Is a non-solicitation clause easier to enforce in Ontario than a non-compete clause?

Generally, yes, for two related reasons. First, since 2021, the Employment Standards Act, 2000 has banned non-compete agreements for most employees outright, so for the great majority of workers a non-compete clause is not just harder to enforce, it's not enforceable at all, with only narrow exceptions like senior executives and business-sale contexts. A non-solicitation clause wasn't touched by that ban and remains a live, usable tool.

Second, even before that legislative change, courts had long treated non-solicitation clauses more favourably than non-competes as a matter of ordinary contract principles, because a non-solicitation clause is narrower: it stops someone from actively going after specific clients or staff, rather than stopping them from working in their field at all. Courts see that as a more proportionate way to protect a legitimate business interest, compared to a non-compete's broader restriction on earning a living.

That doesn't mean every non-solicitation clause is automatically enforceable. It still needs to be reasonable in duration and scope, and tied to protecting something real, like customer relationships or workforce stability. Getting the drafting right remains important even though the underlying tool is more likely to hold up.