Canadian Ski Resort Jobs

Canada is a mountainous, picturesque, clean, and vast country with lots of snow. In some places the snow never leaves. With nearly the whole country covered in powder, it makes it an ideal place for ski resorts.

The ski areas in Canada range from small local mountains to vast world-class destination resorts. The Great White North with its endless mountains and abundance of snow has hosted the winter Olympics twice. Canada is a winter paradise and large parts of it are still relatively untouched, so you can imagine the breathtaking views and fantastic skiing you’ll get if you can land a job working at a resort in Canada.

Across Canada, there are almost 200 ski areas and numerous helicopter skiing operations that allow people to enjoy the mountain environment. There is skiing in Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and the Yukon. Canada is well known for their massive ski areas and they are always in need of eager young souls to work there.

With so many ski resorts, it can be challenging to pick the best one for you…

Whistler/Blackcomb is North America’s biggest resort, Revelstoke Mountain Resort is the up and coming extreme destination, Sunshine Village is Banff’s famous destination, Sun Peaks and Big White are perfect for family vacations, and Tremblant is the flagship resort in French speaking Quebec. If you want to make the mountains your life, Canada is a great place to work and live.

Below is a list of some of the big ski resorts and employers in Canada. Scroll through the list and click on any employer to learn more about them.  If you don’t see what you’re looking for in this list, you can also visit our Ski Areas page to find more resorts in each state.

Alternatively, if you already know where you want to work, search for ski industry jobs at JobMonkey’s Job Center.

Alberta Ski Resorts

Alberta has many resorts that are definitely worth spending a season working and playing.

• Marmot Basin
• Mystic Ridge
• Ski Lake Louise – Tucked into Banff National Park, Lake Louise has stunning views and a pristine feel. It’s a postcard perfect place to work.
• Sunshine Village – It is one of the three ski resorts located within Banff National Park. Sunshine Village offers extreme terrain, high-end clients, easy access from Calgary, and an awesome little mountain town.

British Columbia

• Apex
• Big White Ski Resort– Outside the pleasant city of Kelowna, Big White is an ideal family ski resort with many jobs that pay well.
• Kicking Horse
• Revelstoke Mountain Resort – This up and coming destination resort offers over a mile of vertical drop and some of the craziest terrain of any ski resort.
• Silver Star Mountain Resort – At the heart of the Okanagan Valley, Silver Star is a wonderful family friendly resort that has plenty of people and lots of work opportunities.
• Whistler/Blackcomb – Whistler/Blackcomb is the biggest resort in North America. It has every type of terrain you could ever need, international guests, a cozy little mountain town, year round activities, and a giant glacier to ski on all summer.
• Whitewater – This home grown resort is located in Nelson and offers superb sidecountry skiing and local crowds.

Quebec

• Tremblant – This classy place has been rated the #1 resort in the East multiple times for many wonderful reasons. It’s a great place to ski and an even better place to work.

Note to Americans Wanting to Work in Canada

Americans can easily visit Canada with a passport for up to 6 months. Entering Canada with the intention of working is a different story.

As with all foreign nations, applicants must have the job before they arrive; this can be quite difficult, as the employer must obtain permission from the local Canada Employment Center (CEC). In order to hire a foreigner the employer must prove to the CEC that no qualified Canadian citizens are available to do the job. The majority of jobs found with ski resorts are not specialized enough to qualify under this guideline. The exception is certified ski instruction.

For more information, call or write to the following:

Canadian Embassy
501 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.
Washington, DC 20001-21114
(202) 682-1740

So what should you do if you’re not a certified ski instructor? You should choose your favorite Canadian ski resort and go on vacation. Yes, vacation! Instead of asking the employees questions about the best bars and restaurants in town, ask them about getting a job at the resort. This is how most Americans we spoke to obtain their ski resort jobs.