Canada

Canada has no digital nomad visa. For remote workers the open federal route is visitor status, and the one program with a page here, the Start-up Visa, is paused.

Visitors and remote work

Most visitors can stay for up to 6 months, and the border officer can set a shorter or longer stay, according to IRCC. Visa-exempt travelers who fly in need an electronic travel authorization (eTA), which costs CA$7 on the official site; other nationalities need a visitor visa.

IRCC's tech talent strategy says digital nomads working remotely for an employer outside Canada can live and work there for up to 6 months at a time without a work permit; visitor status is all they need. That covers work for a foreign employer only, not work for Canadian employers or clients.

Visitors who want to stay longer apply for a visitor record, which extends visitor status; it isn't a visa.

Entrepreneurs

The Start-up Visa gave permanent residence to founders backed by a designated venture capital fund, angel group or incubator. It has been paused since June 30, 2026, and IRCC still processes the files it accepted before then.

IRCC has announced a new, targeted pilot for immigrant entrepreneurs but hasn't launched it or given a start date.

Other routes

Provinces and territories nominate immigrants through the Provincial Nominee Program, which leads to permanent residence under each province's own streams. Those streams have no page here yet.

How to choose

• Remote work for an employer abroad: visitor status, with an eTA or visitor visa, for stays of up to 6 months at a time.
• Founders: the Start-up Visa is closed to new files; the announced pilot is the one to watch.
• Settling for good: a permanent residence route such as provincial nomination, each with its own rules.

Rent is the biggest cost in every large Canadian city. The ranges below add two Numbeo figures for one person: monthly spending before rent, plus a one-bedroom apartment from outside the center to the center. Numbeo's figures are crowd-sourced and were last updated in September 2026. Dollar amounts use the European Central Bank reference rates of Sept. 23, 2026 (about CA$1.41 to $1).

Monthly budgets for one person

• Toronto: about CA$3,490 to CA$3,720 ($2,480 to $2,640), combining CA$1,457 in living costs with CA$2,030 to CA$2,263 in rent.
• Ottawa: about CA$3,230 to CA$3,600 ($2,290 to $2,550), combining CA$1,491 in living costs with CA$1,741 to CA$2,108 in rent.
• Calgary: about CA$2,970 to CA$3,280 ($2,110 to $2,330), combining CA$1,534 in living costs with CA$1,438 to CA$1,751 in rent.
• Montreal: about CA$2,690 to CA$3,050 ($1,910 to $2,160), combining CA$1,306 in living costs with CA$1,387 to CA$1,741 in rent.

Living costs before rent vary by less than CA$250 across the four; rent sets the order. Toronto's one-bedroom outside the center costs more than a central one-bedroom in Montreal or Calgary.

What the figures leave out

Numbeo's estimate covers everyday spending such as food, transport and utilities. Health insurance, coworking, flights and the eTA or visa come on top; see practical tips on health cover.

Four cities cover most stays, with costs that follow rent. Figures are Numbeo averages from September 2026.

Toronto

The largest city suits people who want the most coworking, flights and services. It is also the most expensive of the four: a central one-bedroom averaged CA$2,263 a month.

Montreal

Montreal, in French-speaking Quebec, is the cheapest of the four, with a central one-bedroom around CA$1,741. It suits people who want a big city at a lower cost.

Calgary

Calgary sits between the two on price, with central rent around CA$1,751, and suits people who want quick access to the Rocky Mountains.

Ottawa

The capital costs less than Toronto but more than Montreal or Calgary, with central rent around CA$2,108. It suits people who want a smaller, quieter city.

Vancouver has a city page here too, but no Numbeo figures in this guide's data set.

Fixed broadband is fast in the cities. The Speedtest Global Index put Canada's median fixed download speed at 373.23 Mbps in August 2026, with a mobile median of 139.06 Mbps.

Those are national medians across a very large country; speeds depend on the building and the plan, so checking a connection before signing a lease is worth it, especially outside the big cities.

Coworking

The big cities have international chains alongside local spaces. WeWork lists five Toronto locations and three in Montreal, with day passes and monthly memberships.

Coworking fees aren't part of the Numbeo budgets in the cost section, so a monthly desk adds to those figures.

Canada decides tax residency by ties first and days second. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) looks at whether a person has significant residential ties in Canada. Someone without them who spends 183 days or more in Canada in a tax year is a deemed resident.

What residents report

Deemed residents must report their world income, from inside and outside Canada, for the whole tax year. A tax treaty can change that: a deemed resident who is also resident in a treaty country under that treaty may be treated as a non-resident of Canada.

What it means for visitors

Visitor stays count toward the total. Every day or part of a day in Canada counts, so two long visits in one tax year can pass it.

Remote work for a foreign employer doesn't change the day count, and visitor status doesn't give any tax exemption.

What to check

• How many days in Canada a tax year will add up to, across all trips.
• Whether a home, partner or dependents in Canada create residential ties.
• Whether the home country's tax treaty with Canada applies.

The CRA's own pages are the reference; this section doesn't replace advice on a specific case.

Before flying

Visa-exempt travelers who fly to Canada apply for an eTA on the official Government of Canada site, which charges CA$7. Travelers who already hold a valid visitor visa can use it until it expires.

Staying longer

A visitor who wants more time applies for a visitor record. It extends visitor status; it isn't a visa.

Health insurance

IRCC describes public health insurance as something citizens and permanent residents apply for, with a separate plan in each province and territory, and warns that a walk-in clinic may charge people who don't live in that province or territory. Visitors should arrange private travel health insurance before arrival.

Banking

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada says people have the right to open a personal bank account with proper identification, even without a job or money to deposit. Banks ask for original ID, not photocopies.