is there a market for IT Contractors in Canada?
I've been working as a contractor for years now and was just curious.
i'd just expected to get a permanent job, but someone asked me about contracting in Canada and I had no idea!
was just curious about any contractors experiences.


thanks in advance

m

I've been a contractor in Canada since 1986. Generally:

- rates are a third of what they are in London

- the work is in the GTA, Ottawa or Quebec City

- the tax regime is comparable to that in the UK 10 years ago, lots of deductions

- contracts go long, it's common to be in one place for five years, ten years isn't rare and I know of people who have had the same major client for twenty years. The same is true in the UK, of course, but here you can still claim the tax advantages of being a contractor (so long as you don't mind a little, er, curved, accounting).

thanks for the reply! I'm in Glasgow just now and have never had the contractor rates in London
I don't think i'd have too much of a problem adjusting.
is it difficult to get contracts and what about finding the contracts - thru agesncies?
creative accounting - gotta love it! :-)

Yes, there are agencies for contractors here. They are similarly reputable and reliable enterprises as in the UK.

thank you! expect some questions closer to our moving date (if we get one!)

Good luck.

(Unless you do big database stuff. In that case kindly move to Australia).

I'm currently thinking over becoming one, got an interview about it tomorrow with one of the national newspapers. Not sure about the incorporating and lack of benefits and holidays for a few extra bucks an hour though

As I say, I don't know much about proper jobs but I know what
contractors earn and what their taxes are. Consider the case
of my mate the Cree Cobol programmer. He's probably typical.

Ten or so years ago I got him his first contract at, I think,
$40. Since then he's worked steadily around the GTA except for
taking a one year contract in Australia. His rate has been
$40-$60 (to him, nevermind what the pimp gets). Suppose an average
of $50, 260 work days @ 8 hours = $104,000. Taxes on that amount
would be about $15,000.

An employee would have to bring in about $145,000 to have the same
net income. I know programmers at a quango get that but I don't know
if it's usual.

Is it worth it? That depends on your nature. Contractors don't have
disability insurance so people who have dependents might want to
think twice about it. Low taxes depend on high personal spending so
people who are natural savers might also want to think twice. Contractors
pay taxes in arrears so crazy spenders should not apply.

All in all, contracting is ideally suited to greedy cowboys.

To comment on that line would be just too easy......

yeeee haaaa

sorry!

In my view, contracting is good if one could do it in long term plus if there is little support from the family (spouse income, spouse full time job which has family dental , medical coverage). Also if you do not have huge loans (car etc..,), it keeps you off serious pressure.

I recently turned down a relatively senior full time position from my client considering the factors above, I am most likely to get extensions but if not I could still manage for couple of months to find a new contract.

When the economy gets poor, contracting might get in bad shape though ( I think it becomes emotional for the client because he doesn't seem to save much keeping the employee).

Hi first post and all so all that follows is from a (very) newbie perspective - as we've been here 6 weeks today!

IT contracting varies significantly but I have been very fortunate and managed to "pimp" myself to the Canadian branch of the firm I was contracting at in the UK before we emigrated. As dbd33 noted, I am working in the GTA and only on a 6 month contract initially but certainly a good start. My rate here is between a third and half of what I could expect to get in UK (City of London). Do research Canadian rates for your skill set nearer the time of your move - I didn't as my toolset is fairly niche and rates aren't really published anywhere - so now I find myself unsure if the rate I have is ultimately competitive or not locally! I did set myself up as a "company" (becoming "incorporated" as it is known here) again relatively painlessly via the online route.

I do not deny I have been lucky but if you ever contracted in the UK with any firms that have a Canadian presence near where you intend to settle, approach them as there's nothing to loose but possibly much to gain.

dbd33: Hi, can you recommend any "curved" accountant who can keep me just on the right side of dodgy!? Ta.

I don't think I can, my man is bored with contractors, now he only wants "interesting" cases; people with bailiff's notices already nailed to the door.

and Calgary and Edmonton and Vancouver and Victoria and and and...

Much Oracle contracting at the mo in Ontario? e.g. PL/SQL, Financials, Forms, Reports etc.?