The work-from-home trend exploded with the arrival of the pandemic, with eight times more Canadians working primarily from home in 2021 than in 2016.
And even though the pandemic is winding down, both employers and employees are enjoying the numerous advantages of remote work, which means the trend is likely to continue.
But although 80% of Canadians would prefer to work at least half their hours from home, 68% of the workforce continues to commute to their jobs.
Fortunately, if you fall within that 68% that still works outside the home, there are more ways than ever to make money from home!
Whether you’re looking to make extra money on the side or find a new home-based career, you’ll find a lot of great ideas in this expansive list of best work-at-home jobs for Canadians.
Looking for jobs you can do anywhere in the world? Check out this list here.
1. User Interviews
User Interviews is a company that helps brands like Pinterest, Spotify, and Wayfair do market research conveniently by sourcing target study participants quickly. They are always looking for participants from several countries, including Canada. You can earn money by signing up to be a participant in these studies.
Getting started is as simple as signing up, creating a profile, and completing the screener surveys. From there, you can choose to participate in studies that you qualify for.
Earnings per study range from $20-$1,500 and last anywhere from 10 minutes to several weeks. Payments are issued via PayPal or gift cards. Be sure to check out our full review on User Interviews.
2. Swagbucks
One of the easiest ways to make extra money is to sign up for Swagbucks, an American reward and loyalty company that is also open to Canadians.
You can earn points or “Swagbucks” by shopping online, watching videos, browsing the internet, playing games, and answering surveys.
Points are redeemable for cash via PayPal or gift cards to places like Amazon, Starbucks, and Walmart.
Rack up 2,500 Swagbucks within your first two months, and you’ll be rewarded with a $5 bonus.
They have a great referral program that rewards you when you get friends to sign up. You’ll get 300 Swagbucks once your friend earns their first 300 points and 10% of their earnings forever!
While it’s not enough to make a full-time income, it’s a low-effort way to add some extra cash in your pocket fast.
3. Survey Junkie
While you’ll never get rich taking surveys, it’s a simple way to increase your monthly earnings without a lot of time and effort on your part.
Survey Junkie is one of the most popular survey platforms and is open to anyone from the U.S., Canada, or Australia.
Once you sign up, you can earn points by setting up your profile and participating in questionnaires. Surveys can pay up to 500 points but more commonly pay 100 points or less.
Each point translates to one American cent. You need to earn at least 500 points – or $5 – to cash out and can redeem your earnings via PayPal, direct bank transfer, or gift cards.
You can also choose to participate in product testing, focus groups, and phone surveys which pay additional points.
4. Branded Surveys
Another popular survey site is Branded Surveys, which is also open to Canadians. Like Survey Junkie, you get rewarded with points by helping brands conduct market research through questionnaires.
You can redeem your points for various gift cards that are available in $5 increments. There are gift cards for Air Canada, Tim Hortons, Best Buy, Amazon.ca, and more.
They also have a loyalty program to reward members for consistently answering surveys.
Every member starts with a Bronze badge, which becomes a Silver badge upon earning 600 points and a Gold badge upon reaching 2,100 points. The badges come with bonus earnings when you complete the surveys and challenges.
5. Aha!
Aha! is a software company founded in 2013 that offers product support, concierge support, training, and certification programs. They pride themselves in being a breakthrough company with a unique approach to building their company and supporting their clients.
They have no offices and hire remote employees from across the U.S. and Canada. You can find job openings on their site and use the filter to search for Canadian roles. They are often looking for customer success specialists, engineers, writers, and product marketers.
Aha! is a great option to look into if you’re looking for long-term remote work.
6. Shopify
Chances are you’ve heard of Shopify, the Canadian e-commerce platform founded in 2006 that’s taken the internet by storm. They’re used by over a million businesses and currently hold almost 11% of the total e-commerce market share!
As a forward-thinking company, Shopify is a proponent of hiring “people, not resumes” and employs Canadians from across the country to work remotely.
There are always many openings available on their careers page, including jobs for customer service specialists, data analysts, engineers, warehouse systems specialists, and more.
Landing a job at Shopify is a multi-step process that involves an initial call, a one-hour “Life Story” interview, and a “meet the team” call with potential future coworkers. Job perks include an internet allowance and community support.
7. Transcom
Transcom is a global customer experience specialist with over 28,000 customer experience specialists operating in 23 countries. They were voted by FlexJobs as one of the top 100 remote companies to work for.
Their careers page features jobs for Canadians and includes a variety of remote roles in addition to customer service.
They’re invested in their workers, and they provide paid training and opportunities for career advancement. Employees also get paid vacation and medical benefits.
If you’re interested in applying, you can register for their free Hiring Webinar to learn more about the company and ask any questions.
8. Slack
Slack has become the messaging app of choice for countless businesses and boasts over 12 million active users since it was founded in 2013. Its interface allows teams to communicate efficiently while significantly cutting down on emails and meetings.
