If you are looking for a remote job, whether as your primary source of income or as a part-time gig, you’ve come to the right place
Remote jobs are in higher demand these days than they have ever been before. About 24% of female employees and 21% of male employees work from home as of December 2021, according to Stats Canada.
When I started my journey in 2019 of working online and travelling full-time, I was always searching for good remote work. I know how hard it can be to find legitimate, decently paying remote jobs in Canada.
This is why I have compiled this list of a few trustworthy and effective websites for remote jobs in Canada.
No matter your skill set or expertise, you will be able to find something that fits your needs and profile.
Best Websites for Remote Jobs in Canada
Some of the best websites to find remote work in Canada are:
1. Indeed Canada
Indeed Canada is easily considered Canada’s number one job platform. At any given time, there are thousands of postings for jobs in Canada. A casual search showed that over 4000 remote jobs are currently available on Indeed Canada, and 250+ of them are just three days old.
You can start by building, uploading, and managing your resume on Indeed, allowing you to easily apply for any available jobs. You can also be notified when a job that matches your profile is posted. Since it has a high job-posting frequency, your chances of finding the right remote employer on Indeed are high indeed.
2. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is more than just social networking for professionals. It’s also an amazing platform for employers to connect with the right employees, making it one of the best options for your remote job hunting. One thing different about LinkedIn is that you have a stronger profile-building tool here.
Unlike the typical CV template of most job websites, you can create a more personalized profile on LinkedIn. You can populate it with articles and posts to showcase and augment your claimed skills.
Technical knowledge/expertise is only part of what employers look for in a good employee, and LinkedIn allows you to display more of “you” in your professional profile than other platforms do.
3. Flexjobs
Flexjobs is a network dedicated to remote and work-from-home jobs (hence the name). They have thousands of listings across the globe for jobs specifically designed to be remote. Almost all jobs that you’ll find on the platform will be scam-free and from legit companies and organizations.
But the catch is that Flexjobs is paid. Jobseekers need to pay monthly, quarterly or yearly premiums (US$14.95, US$29.95, and US$49.95, respectively) to apply for jobs and gain unlimited access to all the jobs posted with Flexjobs. It’s a BBB-accredited site with an A+ rating and truly stellar customer reviews. Most people find it worth the cost.
4. RemoteOK
RemoteOK is another job portal dedicated to remote jobs. Rather than hosting original job postings, this portal leverages the jobs posted on other portals like Candor and Komoot.
The concept of the website was unique, and it has a funky and not-so-corporate vibe, but the portal isn’t as powerful as others on this list.
Many of the jobs posted on the portal are old, and most of the first-page jobs (the hottest jobs on this website) are for coders and developers. The spread of jobs seems relatively thin, and it might not be equally effective for people with other skill sets.
5. Toptal
There is a clue in the name of how this website operates. If you want to work remotely with Toptal, you won’t be able to simply search and apply for jobs.
You’ll create a profile and then go through their extensive testing (English and then domain-specific), ensuring that you are indeed an expert in the services you offer. So what’s the payoff?
If you are approved, the hourly rates or part-time wages you will get from Toptal jobs are significantly higher than what you can get on another platform.
For example, Toptal offers a $90-an-hour minimum to financial experts, and the highest prices can go upwards of $250 an hour.
6. AngelList
While primarily targeting startups and angel investors, this website is also good for remote workers looking to work with those startups. According to their website, 37,171 of the world’s best tech companies and startups are hiring with AngelList, and the website has over 2.7 million active candidates.
You can find a job posting and apply it directly to the company. AngelList claims that they don’t allow any middlemen or consultants. Job seekers can connect directly with hiring employers (established companies and startups).
They also have a tool to compare jobs and salaries to make up your mind about which job you should apply for.
7. Eluta
Eluta is a conventional job-hunting site that focuses primarily on Canadian jobs. It doesn’t distinguish between remote and on-site jobs and has a very unflattering web interface.
Despite its appearance, Eluta has been around for many years and is trusted by many A-list employers.
You can search for location-wise available jobs. The website sources jobs directly from the websites of Canadian employers, making it a bit different from portals where the companies post jobs.
