Employer of Record in Canada: who it can employ, costs and providers
EREditorial team · Updated 14 Oct 20267 min read21 providers compared8 sources
CA$6,294 employer cost a month before the EOR fee, CA$70,000 salaryNot all-in: what it leaves out is under the cost table.
21 EOR providers that cover Canada
US$99 lowest published EOR starting price a month, in US dollars
US$699 highest published EOR list price a month, in US dollars
An EOR can employ Canadian residents and people whose work permits need no LMIA. For an LMIA hire, the employer test in force since 18 September 2026 is one an EOR is unlikely to meet. Federal contributions add ≈8% before its fee.
Short answer
The 2026 change concerns LMIA-based work permits only, not EOR employment of residents or other permit holders.
For an LMIA, Service Canada's employer is the entity that hires, sets conditions and pays directly; agencies recruiting for others do not count.
On a CA$70,000 salary, CPP and EI bring the monthly cost to about CA$6,300, with the provider's US dollar fee on top.
Leave, notice and holidays follow the province where the employee works, or the Canada Labour Code for federally regulated employers.
Since 18 September 2026, for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) in the high-wage and low-wage streams, Service Canada treats as the employer the entity that hires the worker, sets their working conditions and pays them directly, and not agencies that recruit for other businesses. The rule does not name employers of record, but an EOR employing someone for a client is unlikely to meet it. It concerns LMIA-based hires under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program only.
What one hire costs
Monthly cost of an employee on CA$70,000 a year: the cost before the EOR fee.
Assumes: outside Quebec; provincial payroll taxes and health levies vary.
Cost before the EOR fee, a monthCA$6,294
Gross salaryCA$5,83393%
Employer contributionsCA$4617%
Percentages are shares of the total, not of salary.
Plus the EOR fee, not in this total. Published fees per employee: US$99 to US$699 a month (18 providers, USD); €399 a month (one provider, EUR). We add a fee to the total only when at least 3 providers publish one in CAD, and we do not convert currencies.
Federal lines only, for 2026. The EI employer rate is 1.4 times the 1.63 employee rate. Quebec employees pay into the Quebec Pension Plan and a Quebec parental insurance plan instead of the federal CPP and part of EI, so Quebec is not covered. Provincial payroll taxes and health levies, workers' compensation and vacation pay are not included.
How an EOR works in Canada
The EOR is the employer in law. It signs the employment contract, runs payroll and pays the employee, through its own Canadian entity or a partner’s depending on the provider; the notes in the provider list say which, where known.
Who does what when an EOR employs for you in Canada
Your company signs a service agreement with the EOR provider and pays it the salary, the employer contributions and a fee.
The EOR provider is the legal employer in Canada: it signs the employment contract and runs payroll, social contributions and benefits.
Your company and the EOR provider split duties by contract; who directs the work in practice is what the law in Canada looks at.
Your companyNo entity in Canada
Service agreementYou pay salary, contributions and a fee
EOR providerLegal employer in Canada
Employment contractPayroll, social contributions, benefits
EmployeeWorks in Canada
Duties split by contract
Your company and the EOR provider split duties by contract; who directs the work in practice is what the law in Canada looks at.
Two layers of rules apply to that employee. Leave, notice and termination, public holidays and probation come from the province where the person works, or from the Canada Labour Code if the employer is federally regulated, so that province’s standards apply to the employment. Payroll contributions are federal: CPP, CPP2 and EI are the same in every province except Quebec, which runs its own pension and parental insurance plans, as the note under the cost table says.
The hard limit is about immigration, not employment.
EOR or your own Canadian company
For an LMIA hire the choice is close to made: the safer reading is that the company that hires, sets the conditions and pays the worker directly has to be yours. For residents and other permit holders it comes down to time and money.
Through an EOR you pay a monthly fee per employee, published in US dollars, and the provider runs the Canadian payroll. With your own company the fee goes away and the payroll work comes to you: deducting income tax, CPP and EI from each pay and, as a regular remitter, sending them with your share to the CRA by the 15th day of the following month.[6][7] The federal contributions are the same on both routes, and each one stops for the year at its annual maximum.[3][5] The payroll page sets out what running it yourself involves.
Startups, growing companies and enterprises, the three segments Pebl writes a page for
Not for
Buyers who need a Contractor of Record: we list Pebl for contractor management, not COR
Top pro
Own SOC 2 Type 2 report and ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certificate, both on Pebl's security page
Top con
No live support channel named: Pebl lists its Alfie AI assistant, in-house experts and a Help Center; its pages say 24/7 support and do not say who answers
Its Canada page does not say whether the employing entity is its own or a partner's.
