Remote’s guide to employing in

Canada
canada flag

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.

Services available in this country:
Employer of Record ProductContractor ManagementPayroll
  • Capital City

    Ottawa

  • Currency

    Canadian dollar ($, CAD)

  • Languages

    French and English

  • Population size

    37,589,262

Services available in this country:
Employer of Record ProductContractor ManagementPayroll
The sun is shining over a snow covered mountain.

Facts & Stats

Canada
  • Capital City

    Ottawa

  • Currency

    Canadian dollar ($, CAD)

  • Languages

    French and English

  • 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.

A group of canadian police officers in red uniforms.

Employing in Canada

Canadian labour 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

The Government of Canada proposed a federal minimum wage of $17.30 per hour, rising with inflation, effective on April 1, 2024. 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 instalments 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.

6 Public holidays

Jan
Monday 1 January 20241New Year's Day (New Year's Day)
Mar
Friday 29 March 20242Good Friday (Good Friday)
May
Monday 20 May 20243Victoria Day (National Patriots' Day)
July
Monday 1 July 20244Canada Day (Memorial Day)
Sept
Monday 2 September 20245Labour Day (Labour Day)
Dec
Wednesday 25 December 20246Christmas Day (Christmas Day)

Want to see and manage all holidays? Sign up for our free HRIS!

Effortless HR in Canada: Take the Tour

Seamlessly Manage Your Workforce, from First Hire to Final Paycheck

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 travelling 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.

Fair Pricing in Canada

Employer of Record

Hire and pay your global team

Starting at $915/month

for annual plans

Top features

  • Satisfaction guaranteed

  • No deposits or hidden fees

  • Zero onboarding or offboarding fees

  • Compliant equity incentives support including withholding and reporting

  • Built-in security and compliance

  • Fast onboarding (average 2-3 days)

  • Flexible, localised benefits

Contractor Management

Compliantly onboard and pay contractors

$44

per contractor/month

Top features

  • Only pay for contractors you actively work with

  • Work with contractors in 200+ countries

  • Create, edit, and sign tailored, localised contracts

  • Approve contractor invoices with one click or auto-pay

  • Transparent payments with complete visibility

Global Payroll

Consolidate your multi-country payroll

$43

per employee/month

Top features

  • Reduce costs by centralising payroll management

  • Direct support from in-house local payroll experts

  • Accurate, on-time, compliant payroll to level-up your employee experience

  • Ensure local compliance for every country

  • Tax and labour authority reporting handled for you

HRIS

Manage all of your employees in one place

Free

Top features

  • Guided onboarding and offboarding

  • Employee profile and document management

  • Time and attendance (time off and tracking)

  • Expense management and reimbursement

  • Employee self-serve on the platform and mobile app