TorontoVancouverMontrealCalgaryOttawaEdmontonWinnipegOtherLinks open guides on this site. Guides that name the city appear first; otherwise you see other guides from the same country. Not live vacancies or applications.
Disclaimer: For information only. Available Jobs is not an employer or recruiter. The buttons lead to our guides; they do not submit a job application for you.
The pages linked above may show advertisements. The ranges are rough monthly base pay drawn from the public and official sources cited in each guide; they are not live vacancies or promises.
Software and IT employers in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa and Calgary hire developers, analysts and support specialists. Foreign candidates see adverts claiming a “Global Talent Stream guarantee in 14 days.” Some tech employers do use the Global Talent Stream (a TFWP stream run under ESDC rules) or other IRCC routes, but many people hired are still permanent residents and citizens. A GitHub portfolio does not replace a work permit.
The Global Talent Stream and other work permits
The Global Talent Stream is an ESDC/TFWP stream for designated occupations and innovative employers that meet the programme’s criteria. It is not a way to convert tourist status, and it is not available just because a recruiter likes your résumé. Employers must follow ESDC’s requirements, and workers still apply to IRCC for the permit. In other cases, ordinary LMIA streams or LMIA-exempt categories of the International Mobility Program may apply, so read the pages that fit what your offer letter describes.
Being honest about the NOC
Presenting help-desk work as a specialised software engineer NOC to fit a stream creates compliance and misrepresentation risks. Your duties on arrival should match the offer, and your employment contract should match what you told IRCC.
| Type of route | Who drives it | What the worker should watch |
|---|---|---|
| Global Talent Stream | The employer, under ESDC criteria | Not a “slot” you can buy |
| Other TFWP / LMIA streams | The employer obtains the LMIA where required | No personal LMIA fees paid to agents |
| IMP / LMIA-exempt categories | Depends on the category | Read the exact exemption |
| Economic PR streams | Your own Express Entry or PNP file | Separate from your first pay cheque |
Credentials and myths about remote work
Employers in Canada may accept a foreign degree for hiring without a WES assessment, whereas IRCC economic streams sometimes require an educational credential assessment; the two serve different purposes. Working remotely for a foreign company while you are physically in Canada can still bring Canadian status rules into play, and online advice about being a “digital nomad on tourist status” is often wrong where paid work is concerned.
Scams in tech recruitment
- Up-front payments for a “GTS allocation”
- Fake offers on letterhead copied from well-known tech companies
- Requests for your SIN before there is a real start date and a permit
- Salaries paid in crypto to avoid tax and status checks
Quebec and French
In Montreal, tech teams may work in English internally, while public services and some employers expect French. Quebec has its own immigration selection rules, so if the job is there, read both the federal and the Quebec pages.
Once you have started
A closed permit ties you to one employer, and changing jobs normally requires a new permit. Keep pay stubs and promotion letters in case you apply for PR later; inventing Canadian experience you never had will fail verification.
Contractor or employee?
Some start-ups call developers contractors while controlling their full-time hours. Misclassification causes tax and status problems, so ask whether you will get a T4 and appear on a closed work permit as an employee of the company that applied for you.
Promises of stock options do not count as wage evidence for LMIA or GTS filings. When those streams are used, insist on a clear base salary that meets ESDC’s requirements.
Security clearances for public-sector tech work
Federal and some provincial tech contracts require reliability status or a higher clearance. These processes are separate from work permits and can take months, and brokers selling “clearance included” have no control over government investigators.
Bring-your-own-device policies still require encrypted disks. Losing a laptop that holds production data is an employment crisis that can quickly end a job on a closed permit.
Stand-up culture and myths about overtime
A start-up culture that expects unpaid night-time deployments may conflict with employment standards, depending on how you are classified, so know whether you are an employee on a T4. Immigration filings that state one salary while you are actually paid another cause problems later when you apply for PR.
Open-source contributions and IP
Employment agreements often assign intellectual property (IP) to the employer, so do not push proprietary code to a public GitHub. Saying “but I have a GTS permit” does not fix that mistake.
Expect Canadian employers to phone your managers abroad for references, and ask your referees to stick to the facts rather than exaggerate.
On-call rotas and the location on your permit
If your permit names a city where you work, check whether working remotely from another province is allowed under the same conditions. Quietly moving to a cheaper city can breach the terms of a closed permit.
Background checks and verifying education
Tech employers check degrees and past employment, and diploma mills show up in those checks. If your school is little known, have the syllabi and contacts ready. Claiming a FAANG job title you never held will fail when references are called.
Criminal background checks are common for fintech jobs. Start them early; they are not the same as IRCC medicals.
When equity paperwork arrives
Option grants usually come after you start. Do not count unvested equity as guaranteed salary in LMIA wage tables, because ESDC looks at guaranteed pay.
Leaving a job on a closed permit before a new permit has been approved is how people lose their status just before a vesting cliff, so plan any move around IRCC’s rules first.
Open-plan offices and NDAs
Photos of whiteboards in open-plan offices sometimes capture confidential system designs. Your employer’s NDA applies, and posting sprint boards on LinkedIn can breach your contract faster than any visa problem.
Side projects in the same area as your employer’s business need written approval. “But I code at night on my own time” does not make an IP conflict lawful.
Keep these in your own evidence pack instead of leaving them with a recruiter: biometrics appointment buffers, fee receipt folders, employer counsel letters, provincial OHS posters, pay stub archives, emergency contact cards, housing inventory photos, orientation sign-in sheets, credential assessment numbers, language test bookings, SIN application timing and bank account opening docs.
FAQ: quick answers
Is the Global Talent Stream open to anyone?
No. Criteria for employers and occupations apply.
Can a portfolio take the place of a work permit?
No.
Does Available Jobs recruit developers?
No.
Can I work remotely for a foreign company while visiting Canada as a tourist?
Assume not, unless you have read the IRCC rules for your situation.
Paying GTS fees to an agent on WhatsApp?
That is a warning sign; the process runs through the employer, ESDC and IRCC.
Upgrading the NOC on paper only?
That risks misrepresentation.
Official links
CanadaSee Guides 
USASee Guides 
AustraliaSee Guides The pages linked above may show advertisements.