If you were clever enough to sign up for a Working Holiday Visa in Canada, you’ll be glad to know that there are a ton of great jobs for backpackers in Canada. While they vary in difficulty and pay, breaking up long term travel with a couple of months of hard work get be just as rewarding. You’re bound to make friends, see a different side of Canada, and best of all, put away some money for future travels. You might even luck out and be able to build some experience for future jobs. Let’s check out some of the most popular jobs for foreigners and backpackers in Canada!
Ski Lift Attendee
If you’re headed for the mountains, you’ll find a huge expat community of Aussies, Kiwis, South Africans, Germans, and more. These jobs don’t always show up on the typical job sites and classifieds section. Browse job pages on mountain resort websites such as Sunshine Village, Panorama, Big White, or any of the countless resorts in British Columbia, Alberta, or Quebec. Make sure to set a reminder for September and October and you might be lucky enough to score an interview. The job isn’t rocket science, make sure nobody gets hurt on Ski Lifts. Slow it down for children, and shovel some snow here and there. Depending on the resort, some will include free or discounted accommodations for these temporary jobs. Pay is usually just above minimum wage. The only issue with this job is that you’ll be with a fun group of people, so going out will be a regular occurrence. So you’ll have to practice saying “no” sometimes if you’re planning on saving money. Other perks to this job include discounted or free lift tickets, meaning you can ski or snowboard nearly every day.
Ski or Snowboard Instructor
If you’re a licensed instructor, and are good with kids and patient with people of all ages and skill level, becoming an instructor is another common job for backpackers. You get paid a bit more than the typical liftee jobs, but there’s still the same temptations in spending. Though slightly harder to get due to the certifications and the barrier of entry, if you plan accordingly and can get your certificates before you leave for Canada, or complete them while in Canada, you might be able to pick up one of the most sought after jobs on the mountain. Meet new people, hang out in the snow, get a bit of a workout. What’s there to complain about?
Whitewater Rafting Guide
Another job that’s slightly more tricky to get due to certifications required to be a river guide. If you’ve already attained some certification, or plan on getting some, it can’t hurt to reach out to whitewater rafting companies and see what type of jobs they have available. You might end up just being a driver for a season, helping haul boats in and out of the water, but you’re outdoors and getting paid.
Fishing Guide
If you have experience fishing and working on a charter vessel, or even just a small freshwater boat, you might be the perfect addition to a small outfitter. Help tourists with their lines, jigs, casts, and share with them the joy of fishing. Responsibilities vary from outfit to outfit, but expect to be asked about CPR and basic first aid, fishing ability, boating license, and dealing with people of all skill levels. You may be expected to cook on shore lunches, or show visitors how to clean their catches. Check for jobs in late spring and throughout summer.
Tree Planter
One of the hardest jobs for backpackers. You’ll be dumped in the middle of nowhere with a group of strangers to replant forests that were cut down Canada’s softwood exports. It’s back breaking work, but if you’re looking for a great workout, to spend time outdoors, and to save some money and experience parts of Canada rarely seen by most, you might have found a gig for you. Consider watching the documentary 78 days (see trailer) to get an idea of what you’re in for before you sign up though. It’s absolutely not for everyone.
Farm Hand
Whether you’re looking to pick fruit, dig up potatoes, help on an organic farm, tend cattle, or drive combine. Canada is full of farms. While farm jobs are available from seed to harvest, the majority of the jobs that become available end up being around late summer and early fall and only last a few months at most. There are some indoor lighthouse jobs out there that extend the growing season to nearly 6 or 7 months (usually in BC), but they’re worth keeping on eye out. Great for people with a green thumb or anyone interested in the world of farming.
Bartender
This ones kind of a go-to for backpackers. While having a bartenders license will help your chances, there are plenty of bars that look the other way, as long as you can pour a proper pint and know not to over serve people. If you have previous bar tending experience you’ll increase the likelihood of you scoring the job. Fortunately people drink all over Canada, and these jobs open up year round. Most bar owners will want to know how long you’re sticking around and if you’re worth the time of investment, but it’s worth a shot, and if you don’t suck tips can be alright.
Dishwasher
If you’re not able to pour drinks, you can fall back on this B-grade restaurant job and wash dishes. Pay is usually minimum wage, but you sometimes get a free meal out of it depending on the joint you work at. If you’re not a fan of scalding hot water and dry hands after a long day of chemicals and soap, you might want to avoid this one, or just ensure you wear the gloves and can put up with being called a wuss by the line cooks. Working in a kitchen, even as just a dishwasher can be a super fun job if you have a good group of people working with you.
