Yes – in Canada your employer can generally monitor work devices, accounts and systems when you work from home, but it must have a legitimate reason, keep the monitoring proportionate and, in most places, tell you about it. Ontario requires employers with 25 or more employees to have a written electronic monitoring policy; federally regulated employers and employers in Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia are also bound by privacy laws that cover employees. Monitoring your personal devices and your home is far more limited.
What employers monitor
Remote work has made monitoring software more common. The tools fall into a few groups:
| Type | What it records | How intrusive |
|---|---|---|
| System logs | Logins, VPN connections, file access, email on company systems | Low – standard in most organisations |
| Productivity and activity tracking | Active and idle time, apps and websites used | Medium |
| Screenshots and screen recording | What is on your screen at intervals or continuously | High |
| Keystroke logging | What you type | High |
| Webcam or audio monitoring | You and your home | Very high |
| Location tracking | Where a device or phone is | High outside working hours |
Call centres and support teams often record calls and track handling times; that is usually explained in the job offer. Our article on work-from-home call centre requirements covers the technical side of those jobs.
Ontario: the written electronic monitoring policy
Ontario’s Employment Standards Act requires every employer that has 25 or more employees in Ontario on January 1 of a year to have a written policy on electronic monitoring by March 1 of that year. The policy must state:
- whether the employer electronically monitors employees,
- if so, how and in what circumstances it does,
- and for what purposes it may use the information.
Employers must give a copy to existing employees within 30 days of preparing or changing it, and to new employees within 30 days of their start. The rule is about transparency: it doesn’t create a new right to privacy and doesn’t by itself limit what an employer may monitor. All employees in Ontario are counted, including part-time and casual staff.
Privacy laws by type of employer
| Your employer | Law that covers your personal information | Who to complain to |
|---|---|---|
| Federally regulated (banks, telecom, airlines, interprovincial transport) | PIPEDA | Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada |
| Private employer in Quebec | Quebec’s private sector privacy act (updated by Law 25), plus the Civil Code and Quebec Charter | Commission d’accès à l’information |
| Private employer in Alberta or British Columbia | The provincial Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) | The provincial Information and Privacy Commissioner |
| Private employer in Ontario and most other provinces | No general private-sector privacy law for employees; Ontario’s monitoring policy rule applies | Employment standards office; a lawyer or union for disputes |
| Public sector employers | Federal or provincial public sector privacy laws | The relevant privacy commissioner |
Where these laws apply, privacy commissioners generally ask whether monitoring is necessary for a legitimate purpose, likely to be effective, proportionate, and the least intrusive way to achieve the goal. Continuous webcam monitoring or keystroke logging of everyone is hard to justify on that test; logging access to sensitive customer data is easy to justify. In Quebec, organisations must also inform people when they use technology that can identify, locate or profile them.
If you belong to a union, the collective agreement and arbitration decisions add another layer – ask your union representative.
No legal advice: this overview reflects the rules as we understand them in November 2026. The details depend on your province, employer and contract. For a specific case, contact the privacy commissioner listed above, your employment standards office or a lawyer.
Personal devices and your home
Company laptop, company accounts: expect monitoring, and assume nothing on them is private. Your own devices are a different matter. If you use a personal phone or computer for work, an employer usually manages only the work part – for example, a work profile or a work app – and should explain what it can see. Ask before you install anything that requests full device control.
- Keep personal browsing, banking and messaging off the work laptop.
- Don’t install work monitoring tools on a family computer; ask for a company device instead.
- Close the laptop or cover the camera outside working hours.
- Turn off location sharing on work apps when you’re off the clock, if the policy allows.
Questions to ask before you accept a remote job
- Do you use monitoring software on work devices? Which data does it collect – activity, screenshots, keystrokes, webcam?
- Who sees the data, how long is it kept, and is it used for performance reviews or discipline?
- May I see the written monitoring policy?
- Is monitoring active only during working hours?
These questions fit naturally into the offer stage described in our guide to your rights when working from home in Canada. Ontario’s rule on disconnecting from work, explained in our article on the right to disconnect, applies to the same employers with 25 or more employees.
Common questions
Can my employer see what I do on my work laptop?
Yes, usually. Employers can monitor company devices and accounts. In provinces with private-sector privacy laws and for federally regulated employers, the monitoring must be reasonable and explained.
Can my employer require the webcam to be on all day?
Continuous webcam monitoring is among the most intrusive forms and hard to justify where privacy laws apply. Cameras in meetings are a different and common requirement.
Does my employer have to tell me about monitoring?
In Ontario, employers with 25 or more employees must have a written policy and share it. Privacy laws for federal, Quebec, Alberta and BC employers also require transparency.
Can I be fired based on monitoring data?
Monitoring data can be used as evidence in performance or discipline matters. If you think it was collected or used unfairly, get advice from a privacy commissioner, your union or a lawyer.
More on this topic: our guide Working From Home in Canada: Your Rights, Home Office Expenses and Taxes puts this article in context.
