What to Leave Off a Resume in Canada: A Newcomer Checklist

If you're wondering what to leave off a resume in Canada, start with your personal details section. Many newcomers arrive with a CV built for another market, one that includes a photo, date of birth, marital status, nationality and sometimes an ID number. In Canada, most of these are left off, and one of them, your Social Insurance Number (SIN), should never appear on an application at all.

Canadians usually call the document a resume. This guide uses "CV" for consistency, but the advice is the same. Below is what to remove, why, and what a clean Canadian header looks like.

Why Canadian employers don't expect personal details

Canada has federal and provincial human rights laws that prohibit discrimination in employment on grounds such as age, sex, marital status, family status, religion, national or ethnic origin, colour and disability. The Canadian Human Rights Act covers federally regulated employers (such as banks, airlines and telecoms). Most other employers fall under the human rights code of their province or territory.

Because employers are expected to avoid decisions based on these characteristics, many recruiters prefer not to receive the information in the first place. A CV that volunteers it can look out of step with local norms. It can also create extra work, as some organisations have processes to handle applications that include protected information.

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules vary by province and by employer type, so check the Canadian Human Rights Commission or your provincial human rights body (for example, the Ontario Human Rights Commission) for the rules that apply to you.

What to leave off a resume in Canada: the main items

1. Your photo

In parts of Europe, the Middle East and Asia, a headshot is standard. In Canada, it generally isn't. A photo reveals things employers aren't supposed to weigh, such as apparent age, ethnicity and sometimes religion, so most Canadian recruiters would rather not see one.

There are a few exceptions, such as acting, modelling and some on-camera roles, where the employer will ask for headshots separately. Otherwise, remove the photo. A professional LinkedIn profile picture is fine; that's a different context.

2. Date of birth and age

Date of birth is routine on CVs in Nigeria, India, the Philippines and elsewhere. In Canada, leave it off, along with your age and place of birth.

Also think about indirect clues. You don't have to list the year you finished secondary school, and you can drop graduation years from older degrees if you prefer. Your work history usually only needs to cover the last 10 to 15 years in detail. Don't hide anything that's relevant; just don't add dates that serve no purpose.

3. Marital status, children and family details

Remove lines such as "Marital status: Married", "Number of children: 2", spouse's name, or father's name. None of this relates to your ability to do the job, and marital and family status are protected grounds in Canadian human rights law.

If family circumstances explain a career gap, you can mention a gap neutrally (for example, "Career break: family responsibilities, 2021–2022") without giving personal details.

4. Your Social Insurance Number (SIN)

This is the one that matters most. Your SIN is a confidential nine-digit number used for employment, taxes and government benefits. The Government of Canada advises that you only need to give your SIN to an employer after you've been hired, not on a CV or job application. See the official Social Insurance Number page for current guidance.

Putting your SIN on a CV exposes you to identity theft, because CVs get forwarded, uploaded and stored in many places. Be wary of any "employer" who asks for your SIN, bank details or passport copy before a genuine offer; this is a common sign of a scam.

5. Other ID numbers and documents

The same logic applies to:

• Passport number
• National ID or driver's licence number
• Immigration file or UCI numbers
• Scanned certificates or ID documents attached to the CV

If a job needs a driver's licence, write "Valid Class 5 driver's licence (BC)" or similar, without the number.

6. Religion, gender, ethnicity, health and physical details

Leave out religion, gender (beyond whatever pronouns you choose to share, which is optional), ethnicity, state or region of origin, height, weight, blood group and health status. Some CV templates from other countries include these by default, so check every field.

Smaller things newcomers often keep by mistake

These aren't sensitive in the same way, but they make a CV look like it was written for another market:

• Full home address. City and province is usually enough, such as "Calgary, AB". Read more in should I put my address on my resume.
• Nationality line. "Nationality: Indian" isn't needed. If your work authorisation helps, state that instead (see below).
• "I hereby declare..." statements and signatures. Common in South Asia and parts of Africa; not used in Canada.
• "References available on request." Employers assume this. Keep a separate reference list ready.
• Salary history or current salary. Discuss pay when asked, not on the CV.
• Long objective statements. A short, specific summary works better.
• Hobbies that reveal protected details, such as church choir leader or a religious youth group, unless they genuinely show relevant skills. If they do, you can describe the skill neutrally ("Volunteer coordinator for a community choir of 40 members").

What to include instead

Removing items leaves space for what Canadian employers actually look for.

Remove	Replace with
Photo	Nothing, or a LinkedIn URL
Date of birth, age	Nothing
Marital status, children	Nothing
SIN, passport number	Nothing (give SIN after hire only)
Nationality	Work authorisation, if helpful
Full street address	City, province
Declaration and signature	Nothing

Work authorisation: optional but often useful

You're not required to state your immigration status on a CV. But because employers often wonder whether newcomers can legally work, a short, accurate line can help. Examples:

• "Permanent resident of Canada"
• "Open work permit, valid until March 2027"
• "Canadian citizen"

Only write what's true and current. If your permit is employer-specific or you need sponsorship, it's usually better to handle that in conversation or a cover letter than to blur it on the CV. Check IRCC for the conditions of your own permit.

Before and after: a newcomer's CV header

Before (common international format):

Adaeze Okafor
[Photo]
Date of birth: 14/06/1990 | Sex: Female | Marital status: Married
Nationality: Nigerian | State of origin: Anambra
SIN: 123 456 789
22 Example Street, Apt 4, Mississauga, Ontario L5B 0A0
Phone: +1 416 555 0100 | Email: adaeze.okafor@email.com

After (Canadian format):

Adaeze Okafor
Mississauga, ON | 416-555-0100 | adaeze.okafor@email.com | linkedin.com/in/adaezeokafor
Permanent resident of Canada

The second version is shorter, safer and puts the focus on contact details. Everything removed was either unnecessary or risky. (Example details are illustrative only.)

Once your header is clean, the rest of the document needs converting too: Canadian-style dates, achievement bullets and clear explanations of foreign qualifications. Our guides on Canadian resume format for newcomers and listing foreign education on a Canadian resume walk through those steps. If you'd like help rebuilding the layout, the QuickApplyPilot CV builder can draft a clean, Canadian-style structure from your existing CV. Review every line it produces, because you're responsible for making sure the content is accurate.

Quick checklist before you apply

Go through your CV and tick each item:

1. No photo (unless the role specifically asks for headshots)
2. No date of birth, age or place of birth
3. No marital status, children, spouse's or parents' names
4. No SIN, passport, national ID or licence numbers
5. No religion, gender, ethnicity, region of origin or health details
6. Address shortened to city and province
7. No declaration, signature or "references available on request"
8. No salary history
9. Work authorisation stated accurately, if you choose to include it
10. File name professional, such as "Adaeze-Okafor-CV.pdf"

Also check the document properties of your Word or PDF file. Some templates store author details or old content in metadata, and old versions may still contain your SIN or date of birth if you edited an earlier file.

If you're applying to several countries

Keep separate versions. A CV for a Gulf employer may still be expected to include a photo and nationality, while your Canadian version shouldn't. Norms in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand are closer to Canada's: photos and dates of birth are generally left off there too. Label your files clearly so you never send the wrong one.

Removing these details won't guarantee interviews, but it removes avoidable distractions and protects your personal information, so recruiters can focus on your skills and experience.