7.4Our score 7.4 of 10Limited dataOur EOR score
EOR price from
US$459per employee a month, billed annually
EOR countries160 claimed, 106 documented
Onboarding2–3 days
ServicesEOR · COR · Contractors · Payroll
Best for
Companies from startups to enterprises, going by Multiplier's segment pages
Not for
Buyers who need the deposit amount before signing: Multiplier calculates it per contract
Top pro
Own SOC 2 (Type I and II), SOC 3 and ISO 27001:2022 on its security page; the AWS certifications listed there are kept apart as the host's
Top con
The "from" prices assume an annual contract. Monthly EOR costs $499 on Core and $559 on Growth, about 11% of countries are priced differently, and compliance-mandated add-ons come on top of EOR and COR
Holds one month's salary per employee as a refundable deposit.
7.4Our score 7.4 of 10Our EOR score
EOR price from
US$399per employee a month
Entity in Canada
Own entity
EOR countries180 claimed, 157 documented
Onboarding2–5 days
Deposit1 month
Minimum termNone
ServicesEOR · Contractors · Payroll
Best for
Companies from startups to enterprises: Playroll has pages for each, and its case studies include startups under 100 staff and mid-market firms of 100 to 1,000
Not for
Contractors who want to be paid other than through Payoneer, the only payout route Playroll uses
Top pro
Its own country pages document EOR hiring in 151 countries + 6 territories, against a claim of 180+
Top con
A refundable deposit of one month's salary per EOR employee; the unused part comes back within two months of the last working day, or once claims are settled if that is later
Enterprise teams and small and growing businesses (SMEs), in RemotePass's own words
Not for
Buyers who must review EOR contract terms up front: no EOR agreement is public
Top pro
EOR from $349 per employee a month with tax included; 13 of 20 other EOR prices in dollars start higher
Top con
No EOR agreement is public: the Terms say EOR runs under a separate Consultant Agreement "available on the Site", which we did not find. The public legal documents are the Terms, the Privacy Policy and the Acceptable Use Policy
Prices Canada itself, from US$599 per employee a month.
6.6Our score 6.6 of 10Our EOR score
EOR price in Canada from
US$599per employee a month
EOR countries180 claimed, 151 documented
Minimum termNone
ServicesEOR · Contractors
Best for
A first hire in one new country or a team spread over many, at a startup, mid-market firm or enterprise (G-P has a page for each)
Not for
Buyers who rank EOR providers mostly by the monthly fee
Top pro
G-P claims EOR in 180+ countries; its Globalpedia country guides document 148 countries + 3 territories one by one
Top con
EOR from $599 per employee a month; 15 of 20 other EOR prices in US dollars that we compare start lower; volume discounts are offered but not quantified
Startups, scaling companies and enterprises, the three groups Native Teams writes for
Not for
Buyers who want to read the EOR or COR agreement before talking to sales: the terms of service are the only contract text online
Top pro
EOR from $99 per employee a month, below all 20 other per-employee EOR prices in USD we compare
Top con
The terms of service are the only contract text online. The EOR and COR agreements are not published, and the terms say a separate signed contract takes precedence
Crypto and web3 teams paying contractors in stablecoins or crypto, a segment Rise names (startups, web3 startups, DAOs, global agencies)
Not for
Companies that need an EOR in countries beyond the US and the UK today
Top pro
Prices are published per head: $49 a contractor a month (discounts for startups and non-profits), $299 for Agent of Record, $399 an employee for EOR
Top con
EOR is documented in 2 countries (US, UK) against a claim of 90+. The parent, Rise Works, Inc., is on the GLEIF register; no own entity is documented in either country
Small businesses, including teams under 10 employees, startups and enterprises: the segments Rippling has pages for
Not for
Buyers who want to compare an EOR price before a sales call
Top pro
Contractor onboarding in 185+ countries and payments in 50+ local currencies, per its contractor page; 160 countries + 2 territories are documented here
Top con
No price for EOR, contractor management or global payroll: the pricing page asks for a custom quote
US$599 a month is the platform fee; local employer services and benefits premiums are billed on top.
5.8Our score 5.8 of 10Our EOR score
EOR price from
US$599per employee a month
Entity in Canada
Own entity
EOR countries160 claimed, 146 documented
ServicesEOR · AOR
Best for
Enterprise-level companies, the audience Atlas's enterprise page names
Not for
Buyers who need a Contractor of Record: under Atlas's AOR the contract stays between the client and each contractor
Top pro
EOR in 141 countries + 5 territories documented here, against a claim of 160+ with wholly owned entities
Top con
At $599 per employee monthly, the EOR price is above 15 of the 20 other USD EOR prices we compare and equal to 4; local employer services, FX and benefits premiums are billed on top
An EOR can employ staff in Canada. The limit is in immigration: for a Labour Market Impact Assessment, the employer test in force since 18 September 2026 is one an EOR is unlikely to meet, so an LMIA hire usually needs another route.
Can an EOR support an LMIA work permit in Canada?
Unlikely. In the high-wage and low-wage streams Service Canada's employer is the entity that hires the worker, sets their working conditions and pays them directly, and agencies recruiting for other businesses are excluded. The rule does not name EORs.
How much does an EOR cost in Canada?
Outside Quebec, federal contributions add ≈8% to salary. Providers publish their fees in US dollars, from US$99 to US$699 a month, and we leave them in that currency rather than convert them.
Own entity — company register
