Food delivery in Canada means picking up restaurant and grocery orders and bringing them to customers through apps like Uber Eats, DoorDash and SkipTheDishes, using a car, bike, e-bike or scooter. You choose when to log in and get paid per delivery plus tips. Two provinces now set a minimum: B.C. guarantees $21.89 an hour for engaged time as of June 1, 2026, plus a per-kilometre allowance, and Ontario guarantees the general minimum wage ($17.95 from October 1, 2026) for time on assignments. Time spent waiting for orders isn’t covered in either province.
This is the main food delivery guide. Gear and budgets are in food delivery startup costs, how pay works per app in how food delivery pay works, your first shifts in your first week of food delivery, and common traps under what to watch out for. To compare apps, see Uber Eats vs DoorDash vs Skip.
| Fact | Food delivery in Canada (October 2026) |
|---|---|
| Startup cost | Phone, insulated bag, phone mount; insurance for car delivery |
| B.C. minimum for engaged time | $21.89/hour (June 1, 2026) + 35–45¢/km |
| Ontario minimum for assignments | $17.95/hour from October 1, 2026 |
| Waiting time | Unpaid under both provinces’ rules |
| Tips | Yours in full; not counted toward Ontario’s minimum |
| GST/HST | $30,000 small-supplier test (rideshare’s first-dollar rule doesn’t apply) |
| Tax forms | T2125, CPP, vehicle expense records |
Who food delivery suits
Food delivery is one of the easiest side hustles to start, because the app supplies the customers. It suits you if:
- You want flexible hours with no boss or client to manage.
- You already own a reliable car, bike or e-bike, and you know your city well.
- You can work the busy windows: weekday lunches, dinners, weekends and bad-weather nights.
- You’re comfortable with variable pay and tracking your own costs.
It’s a weaker fit if you need predictable income, if your car is expensive to run, or if your city’s apps are oversaturated with couriers. Newcomers often start here; see side hustles for newcomers for other options.
The apps compared
| Option | Best for | Pricing | In Canada | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uber Eats | Big cities with steady demand; car, bike or scooter | Pay per trip shown before you accept, plus tips (source) | Vehicle and insurance requirements vary by city |
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| DoorDash | Suburbs and mid-sized cities | Pay per offer plus tips; fast-pay option available (source) | Requirements listed on DoorDash's Canadian site |
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| SkipTheDishes | Prairie and mid-sized Canadian cities where Skip is strong | Pay per delivery plus tips (source) | Canadian company; courier requirements in its help centre |
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Prices and features from each company's own pages, checked October 9, 2026. They change often; confirm on the official site before you buy.
Reviews of each: Uber Eats courier review and SkipTheDishes courier review. For package delivery instead of food, see Amazon Flex vs Uber Eats and the package courier guide. Grocery orders are covered in grocery shopping.
Many couriers run two apps at once and accept whichever offer is better. Check each app’s terms first.
What the law guarantees: B.C. and Ontario
British Columbia
B.C.’s Employment Standards Regulation sets a minimum hourly wage for delivery services workers and ride-hail services workers that applies only to engaged time: the time between accepting a job on the app and completing it (or the job being cancelled). The baseline was $20.88; the rate in effect as of June 1, 2026 is $21.89. If your app earnings in a pay period fall below that rate multiplied by your engaged hours, the platform must pay the shortfall. CBC reported the rules also set a 35- to 45-cent minimum per-kilometre vehicle allowance.
In the same 2024 CBC story, Bains explained that the gig minimum was set 20% above B.C.’s general minimum wage at the time to make up for unpaid waiting time. Critics, including Metro Vancouver Uber driver Kuljeet Singh, said it was “not the legislation we asked for.”
Ontario
Ontario’s Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act came into force on July 1, 2025. It gives delivery and ride workers the right to at least the general minimum wage for each work assignment or on a pay-period basis. The general minimum wage is $17.60 from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026 and $17.95 from October 1, 2026. Tips aren’t counted toward the minimum, and platforms can’t withhold or deduct your tips or earnings except where law or a court order requires it.
Everywhere else
Other provinces didn’t have equivalent gig minimums when this guide was updated. Your pay is whatever the app offers plus tips, so tracking your real hourly rate matters even more. See how to work out your real hourly rate on gig apps.
Real courier experiences
- Muhammad Musharaf Hossen (Toronto). During a February 2024 strike, Hossen told CBC News that as an Uber Eats driver he made “just $3 in total across three deliveries requiring 10 to 20 kilometres of driving,” on top of insurance, gas and car loan payments. He said he was striking so other newcomers in gig work would get better pay. Uber said the “vast majority of drivers are satisfied.”
- Kuljeet Singh (Metro Vancouver). An Uber driver quoted by CBC in August 2024 when B.C.’s minimum pay rules took effect, Singh welcomed the move but said “this is not the legislation we asked for,” because waiting time stays unpaid.
