Independent contractor

An independent contractor is someone in business on their own account rather than working as an employee of the client.

In Canada, the contract label is only the starting point. The real question is whether the worker is genuinely operating independently or is functioning like an employee in practice. CRA guidance and the employment rules that apply in the relevant province or territory both matter. There is no single shortcut that turns someone into a contractor just because the agreement says so.

This comes up constantly in staffing, logistics, delivery, events, and project-based work. Variable hours do not make a person a contractor by themselves, and payment on a T4A rather than a T4 does not automatically settle the classification question either.

Different elsewhere: in the UK, the framing often splits between self-employment, worker status, and IR35 for off-payroll tax treatment. In Australia, an ABN on the invoice still does not settle whether the arrangement is genuine contracting or sham contracting.