If you’re a Canadian currently working in the US, you might be experiencing a special kind of homesickness right now. It’s the kind of homesickness that is sparked by a pandemic and makes you wonder if moving south was one big, coronavirus-infected mistake.
You’re not alone.
There are approximately 900,000 Canadians living full-time in the United States, and it turns out that a bunch of these Canucks fled back home in March. As the coronavirus began to spread, many Canadians living in the US began to worry about the American healthcare system and how the Trump administration was handling the crisis.
Not to mention, there’s nothing like a global pandemic to highlight the importance of being closer to family. Whatever their reasons, Canadians are headed back north.
Canadians aren’t the only ones bidding adieu to America. There has been a surge in the number of people giving up the world’s most sought-after citizenship. A record number of people — 5,800 according to Bambridge Accountants — gave up their American citizenship during the first six months of 2020.
For Canadians living and working in the US, though, there’s a conundrum, a tug-of-war between wanting to stay employed in the US during a massive economic downfall and wanting to go to be close to family. If you have a good job in the US, you may not as easily be willing to pack up and leave without securing your employment.
Well, it’s actually possible to have the best of both worlds
A professional employer organization — commonly referred to as a PEO — enables US-based companies to remotely hire an international professional in their home country, such as Canada. Essentially, it’s as if your US company had an office in Canada. The PEO would hire you and keep you on their payroll, but your US company still manages your day-to-day. The bottom line is that you keep your job, get to live in Canada and enjoy all the benefits of your Canadian citizenship.
However, if your company hasn’t ever hired anyone remotely in another country, this might not be a run-of-the-mill conversation to have with your employer. This means you need to make a case for it, and a strong one at that.
Well, this article can be your playbook. Here are five reasons that you can present to your employer to make the case that they should let you return to Canada and work remotely.
Reason 1: Canada is attracting more skilled talent, so having a presence there can be strategic for growth
Citing the coronavirus, the Trump administration has effectively halted most avenues for legal immigration to the US In addition to immigration woes, the American economy is just not as irresistible as it once was.
The pandemic-driven recession has done pretty significant damage – American unemployment was a staggering 14.7% in April (though has since fallen to 11.1% in June) and it looks like these numbers won’t return to pre-pandemic levels for a long time. The US Congressional Budget Office suspects that the unemployment rate may take over 10 years to recover.
As US immigration — for both professionals and students — slows to a trickle, many folks, including skilled professionals, are instead looking north to Canada.
The number of people immigrating to Canada increased by 26% between 2015 and 2019, and this number is projected to continue rising. So as talent flocks to Canada, US companies are following. Now is the time for US companies to consider expanding into Canada.
Reason 2: Canada has handled COVID well
Canada’s coronavirus response hasn’t been perfect, but the country has fared far better than the United States. Although these two neighbors confirmed their first cases within a week of each other in January, the United States has since reported more than three times as many total infections per capita, and nearly twice as many deaths.
Because of these surging numbers, the US and Canada’s shared border was closed to nonessential travel in March.
Even kids are going back to school more safely in Canada, whereas cities in the US are still keeping kids at home or otherwise facing challenges.
Canada’s natural geography played a part in keeping infections low. It has one-ninth the United States’ population and Canadian cities aren’t anywhere as densely packed as America’s many coronavirus hotspots. Canada was also able to increase testing, isolate the sick, and limit the spread faster and more efficiently than the United States.
Frankly, it’s safer for you to return home to Canada where you are closer to family, have easy access to a healthcare system you understand and are less likely to be exposed to Covid-19.
Reason 3: Canadian workers are happier
Turns out that Canadians are some of the happiest people in the world. The annual World Happiness Report ranked 156 countries using the Gallup World Poll and six factors: levels of GDP, life expectancy, generosity, social support, freedom, and corruption income. In 2020, the US ranked the 18th happiest country in the world. Canada was number 11!
Happy employees are productive employees, that’s a fact! Research has found that workers who self-reported as being very happy are 13% more productive than “very unhappy” people. Right now, with the current state, the US is in, what would make you happier than returning home to Canada?
Reason 4: TN Status makes returning to the US easy
If your employer is worried about waving goodbye to you and any other Canadian colleagues as you head off to greener pastures, the good news is that this move back home doesn’t need to be permanent! As a Canadian, you can likely come back on a TN visa, easily returning to the States when conditions allow or demand it.
In case your employer isn’t fully aware of the TN visa, here’s some background information: the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) — an updated version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) — simplifies the movement of workers from Canada and Mexico into the US The NAFTA visa category is known as a TN visa and gives professionals in sixty categories access to jobs across Canada, the US, or Mexico.
TN status enables North American workers to cross borders pretty easily. TN visa holders are able to hop across the border for business trips and eventually legally re-enter the country easily!
Reason 5: It’ll save everyone money
Living in the US isn’t cheap.
US tech hubs like Silicon Valley have become increasingly unaffordable. San Jose has a median home price of $1 million, compared to about $850,000 in Toronto. And tech salaries are cheaper in Canada, with the average Toronto tech worker making $100,000 compared to $145,000 in San Francisco.
Encouraging employees to live somewhere more affordable benefits both the employees and the employer. You get to live somewhere more affordable and your employer may be able to save money on salaries and benefits.
Plus, as a Canadian employee, you will enjoy the benefits of a government-run single-payer system. The Canadian Institute for Health Information found that on average a Canadian spends $6,604 in taxes for healthcare coverage. Americans spend more than $10,000 per person on healthcare on average.
Canada’s universal health care system is funded through tax revenues, and while there is no legislative requirement to do so, many employers offer supplemental private health insurance to their employees. But this is still significantly cheaper than what US employers spend on healthcare. The average total cost of employer-provided health coverage in the US passed $20,000 for a family plan.
Does your boss need more convincing?
There are many reasons why your US employer should support you working from home in Canada, but this is a great place to start.
Syndesus takes care of the immigration, payroll, and other processes for US companies looking to hire in Canada without setting up a full legal entity right away.
As a Canadian employee, staying on board with your company, moving back home to Canada, and working with Syndesus to make it all happen is an easy solution to the initial question of: can I keep your US job but return to and be close with family, friends and loved ones in Canada?
Yes, you definitely can.
Want to hear more? Learn more at https://syndesus.com/canadian-employees/
