The best side hustles for teachers in Canada use the skills you already have, explaining things clearly, planning lessons, and assessing progress, without overlapping your day job: tutoring students who aren’t yours, teaching English online, building courses, selling printables, and writing educational content. Before you start, check your school board’s policy on outside work and tutoring. Your federation and, in Ontario, the College’s misconduct rules treat conflicts of interest seriously.
This page is a hub in the side hustles by skill series. If you’re looking for work that fits around summers and evenings, see side hustles for introverts. For the tutoring business itself, start with online tutoring and tutoring pricing.
| Teaching skill | Side hustle | Beginner guide |
|---|---|---|
| Explaining one-on-one | Private or online tutoring | Online tutoring |
| ESL or language teaching | Teaching English online | Teach English online |
| Unit and lesson planning | Online courses | Online courses |
| Making worksheets | Printables and templates | Printables |
| Writing clearly for a level | Educational and freelance writing | Freelance writing |
What are the best side hustles for teachers in Canada?
The best side hustles for teachers in Canada either serve learners who aren’t in your class or turn your planning skills into products. The groups below follow that split.
Tutoring students who aren’t yours
Online tutoring is the most direct match. Your first step is a clear subject and grade range; the first tutoring client guide covers how to find families outside your school. Exam periods bring a seasonal bump, covered in exam season tutoring.
Teaching English or another language online
If you’ve taught ESL or French immersion, teaching English online and freelance translation are options. Bilingual teachers should also read side hustles for bilingual French-English speakers.
Turning lesson plans into products
Printables, Notion templates, and online courses take time up front and then sell without you being present. Make these on your own time and equipment. Under section 13(3) of the Copyright Act, an employer is the first owner of copyright in work an employee makes in the course of employment unless there’s an agreement saying otherwise, so materials you made for your classroom may not be yours to sell. Check your collective agreement and board policy. A design tool like Canva TODO-AFFILIATE is enough for most worksheets.
Writing for education publishers and blogs
Teachers can write lesson guides, explainer articles, or parent resources. Start with freelance writing and ebook publishing if you’d rather publish your own.
What conflict-of-interest rules apply to teachers’ side hustles in Canada?
The rules come from your employer, your federation, and your provincial regulator, and they vary by province and board. Ontario is a useful example because the guidance is public:
- ETFO’s tutoring guidelines say members can legally tutor on their own time, but the Ontario Teachers’ Federation policy says a teacher must not tutor their own students for pay and should consult a tutored student’s regular teacher (ETFO).
- ETFO also advises finding out whether your board has a tutoring policy and following it, keeping private tutoring off school property and outside the instructional day, and not advertising through school connections, board publications, or the board’s network.
- Ontario’s misconduct regulation lists “practising the profession while the member is in a conflict of interest” as professional misconduct (O. Reg. 437/97).
Outside Ontario, read your own board’s policy and your federation’s guidance before you advertise. If you’re unsure, ask your federation before taking a client.
How should teachers price tutoring as a side hustle?
Price per session based on your subject, grade level, and local market, then check it against what you can actually deliver in a week. The tutoring pricing guide walks through the options.
Illustrative example
Assumed numbers, not a market rate: a teacher charges an assumed $50 per hour-long session and takes 4 sessions a week for 30 weeks of the school year.
- Sessions: 4 × 30 = 120
- Revenue: 120 × $50 = $6,000
- If an assumed $300 goes to a platform subscription and materials: $6,000 − $300 = $5,700 net before tax
What mistakes do teachers make with side hustles?
- Tutoring a current student for pay. That breaks the OTF policy ETFO cites, and it’s a clear conflict.
- Advertising through school channels. Use your own networks instead.
- Selling classroom materials you made on the job. Copyright may belong to your employer.
- Over-committing in September and June. Plan around report cards.
- Forgetting the tax side. Side income isn’t covered by your T4 deductions.
How is a teacher’s side hustle taxed in Canada?
Self-employment income is reported on Form T2125, alongside your T4 employment income. Because your teaching salary already uses up the lower tax brackets, set aside money from each payment; how much tax to set aside explains the method. Tutoring, as a service, follows the normal $30,000 GST/HST small-supplier test (CRA); see GST/HST registration. Keep receipts as shown in record keeping.
This is not tax, legal, or employment advice.
Which guides sit next to side hustles for teachers in Canada?
Online tutoring startup costs, the 30-day tutoring plan, printables pricing, side hustles for writers, and side hustles for students for the other side of the tutoring market. Teachers selling printables can compare fees in the Etsy review, and tutors billing families directly can use how to invoice clients.
What are the common questions?
Can teachers tutor for money in Canada?
Generally yes, on their own time, but not their own students. ETFO says the Ontario Teachers' Federation policy forbids tutoring your own students for pay, and advises following board policy, keeping tutoring off school property and out of the instructional day, and not advertising through school channels.
Is a conflict of interest professional misconduct for Ontario teachers?
Yes. Ontario Regulation 437/97 under the Ontario College of Teachers Act lists practising the profession while in a conflict of interest as professional misconduct.
Can I sell lesson plans I made for my class?
Check first. Under section 13(3) of the Copyright Act, an employer owns copyright in work made in the course of employment unless there is an agreement to the contrary. Your collective agreement or board policy may address this.
What side hustles suit teachers in summer?
Online tutoring, teaching English online, building an online course, and making printables all fit summer schedules and use teaching skills.
How do teachers report side hustle income?
Self-employment income goes on Form T2125 with your regular return, separate from your T4 teaching income. Set aside tax from each payment because no tax is withheld.
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.
- Tutoring and Conflict of Interest Guidelines for Members — Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario
- O. Reg. 437/97: Professional Misconduct (Ontario College of Teachers Act) — Government of Ontario
- Copyright Act, section 13: Ownership of copyright — Justice Laws Website
- Form T2125, Statement of Business or Professional Activities — Canada Revenue Agency
- When to register for and start charging the GST/HST — Canada Revenue Agency