- The Ridefair Toronto report. The same CBC story covered a report by Ridefair Toronto and the Rideshare Drivers Association of Ontario that found some ride-hail drivers earned $6.37 to $10.60 an hour after operating costs, based on 96 weekly earnings statements. Uber called the methodology “shoddy” and said its own median figure was far higher.
The pattern: gross pay per hour can look reasonable, but waiting time and vehicle costs decide what you actually keep.
Choosing your vehicle
| Vehicle | Running cost | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car | Highest: fuel, insurance, wear | Suburbs, long distances, bad weather | Insurance must cover delivery; costs eat into short, low-paying trips |
| E-bike | Low: charging, maintenance | Dense downtowns | Local e-bike rules; theft; winter batteries |
| Bicycle | Lowest | Downtown cores, short trips | Physical strain; weather; see the bike courier guide |
| Scooter or motorcycle | Moderate | Mid-distance urban trips | Licensing, insurance, winter |
Check each app’s vehicle requirements for your city before you buy anything. Uber lists requirements by city, and Skip and DoorDash publish theirs in their Canadian help centres.
How to judge an offer in seconds
Apps show the pay and distance before you accept. Set your own minimums and stick to them.
- Work out your cost per kilometre. Add up a month of fuel, insurance, maintenance and depreciation, then divide by kilometres driven. Bikes and e-bikes are far cheaper per kilometre than cars.
- Set a pay-per-kilometre floor. Your floor should clearly beat your running cost for the whole trip, including the empty drive back to a busy area.
- Set a pay-per-minute floor. Divide the offer by the estimated minutes, then add a few minutes for restaurant waits and apartment drop-offs.
- Think about where the drop-off leaves you. An order that ends in a busy restaurant area is worth more than one that strands you in a quiet suburb.
- Watch your acceptance habits. Some apps reward high acceptance rates with perks, but accepting money-losing offers to keep a rate up rarely pays.
These floors are your own business decisions; there’s no right number for every city or vehicle.
Peak times, weather and seasons
Demand isn’t spread evenly. Most couriers earn the most per hour by working fewer, better-timed shifts:
| Window | Why it’s busy | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Weekday lunch (about 11 a.m.–2 p.m.) | Office and campus orders | Short downtown trips; good for bikes |
| Dinner (about 5 p.m.–9 p.m.) | The biggest daily peak | Best overall window in most cities |
| Weekend late morning | Brunch and grocery orders | Larger orders, often better tips |
| Bad weather | More people order in | Fewer couriers may be on the road; drive carefully |
| Big game nights and holidays | Spikes in pizza and wings orders | Check local sports schedules |
These patterns are common but not guaranteed; use your own shift logs to find the windows that pay best where you live.
Running more than one app
Many couriers keep two apps open and take the better offer. If you do:
- Read each app’s terms; don’t accept two orders you can’t deliver on time.
- Track earnings by app so you can see which one actually pays more after costs.
- Keep separate bags or compartments for hot and cold orders.
- Remember that each app reports your earnings separately; your T2125 should include all of them.
Gear you need
A good insulated food delivery bag and a car phone mount that holds in cold weather cover most first shifts. Full budgets are in food delivery startup costs.
The math on a shift
Illustrative example (B.C.). You work a three-hour dinner shift by car. Assume two of those hours are engaged time, you drive 40 km while engaged, earn $55 in app pay and $20 in tips, and your car costs you $0.30 per km to run (all assumptions; track your own).
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| App pay (assumed) | $55.00 |
| B.C. minimum check: 2 h × $21.89 + 40 km × $0.35 | $57.78 (so the platform tops up $2.78) |
| Pay after top-up | $57.78 |
| Tips (assumed) | $20.00 |
| Vehicle cost: 55 km total driving × $0.30 (assumed, including driving between orders) | –$16.50 |
| Net for 3 hours | $61.28, about $20.43/hour |
Same shift in Ontario (from October 1, 2026). The minimum check is 2 hours × $17.95 = $35.90, below the assumed $55 app pay, so no top-up. Net would be $55 + $20 – $16.50 = $58.50, about $19.50 an hour. Without the tips, it drops to about $12.83 an hour.
In a province with no gig minimum, a slow night with $30 in app pay and $10 in tips would net $23.50 for three hours, under $8 an hour. That’s why tracking every shift matters. See when to quit a gig app.
Your launch plan: the first 30 days
Week 1: sign up and get ready
- Apply to two apps; approval and background checks can take time.
- Call your insurer before your first car delivery and confirm you’re covered for delivery use. Check what the app’s own insurance covers.
- Buy an insulated bag and phone mount; set up a mileage tracking app.
- Open a separate account for payouts.
