target may be for you, it’s a great idea to do some research. 

You may choose to start by researching the national average salary for the position you are applying for. While a national average can be useful, wages can differ greatly across Canada due to varying cost of living. Make a note of the location of a job posting and then search for the average salary for that role in that city. You can use websites like Glassdoor or the Government of Canada’s Job Bank to do this. 

You’ll notice that the Job Bank website shares a ‘median wage’ for every position in its database. Many job-backed visa pathways in Canada require employers to offer the median wage for the role and location, to ensure that both international and local workers are paid fairly. Employers can offer less if they’re not sponsoring someone’s work visa. Whether an employer is offering to sponsor a visa or not, knowing the median wage for the position and region you’re applying for can help you assess what’s fair – and spot potentially exploitative employment opportunities. It’s also worth noting that, in 2026, both Ontario and British Columbia implemented new pay transparency laws that require employers to include salary information in all of their job postings.

If you are being hired as a skilled professional for the qualifications and experience that you’ve earned, your wages should be comparable to those of your peers.

The value of international experience

Many job seekers in refugee circumstances worry that their international credentials and experience will serve as a disadvantage in their Canadian job search. For many employers, your varied experience will be a strength so make sure to enter salary discussions with this in mind, framing your unique history as a business asset. 

As you do this, consider the following:

• Employers increasingly value emotional intelligence and tenacity. You have demonstrated an ability to adapt to extreme change.
• Canada is a multicultural nation made up of Canadians with roots all around the world and Indigenous Peoples. Your ability to navigate different cultures and speak other languages is a direct asset to diverse Canadian teams.
• Navigating complex immigration systems and starting over in a new country, which many living as refugees do multiple times, requires sophisticated problem-solving skills.

If you’re unsure how to communicate this to an employer, consider something like: “In addition to my technical skills in [your professional field], I bring a global perspective and proven adaptability and problem-solving abilities. Having worked across diverse environments, I am skilled at integrating into new team cultures quickly and collaborating effectively.”

Timing salary conversations

When you’re applying for positions, the question of salary can sometimes come up very early in the application process. Some employers may ask about salary expectations as early as the first application form. In situations like this, it can be hard to know what the right thing to do is.

In general, it’s best to try to deflect until later in the process, when you’ve had a chance to meet with the hiring manager or team and form a connection with them. If an online application form requires that you input a desired wage or salary, include a pay range based on your research. If you’re asked early on in an interview, you can politely deflect by saying something like “I’m happy to discuss salary once we both determine that I’m the right fit for the role. I’m confident we can find a number that reflects the value I bring and that feels fair to you.”

Your ability to negotiate is strongest after you have been offered a job, not before.

Should I always negotiate?

This is a tricky question. The best approach to knowing when to negotiate is to use your market research as well as what you know about the employer, and any organizations that may have supported you to connect with the opportunity.

For example, TalentLift assesses the fairness of the salaries offered by our hiring partners, and ensures they meet necessary median wage requirements. So, if the wage appears fair, it may not be helpful to your candidacy to try for anything higher. If you’re in a TalentLift-supported recruitment process, you’re welcome to ask our team for guidance on this point too.

Other workplaces may be limited in their ability to raise salaries by unionized agreements, or other internal pay equity policies. You should still feel free to ask about the possibility of negotiating salary, however, because you never know what’s possible until you ask. Again, it’s important to ask at the right time and equipped with research.  

How do I actually negotiate my compensation?

You’ve received an offer of employment, and the salary outlined in the offer is a little lower than you expected.

Before launching into negotiations, take a moment to thank them for considering you and for the offer. From there, you can express your salary expectations clearly and concisely, making sure to include the reasons that you believe the proposed wage should be higher. 

Here’s an example of what you could say:

“Thank you so much for this offer. I am genuinely excited about [company name]’s mission and the possibility of contributing to it. Based on my research into similar roles in [employment city], and considering my experience in [your specific field], I was hoping a salary closer to $XX,XXX could be possible. Is there flexibility in the budget to consider this?”

If the employer is unable or unwilling to increase the salary they’ve offered you, consider the overall compensation package being offered. It’s common for employers in Canada to offer some of the following benefits:

• Health benefits: While public, government-funded health insurance is available to Canadian residents, additional health benefits provided by employers can fund items outside of the public healthcare system, such as eye care, dental care, etc.
• Relocation support: Your employer may support your relocation to Canada by assisting with the costs of your immigration process or providing your initial accommodation. These are incredibly valuable supports.
• Professional development: Depending on the industry and role, you may need to go through a reaccreditation or certification process in order for your international credentials to be recognized in Canada. Some employers may reimburse these costs.
• Additional time off: Each province and territory in Canada has its own legal minimum vacation entitlement, meaning employers must offer that amount of time off to their employees. In Ontario, for example, most employees are entitled to two weeks of vacation time each year for the first 5 years of employment with the same employer. Some companies will offer additional vacation time beyond this minimum to their employees.

Does the proposed salary feel fair when you consider the overall compensation you would be provided? If there’s no possibility of increasing the offered salary, is there a different kind of compensation you’d like to negotiate, such as additional time off? And, does the role excite you and offer growth opportunities within the organization? Take the time to consider everything on offer before making your decision.

Candidates living in refugee circumstances and seeking a job in Canada can join TalentLift. 

Interested in a career at KPMG Canada? Check out their open roles here.