Can I hire an employee in Canada without setting up a company?

Yes. An Employer of Record is an established Canadian company that employs your chosen hire on your behalf. It issues a province-compliant contract, runs payroll through its own CRA payroll account, remits CPP, EI and income tax, and registers for workers' compensation and employer health tax, so you do not need to incorporate.

Why is termination the biggest risk when hiring in Canada?

Canadian employment standards set only a statutory minimum notice. If a contract's termination clause is unenforceable, courts award common-law reasonable notice instead, which is uncapped and can reach many months of total compensation. Following Waksdale v Swegon, a single defective sub-clause can void the entire termination provision, so contract drafting matters enormously.

Employer of Record Canada | EOR Canada | Hire Employees in Canada

Why an EOR

Employer of Record Canada: the fast, compliant way into the market

Incorporating in Canada means a federal or provincial company, a CRA payroll account, workers' compensation registration, employer health tax and, federally, Canadian-resident directors. An Employer of Record lets you put someone on the ground first and decide about an entity later, if ever.

Live in days, not months

We already hold the Canadian entity, the CRA payroll account and the provincial registrations. A new hire can be contracted, onboarded and on payroll in one to five business days, instead of the weeks or months an incorporation takes.

Thirteen jurisdictions, one partner

Employment standards are provincial. Minimum wage, overtime, vacation, statutory holidays and notice all differ by province, and an Ontario contract is not compliant in Quebec or British Columbia. We track each one.

Termination risk on us

Canada's real exposure is common-law reasonable notice, which is uncapped and can run to many months of pay. We draft enforceable contracts and carry the employer liability as the legal employer.

What we handle

Everything between the offer letter and a working employee

You choose the person and direct their work. We take care of the legal employment relationship in Canada from end to end.

Explore all services

Province-specific employment contracts with enforceable terms
Payroll and CRA remittances of CPP, EI and income tax
T4 and Record of Employment filing
Quebec handling: French contracts, QPP, QPIP and RL-1
Workers' compensation and employer health tax registration
Extended health, dental and group benefits administration
Vacation, statutory holidays and leave tracking
Compliant terminations, notice and final pay

How it works

Four steps to a compliant Canadian hire

Scope the hire

Tell us the role, salary, province and start date, and whether the person already has the right to work in Canada. We confirm cost and timeline.

Day 1

Contract & offer

We issue an offer and a contract drafted to that province's employment standards, with a termination clause built to survive scrutiny.

Days 1–2

Onboard & register

TD1 forms, direct deposit, benefits enrolment and payroll setup under our CRA account, plus workers' compensation coverage.

Days 2–5

Payroll & manage

Salary, deductions and remittances run every cycle. We handle vacation, leaves, year-end T4s and any changes you need.

Ongoing

Canadian employment law, in brief

What every Canadian employment contract must respect

Employment standards are provincial, so the exact figure depends on where your employee sits. These are the ranges across the main hiring provinces for 2026. We build each contract to the correct provincial standard.

Topic	Standard	Notes
Minimum wage	$15.00 to $18.25 per hour	Set provincially; several rates change on April 1 or October 1
Overtime	After 40 to 44 hours per week	Paid at 1.5x; British Columbia and Alberta also use a daily threshold
Vacation	2 weeks at 4% of wages	Rises to 3 weeks at 6% with tenure; Saskatchewan starts at 3 weeks
Statutory holidays	6 to 10 days per year	Count and pay formula both vary by province
CPP / QPP	5.95% employer (6.40% in Quebec)	Plus CPP2 at 4% on earnings above the first ceiling
Employment Insurance	2.28% employer	1.4x the employee rate; lower in Quebec, where QPIP also applies
Termination notice	Statutory minimum, plus common law	Common-law reasonable notice is uncapped where a clause fails

Rates and thresholds are indexed annually. Read the full breakdown in our Canada hiring guide.

Employer of Record

Hire now, no entity

We are the legal employer. No incorporation, no CRA account of your own, no resident directors, no provincial registrations. Live in days, and simple to unwind if the plan changes. Most economical up to roughly five to fifteen people in a province.

Your own entity

Incorporate in Canada

A federal or provincial corporation, a CRA business number and payroll account, workers' compensation and employer health tax registration, and extra-provincial registration in each province. Weeks to months to stand up, and cheaper at scale.

Common questions

Hiring in Canada, answered

What does EOR Canada mean?

EOR Canada is shorthand for Employer of Record services in Canada. A Canadian company becomes the legal employer of your chosen hire, holds the CRA payroll account and carries employment-standards compliance in that province, while you direct the day-to-day work. It is the standard route for a foreign company with no Canadian entity.

Can I hire in Canada without my own company?

Yes. We employ your chosen hire on our Canadian entity, issue a province-compliant contract, run payroll through our own CRA payroll account and remit CPP, EI and income tax, so you never need to incorporate.

Will hiring here create a taxable presence for my company?

Using an Employer of Record is a common way to reduce permanent-establishment risk, because the employee is engaged by our Canadian entity rather than yours. It does not eliminate the question entirely, since it depends on what the employee actually does and on the treaty position of your home country. We flag the risk factors and recommend you confirm with your tax adviser.

Can you sponsor a work permit?

This works differently in Canada than in many markets. A Canadian work permit is tied to the specific named legal employer, and the employer named on an LMIA must be the genuine employer. Our standard service assumes your hire already has the right to work in Canada. Where immigration is needed we can support the process, but it is a separate, longer track and we will tell you plainly what is and is not possible.

What does it cost?

A flat monthly fee per employee, plus gross salary and statutory employer contributions of roughly ten to fifteen percent. See our pricing page for how the model works.

Employer of Record Canada: hire employees without opening a company.