Week 2: first shifts
- Work two or three peak windows: weekday dinners and weekend lunches.
- Accept offers based on pay per kilometre and per minute, not just the total.
- Log start and end odometer readings, hours online and hours engaged.
Week 3: optimize
- Find your best zones: restaurant clusters with short drop-off distances.
- Try running two apps at once if allowed, and compare offers.
- Note which restaurants make you wait; avoid them at peak times.
Week 4: review the numbers
- Calculate your real hourly rate after vehicle costs for each app and time slot.
- Drop the worst-paying windows and apps.
- Set aside tax money from every payout.
Days 31 to 90
| Weeks | Focus | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| 5–6 | Work only your two best time windows | Higher net per hour |
| 7–8 | Test bad-weather and late-night shifts | Find premium periods |
| 9–10 | Compare car vs bike/e-bike costs for downtown work | Lower costs |
| 11–12 | Decide whether to keep, scale back or switch apps | A clear real hourly rate |
Daily routine and checklists
Before each shift
- Phone charged; power bank packed
- Bag clean and dry
- Odometer photo or mileage app started
- Weather gear in the car or bag
- Zone and time window chosen
Offer checklist (decide in seconds)
- Total pay ÷ total kilometres (pickup + drop-off)
- Estimated minutes, including restaurant wait
- Drop-off area: will you get another order nearby?
- Apartment towers and parking: extra time?
After each shift
- Log hours online, engaged time, kilometres, pay and tips
- Move a share of earnings into a tax savings account
- Note which restaurants and zones paid best
Winter delivery checklist
- Winter tires, and check your province’s seasonal tire rules
- Ice scraper, brush, washer fluid rated for cold, and a small shovel
- Warm, waterproof boots with good grip for icy steps and driveways
- Touchscreen gloves and a spare pair
- Phone kept warm; cold drains batteries quickly
- Extra time built into every estimate
- For e-bikes: store and charge batteries indoors
Customer message templates
Hi! I’ve picked up your order from [restaurant] and I’m on my way. ETA about [x] minutes.
I’m at your building. Is there a buzzer code or a side entrance I should use?
Your order is at your door as requested. Enjoy your meal!
Short, friendly messages reduce missed handoffs and can help with ratings and tips.
Insurance and safety
Personal auto insurance may not cover delivery use. The apps provide some insurance during deliveries, and Uber describes its coverage on its Canadian delivery insurance page, but coverage varies by province and by stage of the trip. Call your insurer and tell them you deliver food before your first shift.
Safety basics: never leave your car running unattended, follow traffic laws, use lights and reflective gear on a bike, and decline offers that feel unsafe.
Taxes for delivery couriers
- Income tax: delivery pay and tips are self-employment income. Report them on Form T2125. See how to report side hustle income.
- Vehicle expenses: deduct the business-use share of fuel, insurance, maintenance, lease or capital cost allowance, using a mileage log. Details in vehicle expenses for delivery and rideshare.
- CPP: 11.9% of net earnings between $3,500 and $74,600 in 2026 (QPP in Quebec).
- GST/HST: food delivery follows the normal $30,000 small-supplier test. CRA’s first-dollar registration rule applies to taxi and commercial ride-sharing, not food delivery. If you also drive rideshare, you must register from your first ride.
- Platform reporting: apps report sellers’ earnings to CRA under the digital platform reporting rules; keep your own records that match.
Provincial notes
- B.C.: $21.89/hour engaged-time minimum (June 1, 2026) plus a per-kilometre allowance; platforms must top up shortfalls.
- Ontario: general minimum wage for assignments under the DPWRA ($17.95 from October 1, 2026); tips paid in full; written pay information required.
- Quebec: QPP replaces CPP; check Quebec’s rules for your vehicle type.
- Prairies and Atlantic Canada: no gig-specific minimum at the time of writing, so compare apps carefully in your own city.
- Winter everywhere: snow and cold slow deliveries but can raise demand and tips. Winter tires and cold-weather gear are part of the job.
What to watch out for
- Unpaid waiting time. Neither province’s minimum covers time waiting for orders.
- Vehicle costs. Fuel, insurance and depreciation can quietly erase your margin on short, low-paying trips.
- Insurance gaps. Delivering without proper coverage can leave you personally liable after a crash. DoorDash’s Canadian insurance page says Dashers must keep their own auto insurance and that a personal policy may not cover delivery; ask your broker whether you need an endorsement.
- No tax set aside. The CRA’s instalments page says instalments may be required if net tax owing is more than $3,000 ($1,800 in Quebec) in 2026 and in 2025 or 2024.
- Deactivation. Apps can suspend accounts for low ratings or policy issues; keep records of disputes.
- Oversaturation. In some cities, too many couriers chase too few orders at off-peak times.
- Safety. Traffic, weather and late-night deliveries carry real risks.