They hire remote workers and are dedicated to helping their staff thrive, with strong core values such as diversity, craftsmanship, and solidarity. Job perks include an annual allowance for professional development, free medical care, and child-care assistance.
Slack’s career openings page has no shortage of available jobs for Canadians, which you can find by using the drop-down bar to filter by location. If you have experience in customer service, engineering, product management, sales, or security, you may find the perfect job there.
9. Toptal
Connecting talent with organizations, Toptal has serviced 16,000 clients in over 158 countries worldwide since its inception in 2010. It became the world’s largest fully remote company in 2020, and some of its biggest clients included Airbnb, Motorola, and Bridgestone.
Toptal has undertaken some impressive company initiatives, like providing scholarships to budding female leaders and their TopVolunteer program that connects top talent with charities and non-profit organizations.
As a fully remote company, all of Toptal’s employees get to work from home. They hire people from all over (including Canada), and job benefits include opportunities for making global connections and flexible time off.
You’ll find a long list of career opportunities at any given time, and you can apply right from their website.
You can work for Toptal as a freelancer for their clients. They are looking for developers, designers, finance experts, project managers, and product managers. You can apply by filling out a simple application form and connecting your LinkedIn account.
10. Instacart
Instacart is a well-known online grocery service founded in 2012 that allows shoppers to purchase their groceries online and have them picked up and delivered by a personal shopper.
They have an office in Toronto, ON, but they offer a combination work environment that includes partial and full work-from-home positions.
You can find a complete list of jobs they’re currently hiring for on their openings page. They commonly hire for their design, engineering, customer service, administration, and HR departments.
Aside from working for Instacart as an employee, you can also apply to become an Instacart Shopper, which allows you to make extra money by shopping for others and work whenever you want. According to Indeed, the average shopper makes $15.68 per hour.
11. Appen
Appen is an Australian machine intelligence company that develops machine learning and A.I. products.
They hire contract contributors from across the globe to work on a variety of projects. Jobs involve internet-based services, including social media evaluation, translation services, transcription services, survey, and data collection, video annotation, and more.
Appen is looking for people who have excellent research, analytical, and communication skills. The only other prerequisite is that you have a personal computer with the Chrome browser and up-to-date anti-virus software.
Compensation for your time varies, but it is generally in the $10-$14 per hour range.
You can easily sign up using the form on their website and set up your profile and payment method. They process payments via Payoneer or PayPal.
12. Lionbridge
Lionbridge is a global communications platform that’s been around for over 20 years. They have over 2,100 clients worldwide and support more than 350 languages.
They’ve also been named one of the top companies with the most remote work opportunities and pride themselves on being committed to diversity in the workplace.
Lionbridge is looking for corporate associates, translators, interpreters, and game testers. They have so many jobs available that their openings page has search and filter functions to help you find the role you’re looking for (including a filter for Canadian positions).
Pay varies, but the average annual salary is CA $47,553, according to Glassdoor. In addition, employees get paid time off for their birthdays and volunteering.
There are excellent career opportunities to be found, particularly if you are fluent in both English and French.
13. Pitchup
Pitchup has been around since 2009 and helps campers book an RV park, campground site, cabin, or glamping site online. They also offer information on each site so campers can make the most out of their stay.
Campers can choose from a host of destinations in many countries, including Canada, England, France, and Italy.
Their hiring page lists all of their available jobs, some of which are remote positions open to Canadians. For example, they’re often hiring customer service executives, marketing assistants, and sales consultants.
14. Magic Ears
Magic Ears helps kids aged 4-12 learn English online. Teaching gigs at Magic Ears pay up to $26 per hour and come with other perks, like flexible hours, secondary positions, and instant bookings.
You can also earn passive income with Magic Ears by joining their affiliate program. Each time a referral signs up for Magic Ears, you’ll earn an $80-$95 commission!
Working for Magic Ears is a remote position that requires a bachelor’s degree and a 120-hour ESL certification. If you don’t have the ESL certification, you can take the qualifying course for $20 on the Magic Ears website.
Once accepted as a Magic Ears teacher, you are given a minimum 6-month contract with no minimum teaching requirement. When the contract ends, your Development Coach will conduct a performance review to ascertain whether you will be given another contract.
Magic Ears pays its teachers on the 10th of each month via PayPal.
15. VIPKid
Like Magic Ears, VIPKid is a platform for teaching English online, with 800,000 students. The pay range for teachers is similar, with earnings ranging from $14-$22 per hour.
While the application process is pretty straightforward, you must have a Bachelor’s degree to qualify.
As a VIPKid teacher, you start with a 6-month minimum contract. You get to set your teaching hours, and all lessons are one-on-one. You don’t need to prepare teaching material as VIPKid provides the assignments for each class.
VIPKid sends payments by the 15th of each month via direct deposit.
16. Direct Sales Opportunities
In Canada, there is no shortage of direct sales opportunities. If you love networking and promoting products you love, this is an excellent opportunity for you!