8. Upwork
Upwork is still one of the premier freelance job portals in the world. Despite several competing sites popping up here and there, Upwork still sees some of the highest job postings and hiring frequencies.
Unlike other remote job searching sites on this list, Upwork focuses on freelancing jobs that may turn permanent in the future. But most of the jobs posted on the website are freelance gigs of a limited time frame and a set payment.
As a remote worker (freelancer), you must pay 20% of your earnings from a job to Upwork (it’s deducted automatically when a payment is processed). If you’re with the same client for long enough, that amount drops to 10%, which is much more reasonable. But besides that huge cut, Upwork is a haven for many freelancers and remote workers and provides a huge pool of potential customers for them.
9. PeoplePerHour
With a unique name and a cool logo, PeoplePerHour is another freelancing website that has been gaining traction for a few years now. The website claims to have helped freelancers earn about $239 million through various remote jobs.
Its customer experience score is even better than Upwork. The fee structure works in the freelancer’s favour when the job is in excess of a few hundred dollars.
Beyond that, PeoplePerHour charges a 7.5% commission from the freelancer/remote worker. So if you manage to meet an employer willing to hire you long-term, you may be able to save a lot in commission by working through PeoplePerHour than another portal such as Upwork.
10. Fiverr
Completing the trio of three major online freelancing portals is Fiverr. Unlike other platforms, you don’t simply create a profile and start applying for available jobs on Fiverr.
On Fiverr, you offer “gigs,” a simple job for a set price, that you can do for employers. Employers search through the portal for any available gigs that are similar to the services they require.
Fiverr charges a fixed 20% commission per job from freelancers. Though it does help a lot of employers match remote workers, it takes away control from the freelancers. On the other hand, people who need to get things done can easily sift through a collection of freelancers without getting hundreds of replies to their job postings.
11. Job on Google
Even though Google doesn’t offer a separate tool for job search or has its own variant of freelancing job portals, you can still find remote jobs at Google.
By phrasing your search properly, you can find remote jobs, remote employers near you, freelancing jobs, or similar opportunities.
Since it pulls job data directly from the companies, you will need to apply directly with the companies as well. That means having an electronic CV handy. And even though it doesn’t appear to be a typical job search engine, by modifying the advanced options, you can fine-tune your remote job search.
12. Glassdoor
It’s a common practice that before applying for a job, you should look for its reviews and past employers’ comments about the company. One of the places to find these reviews is Glassdoor. But it can also be used for hunting for good remote jobs.
Even though it’s not a pure job-searching platform, Glassdoor is considered the US’s second-best site. This means it can help people from across the border find work as well, especially remote jobs.
13. remoters
Closing the list is remoters, a website dedicated to remote workers and digital nomads. It’s also not a pure job-hunting website and also contains resources and tools for remote workers, but it does have a remote job listing and curated lists of some amazing remote jobs available.
Freelance Job vs Remote Job
There is a lot of overlap between freelance jobs and remote jobs, and many people tend to confuse the two separate terms.
A Remote job is when you are connected to or employed by an organization or a company, but you don’t need to be physically present in the office/official workspace. It’s usually a long-term arrangement, where you might also be eligible for employment benefits like paid leaves and matching employer contributions.
A Freelance job or gig is when you offer your services to individuals or companies temporarily. Even if a freelance job runs for weeks or even months, it doesn’t mean that you are employed by the entity you are working for. Freelance workers usually don’t qualify for employee benefits.
Consequently, they have more independence regarding the jobs they want to do, their schedule, and their working methods.
Conclusion
It’s easy to see the advantages of working remotely. 40% of remote workers see a flexible schedule as the biggest benefit of this lifestyle.
But there are downsides to remote as well. One of the reasons why companies offer remote jobs is to cut costs.
So don’t count on many benefits when working remotely, especially if you are designated as a contractor rather than an employee.
However, you can compensate for those benefits by opening multiple income streams thanks to your flexible working situation.
If you want more ideas about how to find online work, check out this ultimate guide on how to make money online in Canada.