Waitress or Waiter
If you have waiting experience, you stand a decent shot at finding a job in nearly any city. Bonus points if people like looking at you. Tips can be a pretty decent way to tuck money away in your sock drawer, and if you’re able to find work at a good restaurant with friendly fellow staff members, waiting on tables can be a great way to save money for the next leg of your trip. Make sure you ask about hours during the interview, if they’re only giving you breakfast and lunch shifts at a dive pub, don’t expect to clean up on tips.
Temp
If you can’t decide exactly what you want to do, or simply can’t be bothered to find work and drive around for interviews, getting hired by a temp agency can be a great alternative. I worked as a temp in New Zealand for about 4 or 5 months, jobs varied from fruit picking, cleaning a plant during shutdown, or working at a cashmere processing plant where my entailed sorting, cleaning, and bailing goat hair. Fun stuff I know. But the benefit with a temp gig is that you get placed fairly quickly, pay is generally above minimum wage, and you meet a bunch of new people.
Hostel Front Desk
If you want to get deep into backpacking culture and business, watch for hostel jobs. I see them regularly show up in my Jobs page, as well as on the HI Hostel website. If you’re good with people and have experience dealing with point of sales, you’ll pick this up pretty quickly. Depending on the hostel, they may have a hybrid position where you do a bit of everything. It just depends on where you end up. Pay is usually minimum wage, but sometimes includes discounted rooms or free meals or drink tickets.
Hostel Cleaner / Maintenance
If talking to people isn’t your jam, consider applying for a hostel cleaning or maintenance gig. I worked as a hostel cleaner for a few months in Australia, my specialty was bathrooms and kitchens. I was a bleach pumping, stain scraping machine. Best of all I was able to listen to music in one ear while I did my thing. Hostel cleaners sometimes get the same perks as hostel front desk workers, including discounted rooms, free meals, or drink tickets. If you love to clean, or if you suck at cleaning and want to become a better cleaner, this backpacker job is for you.
Car Cleaner for Car Rental Company
If you like driving mid sized sedans, practicing your parking skills, and find the sound of a vacuum therapeutic, then working at a car rental company as a cleaner is for you. I’ve personally worked at two different car rental companies in two different countries, and the jobs were actually surprisingly fun for the most part. I did however crash one of their cars into a dumpster once, but to be fair that thing came out of nowhere. Thankfully I was insured. Learn from my mistakes and ask about insurance in the interview. Pay is usually minimum wage, hours can range from 25 – 40 hours a week. It’s unskilled labour at its finest, so great for anyone without much to lose.
Call Center Worker
If you have any experience with customer service, consider applying to a call center. Yes, you may become a cold caller annoying the likes of Seinfeld, or you could end up as the whipping boy for an irate customer. But the job is fairly simple, be friendly, answer questions, and help where you can. If you’re a nerd, look for positions doing tech support, they typically pay higher than sales and customer service. I’ve worked at two different call centers in two different provinces in Canada. Once was superb, the other was mediocre. Pay varied from $23/hour for tech support to $14/hour for tech support. Totally depends on who you end up working for. Customer service representatives typically don’t make much more than a couple bucks over minimum wage. The hours can be rough, but it’s an honest paycheck.
Freelancer
Already have a nice little side hustle on the go? Web design? Graphic Design? Professional writer? Take your job on the road and work from Canada. Wifi is fairly simple to find and if you already have clients, or plan on fighting for more on websites such as Upwork, staking a claim as a freelancer can be a freeing option. Set your own hours. Set how much you want to work per week. Make enough to live and travel. Buckle down when things get tight. Slack of when you’ve got a nest egg. I personally grew from freelancer to business owner managing a web development company, but I look back on my days as a freelancer with great fondness.
Fast Food Worker
I’m leaving this to the end as I know a lot of people will moan about working for the man at a fast food chain. But hear me out. The upside of a job like working at McDonalds is that you can set your hours, as they’re used to dealing with people from all walks of life with other responsibilities, the pay doesn’t have to be horrible depending on the location. You’ll meet all sorts of characters and yes, you might even be able to score a free meal every now and then.
There are a ton of great jobs for backpackers in Canada, you’ll just have to do some digging. Check out job sites, send emails to companies you’re interested in, ask around, and check hostel boards as well. You’ll often find all sorts of jobs pinned to a cork board in a hostel. Whether you came specifically to work in Canada, or simply to see Canada and take a break when funds run dry, making money in Canada isn’t rocket science. It takes a little grit, and when you’re a transient, you might not get your dream job, but if you can wrap your head around the fact that you’re just after a pay cheque for further travels, nearly any job will do.