Canada
Make employment in Canada easy. Let us handle payroll, benefits, taxes, compliance, and even stock options for your team in Canada, all in one easy-to-use platform.
- Capital City
Ottawa
- Currency
Canadian dollar ($, CAD)
- Languages
English and French
- Population size
37,589,262
- Remote-Owned Local Entity
Facts & Stats
- Capital City
Ottawa
- Currency
Canadian dollar ($, CAD)
- Languages
English and French
- Population size
37,589,262
- Ease of doing business
Very easy
- Cost of living index
$$$
- Payroll frequency
Biweekly
- VAT - standard rate
5% (varies by province)
- GDP - real growth rate
1.9%
Canada is the second-largest country in the world by land area, split into 10 provinces and three territories. With a GDP of nearly $2 trillion in 2020, Canada has a robust economy with workers in a variety of critical industries. Companies looking to hire remote workers in Canada will find plenty of talent in tech, finance, health, professional services, and a variety of other industries. Thanks to its abundant resources, Canada is also home to thriving businesses in agriculture, mining, forestry, and construction.
Grow your team in Canada with Remote
Looking to hire employees in Canada? Companies hiring in Canada must either own a local legal entity or work with a global employment platform like Remote that can legally provide employment services in the country.
Remote can employ team members in Canada and keep you compliant at all times. Remote can hire, onboard, and pay your Canada team so you don't have to set up local HR services in the region. Remote also makes it easy to pay contractors in Canada. Sign up now to get started or talk to an expert for more details.
Risks of misclassification
Canada, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time employees differently. Misclassification of contractors in Canada may lead to fines and penalties for the offending company.
Employing in Canada
Canadian labor laws vary from one province to another, although the country does enforce some laws at the federal level. Employees in Canada enjoy protections against discrimination based on age, religion, sexual orientation, gender expression, and race.
Although “Canadian work experience” is a common subject, employers should avoid asking employees about Canada-specific work history. Depending on the laws of the province, certain questions about Canadian work experience could be considered discriminatory. When interviewing candidates in Canada, limit questions to the duties and responsibilities of the role instead of focusing on where the candidate gained the experience.
Common questions including minimum wage, overtime rates, and guaranteed paid time off vary depending on the province. Remote can help you offer a complete, competitive, and compliant benefits package to your employees in Canada.
Minimum Wage
Canada’s minimum wages vary by province. Most provinces adjust their minimum wages regularly to keep up with inflation. The Retail Council of Canada maintains an updated list of minimum wages in the country. The Government of Canada proposed a federal minimum wage of $16.65 per hour, rising with inflation, effective on on April 1, 2023. However, each province still sets their own hourly minimum wage (more details on province rates here).
Payroll Cycle
For customers of Remote, all employee payments will be made in equal installments twice a month (15th of the month and end of the month), payable in arrears.
Onboarding Time
We can help you get a new employee started in Canada fast. The minimum onboarding time we need is only 2 working days.
Our team ensures your employees are onboarded and paid as quickly as possible while keeping your business compliant with all local employment legislation. The minimum onboarding time begins after the employee submits all required information onto the Remote platform. The onboarding timeline is also dependent upon registration with local authorities.
For all non-nationals of the country of employment, the Right to Work assessment (if applicable) will add three extra days to the total time to onboard. There may be extra time required if we need to follow-up on the right to work assessment.
Please note, payroll cut-off dates can impact the actual first day of employment. Remote has a payroll cut-off date of the 10th of the month unless otherwise specified.
5 Public holidays
Competitive benefits package in Canada
Remote supports our clients by offering competitive benefits packages that will help you attract and retain the best talent across the globe! Our benefits specialists have done the research on norms and requirements in each local market and have crafted packages that will allow your employees to thrive, no matter what country they live in.
Our benefits packages in Canada are tailored to fulfil the local needs of your employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Mental Health Support
Pension or 401(K)
Life and Disability Insurance
Local market insights
In Canada, 99%* of employers offer supplemental health insurance to their workforce. (*based on 3rd-party market research from our partners)
Although the country has a public health system, supplemental health insurance provides employees with access to a wider range of options for providers and specialists, as well as significantly shorter wait times. Our plans also offer global coverage (excluding the US) to protect your employees when they are traveling outside their home country.
Life, accident, and long-term disability insurance are also offered by 90%* of employers in Canada. (*based on 3rd-party market research from our partners)
Our core benefits (which often include things like healthcare) are required in most countries where we hire. Because Remote is the employer of record, it’s important for us to offer the same core benefits to all employees in a country to ensure fair equity and non-discriminatory hiring practices, which protects your business and ours. Note that we do not add a markup on any benefits premiums or administration costs.
If you'd like specific information about our benefits packages in Canada, start onboarding your first employee with Remote today.
For more insight into fair equity and benefits best practices, download our Global Benefits Guide and share with the rest of your hiring team.
Taxes in Canada
Learn how employment taxes and statutory fees affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in Canada.
5.7%
Canada Pension Plan, up to $3,499.80 per year
2.21%
Employment Insurance, up to $1,333.84 per year (can vary by province)
Types of leave
Paid time off laws in Canada vary by province. Employment standard legislation guarantees two weeks of PTO to employees after one year of work. After five years, the minimum increases to three weeks, then four weeks at 10 years. Employers may offer unlimited time off in Canada.
Employment termination
Termination process
Canadian laws encourage employers to work with employees who are underperforming instead of defaulting to termination. In cases where termination is unavoidable, though, employees in Canada retain a few protections. Canada does not practice at-will employment and legislation varies across provinces and territories with local laws. For instance, Quebec has special protections in place regarding employee terminations for employees with more than two years of service.
It is also common in Canada to include a termination clause in contracts to establish and govern the rights and obligations.
Notice period
Employees are usually entitled to notice (or pay in lieu of notice) when being terminated. Notice periods vary based on age, tenure, the character of the employment, and the availability of similar employment. The application and length of notice period differ across provinces.
Probation periods
Probationary periods are common in Canada and typically last around three months. Some provinces enforce mandatory probationary periods to provide employers with some protection, even when the probationary period is not specified in the employment agreement.