I was in a similar boat. I worked for Canadian companies 2003 up until 2011. From there I have worked exclusively for US based companies, while I work out of my home office in Canada (Quebec). At my last job, we were acquired by a big company that had a Canadian (Ontario) presence and at that moment the gravy train stopped. Working remotely from another province meant I had to pay 2 provincial taxes throughout the year (I got some back at tax time) and forced benefits costs and I was forced to receive a Canadian standard salary, just as the US -> CAD exchange rate started increasing from $1.09 to $1.4x. I was netting exactly 50%... I got out of there pretty quick to go back to having US-Only based clients and will never go back.
It's not perfect, and there are always trade-off no matter what your choice:
US Remote pros
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- (US in general) Salary is higher and competitive
- When exchange rate is good, it's so good
- you can enjoy all the benefits of living in this great country of Canada while not worrying about salary
- you generally have to work as a contractor, which generally means you have more autonomy and say in how/when you work.
US Remote cons
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- You generally have to negotiate to have your Canadian holidays, and you work during American ones. Employers don't always go for this one.
- Canadian benefits/rights employment laws do not apply to you, and your job can be terminated without cause really. You are not protected by Canadian labor laws. I have been openly discriminated against (according to Canadian labor laws) and had to take it. In my US employer's defense, there was no such comparable US standard that their company was held to. I looked into it, my choice was to accept it and move on or leave.
- In 7 years working for US based companies with American colleagues, each with their own employment stories, I have come to realize that American companies work their employees to the bone, compared to Canadian companies. I have had to work 60-80 hour weeks before (for one company) and had to fight to be compensated even for time in lieu (1 hour for 1 hour), which really annoyed the owner. You may have to work weekends, you may be called in during holidays, I've had surprise deadlines for surprise features for an upcoming trade show in a week. Not negotiable. All this can be acceptable if you REALLY love your job, and/or you are compensated for it, but if not, you will hate your life when this happens.
- you have to take care of your own taxes, since you are a contractor. But tbh, the difference in salary is so vast that I hire an accounting firm to take care of it all, and I still come out way ahead (more so if you consider all the professional advice that has saved me money)
CAN Pros
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- You are entitled to benefits (this can also be a con, since the average person would spend less in a given year if they only had to pay for procedures/appointments etc... as they come up)
- you are protected by labor laws
- you have automatic deposits
- you have automatic tax deductions
- you have your Canadian holidays EVEN when it falls on a weekend and you have to take it on the Monday
CAN Cons
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- Salary is just silly small. Especially in the Maritime provinces and Quebec. Quebec is a surprising one, but many attribute this to the vast majority of employees being monolingual, speaking only French, thus not being qualified to work in other provinces without learning English first. Employers then theoretically have candidates at a disadvantage and exploit them by paying them WELL below industry standards. Don't like it? Move.
- Remote-exclusive work is very rare and many companies frown on the idea. Canada is so crazy behind the times in this area.
Those are really the only 2 cons for working in Canada that I have seen. Unfortunately the salary one is so bad that it makes working in Canada just not worth it at all imo. Choices