Each company is a little different, but in general, you make money by promoting the company’s products, and you’ll earn a commission on any sales you make. Sometimes there are also bonuses for recruiting other product representatives. (These are known as MLM or Multi-Level Marketing jobs.)
The great part of this work is that it’s easy to become a product representative, and since income is commission-based, you can work whenever you want. However, most direct sales jobs have some start-up costs involved, so be sure to research the business carefully before committing.
Some popular examples of direct sales jobs available in Canada include:
- Avon – Makeup and skincare
- Arbonne – Natural and vegan makeup and skincare
- Beachbody – Fitness programs and products
- Cabi – Clothing, shoes, and accessories
- Cutco – Cutlery and kitchen accessories
- Pampered Chef – Cookware, gifts, pantry items, and small appliances
- Scentsy – Candles and essential oils
- Stella & Dot – Jewelry, accessories, clothing, and purses
- Tupperware – BPA-free plastic food containers
Check out this complete list of direct sales jobs for even more direct sales brands. Choose the product that speaks to you and diving in!
17. Upwork
Upwork is a massive freelance writing platform with over 12 million freelancers. As a freelancer, you can sign up for a basic free plan, but you need to pay $0.15 each time you pitch a client (called a “connect”). But you don’t pay anything if the client reaches out to you.
There’s also a membership plan at 14.99 USD that gives you 70 “connects” and a few other perks, like the ability to see what price competing writers have bid for a gig.
While you get to set your hourly rate, there’s a lot of competition for writing jobs, and bids can quickly spiral into bottom-barrel rates. If you are just starting, you may need to take a few of these low-paying jobs to build your profile rating.
Upwork also takes a significant cut of your earnings, although the percentage of what they take decreases the more you earn over time. They process payments through PayPal, wire transfer, or direct deposit.
If you’re new to writing online, Upwork is a great place to get your freelancing feet wet.
18. nDash
If you already have a little freelance writing experience under your belt, check out nDash.co. Even if you don’t have a lot of writing experience, it can’t hurt to sign up since it’s free!
It’s a freelancing platform similar to Upwork, but the jobs tend to be higher-paying.
Because clients are willing to pay higher rates, nDash only wants quality writers using their platform, so the signup and verification process is a bit more involved than Upwork. You’ll need writing samples and previously published work to share on your profile and a link to your LinkedIn or other social profile verifying who you are.
After becoming a verified writer, you can use the platform to pitch open jobs or brands directly. Rates for assignments average between 150-450 USD per article.
If you aren’t happy with the rate a brand offers you, the platform lets you negotiate with the counter-offer feature.
Clients also pay the nDash processing fee, so the rate you agree on is the rate you get paid! Once you submit the assignment and the client approves it, you’ll receive payment promptly via Stripe.
19. Etsy Business
Etsy is an e-commerce platform for handmade products and offers crafters a way to turn their hobby into a lucrative business. Crafts and vintage items do best on this platform, but you can also sell downloadable digital products like printables.
Setting up your Etsy shop is easy, and you get to set your rates. Most Canadians set their shops up with US dollar pricing because the majority of Etsy shoppers are American.
However, there is a 0.20 USD fee to list your item for four months. Etsy also takes a cut of every sale, currency conversion, and shipping fee.
Being successful on Etsy does require some marketing and strategy, so it’s worth taking time to learn about the platform before launching your shop.
20. Blogging Business
If you love to write but aren’t crazy about the idea of writing for clients, you can make money by starting a blog.
The key to successful blogging is honing in on a specific niche, such as personal finance, motherhood, fitness, or food recipes.
Once your site starts getting traffic, you can monetize it with ads, affiliate links, digital products, or sponsored posts.
However, making money with a blog requires patience and dedication because it takes time to learn the strategy, build domain authority, and create the kind of posts that rank on Google Search.
If you don’t want to spend time building your own site, you can also make money blogging on publishing platforms like Medium and Vocal, both of which compensate their contributors for audience engagement.
Medium is a massive platform with a built-in audience of hundreds of thousands of paying members hungry for quality articles, which means you don’t have to spend as much time promoting your work or optimizing for SEO.
Vocal has a smaller audience but runs regular writing contests that pay cash prizes ranging from $1,000 to upwards of $20,000 for first prize.
Conclusion
As work-at-home jobs become more desirable, many companies are jumping on board to accommodate their employees and take their businesses into the future. That means there are plenty of opportunities to be had for Canadians and Americans alike!
Thanks to globalization, there are also abundant opportunities for Canadians to work remotely for American companies. Canadians stand a lot to gain by tapping into the U.S. market as the strong US dollar typically translates into higher earnings.
From casual side gigs to fulfilling careers, the opportunities to earn from home as a Canadian are almost endless, provided you have a computer and internet connection.
Give one or two of them a try, and you’ll surely find the one that plays to your strengths, interests, and career goals.
Leave a Comment