Ontario WSIB average premium rate to fall to C$1.18 per C$100 of payroll in 2027

Ontario announced on October 22 that the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board’s average premium rate will fall to C$1.18 per C$100 of insurable payroll in 2027. The rate is C$1.23 per C$100 in 2026 and C$2.35 in 2018, according to the province. The change is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027. Employers’ individual rates may differ, so the board-wide average does not tell any particular business what it will pay.

The government estimates that the reduction will save employers C$160 million during 2027. Ontario says the reduction applies to more than 80 per cent of premium-paying businesses. These are estimates and coverage statements from the provincial announcement, not a count of each employer’s realized savings. Individual amounts depend on insurable payroll and the applicable rate for the employer’s classification and experience.

WSIB provides workplace injury insurance and related services for about 5.6 million workers across more than 330,000 insured businesses and workplaces in Ontario, according to the release. Employers fund the system through premiums. The average premium is therefore a system-wide reference point, while an employer’s actual bill is determined under the board’s classification and rate rules. The release gives no distribution of the 2027 reductions across industries or firm sizes.

The rate decline follows earlier changes: the provincial source lists C$2.35 per C$100 of insurable payroll in 2018, C$1.23 in 2026 and C$1.18 in 2027. Comparing those nominal rates shows a lower average schedule over time, but the announcement does not provide inflation-adjusted figures, total payroll, claim-cost changes or a decomposition of why the rate moved. It also says the Ontario average is nearly 30 per cent below the national average, without supplying the underlying comparison table.

Employers are expected to access their individual 2027 premium-rate statements through WSIB online services beginning in November 2026. That means the October announcement provides an average and an expected aggregate savings estimate, while the business-level amount will be confirmed on each employer’s statement. The source also situates the change among wider provincial support measures, but those programs are separate and should not be added to the C$160 million figure.

The decision is a change to the board’s average premium schedule, not a wage subsidy or a direct payment to workers. The release does not report the number of claims, injury rates, employer payroll growth, or subsequent workplace-safety outcomes. The key verifiable comparison is the stated average rate for 2026 and 2027, with C$160 million described as the government’s estimate of employer savings for that calendar year.