Canadian résumé format guide (2026)

Short answer: A Canadian résumé is usually one to two pages, focused on recent experience, and tailored to the job. It leaves out a photo, age, marital status, and your Social Insurance Number, uses action verbs and numbers to show results, and provides references only when an employer asks.

This guide follows the advice published by the Government of Canada’s Job Bank, plus formatting practices that help your résumé get through applicant tracking systems (ATS).

How long should a Canadian résumé be?

Job Bank recommends limiting your résumé to two pages and focusing on recent experience, cutting or minimizing jobs older than 15 years. If you are early in your career, one page is often enough.

What to leave out

Canadian résumés leave out personal details that are common in some other countries. According to Job Bank, do not include:

• A photo of yourself
• Your age or date of birth
• Height, weight, or marital status
• Religious or political views
• Your Social Insurance Number (SIN), which you should never put on a résumé

Leaving these out keeps the focus on your qualifications.

References

Do not list references on your résumé, and you do not need to write “references available upon request”. Job Bank notes that employers only need references when they are seriously considering hiring you. Keep a separate list ready to send when asked.

Sections to include

A standard Canadian résumé uses these sections, in roughly this order:

1. Contact information. Name, city and province, phone, email, and a LinkedIn link if you have one. A full street address is not needed.
2. Summary. Two or three lines on who you are and what you are aiming for.
3. Skills. Specific, checkable skills and tools that match the job posting.
4. Experience. Most recent first, with job title, employer, city, and dates.
5. Education. Credentials, school, and year. Include Canadian equivalency if your education is from outside Canada and you have it.
6. Optional sections. Certifications, volunteer work, languages (French is worth listing for many Canadian roles).

How to write your bullet points

Job Bank’s guidance is to keep bullets clear and concise, use action verbs, avoid “I”, “my”, and “me”, and quantify your achievements. Aim for about 5 to 7 bullets per role, and focus on results rather than duties.

Weak: Responsible for customer service.

Strong: Resolved 40+ customer inquiries a day with a 95% satisfaction score.

See more examples in Résumé bullet points: before and after.

Tailor it to every job

Job Bank recommends tailoring your résumé to each position by reading the job description and the employer’s website. In practice, that means adjusting your summary, reordering your skills, and moving your most relevant results to the top for each application.

Formatting for applicant tracking systems

Many employers screen applications with software before a person reads them. These habits make your résumé easier for that software to read:

• Use a single-column layout.
• Use standard headings: Summary, Skills, Experience, Education.
• Use common fonts and avoid putting text inside images, tables, text boxes, headers, or footers.
• Save as Word (.docx) or PDF, unless the posting asks for something specific.
• Use the same words the posting uses for key skills, where they honestly describe you.

Canadian spelling

Use Canadian spelling consistently: colour, organize, centre, licence (noun), cheque. Pick one spelling of résumé or resume and stick with it.

Quick checklist

• Two pages or fewer, recent experience first
• No photo, age, marital status, or SIN
• No references listed
• Results with numbers in most bullets
• Summary and skills tailored to this posting
• Single column, standard headings, no text in images
• Proofread more than once

Want it done for you? A résumé edit from Think Ahead Careers applies all of this for $29 CAD. No résumé yet? We can build one from your details.