What mistakes do new delivery couriers make?
- Accepting every offer. A Toronto courier told CBC News in February 2024 he made $3 across three deliveries that needed 10 to 20 km of driving. Judge each offer by pay per kilometre and minute.
- Driving without delivery insurance. Car couriers need cover that includes delivery use.
- Skipping the mileage log. You can only deduct the business share of vehicle costs if you keep a log.
- Registering for GST/HST on day one. The first-dollar rule applies to rideshare, not food delivery. Food couriers register after $30,000.
What can this guide not confirm?
This guide cannot confirm what each delivery app will pay you, how often work is offered in your city, or its fees, eligibility and policies after October 15, 2026; the platform’s own Canadian help pages are the record. The numbers in this guide most likely to move come from “Becoming a courier” (SkipTheDishes), “Skip courier application” (SkipTheDishes) and “Become a delivery driver using Uber Eats” (Uber); recheck those pages before you rely on a figure. This is not tax, legal, or insurance advice.
Which guides sit next to food delivery in Canada?
If DoorDash is your main app, the DoorDash Dasher review covers its pay model, Fast Pay fees and insurance.
- Food delivery startup costs, pay and first week
- App comparisons: Uber Eats vs DoorDash vs Skip, Amazon Flex vs Uber Eats, Uber Eats courier review and SkipTheDishes courier review
- Other gig work: rideshare driving, package courier, grocery shopping and bike courier
- Non-driving options: online tutoring and freelance writing
- Keep payouts separate with KOHO or another account.
What are the common questions?
How much do food delivery drivers make in Canada?
It varies widely by city, app, time and vehicle. B.C. guarantees $21.89 an hour for engaged time (June 1, 2026) plus a per-kilometre allowance, and Ontario guarantees the general minimum wage ($17.95 from October 1, 2026) for assignment time. Waiting time is unpaid, and vehicle costs come out of your pay, so your real hourly rate can be much lower.
Do Uber Eats and DoorDash couriers get minimum wage in Canada?
In B.C. and Ontario, yes, for time spent on deliveries. B.C. pays at least $21.89 an hour for engaged time, and Ontario's Digital Platform Workers' Rights Act guarantees the general minimum wage for work assignments since July 1, 2025. Other provinces didn't have similar rules when this guide was updated.
Do food delivery drivers have to charge GST/HST?
Food delivery follows the normal small-supplier test, so registration is required only after $30,000 in taxable supplies in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive quarters. The first-dollar rule applies to taxi and ride-sharing drivers, not food delivery.
Do I need special insurance to deliver food in Canada?
Your personal auto policy may not cover delivery use. The apps provide some coverage during deliveries, but it varies by province and trip stage. Call your insurer and tell them you deliver before your first shift.
Is food delivery worth it as a side hustle?
It can be for flexible extra cash if you work peak hours, choose offers carefully and keep vehicle costs low. Track your real hourly rate after expenses for a few weeks before deciding.
Which sources support this guide?
The rules, rates, and platform requirements in this guide are checked against these primary sources. Retail price ranges are labelled as ranges to verify locally, and they are not quotes.
- Becoming a courier — SkipTheDishes
- Skip courier application — SkipTheDishes
- Become a delivery driver using Uber Eats — Uber
- Uber vehicle requirements in Toronto — Uber
- Uber delivery driver insurance in Canada — Uber
- DoorDash requirements in Canada — DoorDash
- Canada Fast Pay — DoorDash
- When to register for and start charging the GST/HST — Canada Revenue Agency
- Charge and collect the GST/HST — Canada Revenue Agency
- GST/HST calculator (and rates) — Canada Revenue Agency
- GST/HST for taxi and ride-sharing drivers — Canada Revenue Agency
- GST/HST and commercial ride-sharing services (GI-196) — Canada Revenue Agency
- Form T2125, Statement of Business or Professional Activities — Canada Revenue Agency
- Contributions to the Canada Pension Plan — Government of Canada
- Motor vehicle expenses — Canada Revenue Agency
- Motor vehicle records — Canada Revenue Agency
- Rights and protections for digital platform workers — Government of Ontario
- Minimum wage (Your guide to the Employment Standards Act) — Government of Ontario
- Minimum Wage: Delivery Services Worker and Ride-Hail Services Worker (ESR Part 4, Section 18.2) — Province of British Columbia
- Gig workers in B.C. to be paid minimum of $20.88 an hour — CBC News
- Hope, skepticism as B.C. gig-worker regulations come into force — CBC News (Isaac Phan Nay, August 28, 2024)
- Toronto ride-share, food delivery drivers strike, calling for more fair pay, better work conditions — CBC News (February 14, 2024)
- Understanding auto insurance maintained by DoorDash — DoorDash
- Income tax instalments — Canada Revenue Agency