Resume template · Updated October 2026
Resume template for Canada (Canadian resume format)
Short answer
Henrietta suits a Canadian resume: a plain business layout with a short summary, the jobs next and education straight after, on no more than two pages as the federal Job Bank advises. There is no photo slot, which matches Canadian practice. The fictional sample is a payroll and benefits administrator in Mississauga. Canadian career services recommend letter-size paper; an A4 page scales to fit.
Download the Canada sample
Danielle is a fictional payroll and benefits administrator (PCP). Replace every detail with your own before you send it.
The files are made in your browser by Resumity's own exporters, from this sample. The builder opens it as your own resume: click any line to replace it. Free plan, no watermark.
Why Henrietta suits a Canada resume
Henrietta prints experience right after the summary and education right after the jobs, in black and grey with a left-aligned name: a conservative business look for payroll, finance and office roles. Its three-column skills grid fits payroll methods, systems and languages side by side without adding length.
Second choice: Leslie. Leslie also puts experience ahead of skills but adds one blue accent; pick it if you want a little colour on a two-page resume.
What goes in each section, in Henrietta's order
Henrietta prints its sections in a fixed order, the same in the PDF and the Word file. Here is that order for this sample, and what to put in each section.
- Professional Summary. Three lines: title, years of Canadian experience and the scope you handle (headcount, provinces, pay frequency). Job Bank asks for a clear and concise resume, so the summary should not repeat the job list underneath it.
- Work Experience. Job Bank suggests limiting each section or sub-section to 5 to 7 bullet points; the sample keeps each job to three to five. Give the province with every city, and name the filings and year-end work you handled rather than writing "payroll duties".
- Education. Credential, school and city. If you studied outside Canada, write the degree name as it was awarded and the country, so a reader knows exactly what you hold.
- Skills. Henrietta prints skills in three columns without labels, so start with payroll and benefits knowledge, then the systems you run. Put a level next to each language, since the grid shows them like any other skill.
- Certifications. A payroll designation prints near the end of the page. When postings ask for it, repeat it in the headline, as the sample does with PCP.
The sample resume as text
The same content as the files above, so you can copy a line or compare it with your own.
Danielle Fortin
Payroll and Benefits Administrator (PCP)
Mississauga, ON | danielle.fortin@example.com | (905) 555-0128 | linkedin.com/in/sample-danielle-fortin
Payroll and benefits administrator with six years of Canadian payroll for up to 900 employees in three provinces. Runs biweekly payroll, year-end T4 reporting and Records of Employment, and answers employee questions in English and French.
Experience
Payroll and Benefits Administrator, Port Credit Building Supplies Ltd., Mississauga, ON (03/2022 to Present)
- Process biweekly payroll for 900 hourly and salaried employees in Ontario, Alberta and Nova Scotia using Ceridian Dayforce.
- Prepare year-end T4 and T4A slips and reconcile payroll accounts with the general ledger every month.
- Issue Records of Employment on time and keep a tracking log that passed two external audits.
- Enrol new hires in group health and dental benefits and answer about 40 employee questions a week.
- Cut manual timesheet corrections by a third after setting up validation rules with the IT team.
Payroll Clerk, Etobicoke Creek Staffing Inc., Brampton, ON (05/2019 to 02/2022)
- Entered weekly pay for about 350 temporary workers placed at 25 client sites.
- Matched timesheets against client invoices and flagged differences to account managers.
- Answered pay questions by phone in English and French.
Education
Diploma, Business Administration (Accounting), Credit River College (04/2019)
Certifications
- Payroll Compliance Practitioner (PCP), National Payroll Institute (2023)
Skills
Multi-province payroll, Year-end reporting, Benefits enrolment, Account reconciliation, Ceridian Dayforce, ADP Workforce Now, Excel (VLOOKUP, pivot tables), English (native), French (professional working)
How to make the sample yours
Hold it to two pages
Job Bank's advice is to limit your resume to two pages. Shorten older roles to a line or two before shrinking the font or the margins.
Remove the photo from an overseas CV
Job Bank notes that a photo, acceptable in some countries, is not the norm in Canada. If you are adapting a CV from abroad, take the photo out along with age, height, weight and marital status.
Never print your SIN
Job Bank's firmest rule is that your Social Insurance Number never goes on a resume. Check old versions too, especially ones made for government forms.
Prepare a separate reference sheet
Job Bank suggests keeping references on their own sheet and handing them over only when an employer specifically asks, because references matter once a hire is being seriously considered.
Print on letter-size paper
Western University's engineering career service recommends letter-size paper (8.5" x 11"). Resumity pages are A4; select "Fit to page" when you print and the page scales to letter size.
Keywords to keep where they are true
Terms this kind of resume is usually searched for. Use the posting's exact wording, and only for work you have done.
- payroll processing
- multi-province payroll
- benefits administration
- year-end reporting
- T4 slips
- Records of Employment
- account reconciliation
- Ceridian Dayforce
- ADP Workforce Now
- Excel
- employee inquiries
- confidentiality
Mistakes to avoid
- Adding age, weight, height or marital status, personal details Job Bank says are best left out.
- Writing your Social Insurance Number anywhere on the resume, even partly masked.
- Printing referees and their phone numbers at the bottom of page two instead of on a separate sheet.
- Running to three pages because every job has eight or more bullets; Job Bank suggests five to seven per section.
How the sample PDF reads in text extractors
We exported this sample with Resumity's PDF exporter in Chrome on 2026-10-29 and read the file back with three open-source text extractors. This shows whether software that turns a PDF into text can recover it; it is not a test of any commercial applicant tracking system. How we test templates.
| Extractor | Name, email, phone | Headings | Bullets intact |
|---|---|---|---|
| pdf.js 4.10.38 | All found | 5 of 5 | 8 of 8 |
| pdftotext (Xpdf) 4.00 | All found | 5 of 5 | 8 of 8 |
| pypdf 6.13.0 | All found | 5 of 5 | 8 of 8 |
Frequently asked questions
How many pages should a Canadian resume be?
Two at most. Job Bank tells job seekers to limit a resume to two pages, and Western University's engineering career service suggests one or two for undergraduate students.
Do Canadian employers want a photo on a resume?
Generally not. Job Bank says that although a photo may be acceptable in some countries, it is not the norm in Canada. Resumity templates print no photo.
Should I put my Social Insurance Number on my resume?
Never. Job Bank singles it out as the one detail that must not appear on a resume.
Where do references go on a Canadian resume?
On a separate sheet, given only when an employer asks. Job Bank explains that employers need references only when they are seriously considering hiring you.
What paper size is used for resumes in Canada?
Letter size, 8.5 by 11 inches, which Western University's career service recommends. Resumity templates use A4; set the printer to fit the page and it scales slightly.
Will applicant tracking systems read this Henrietta PDF?
The sample PDF read back with its contact details, all 5 section headings and all 8 bullets intact in three open-source text extractors (pdf.js, pdftotext and pypdf). Commercial systems such as Workday, Greenhouse or Taleo were not tested, and each employer configures its own.
Guides and templates for this resume
Sources, checked 29 October 2026
We opened every page below on that date. Pay, rules and requirements change, so check the source before you rely on a detail.
- Government of Canada, Job Bank: How to write a good resume (Limit your resume to two pages; a photo is not the norm in Canada; leave out age, weight, height and marital status; never include your Social Insurance Number; keep references on a separate sheet and provide them only when requested; 5-7 bullet points per section.)
- Western University, Western Engineering Career Services: Professional Format and Appearance (Use letter-size bond paper (8.5" x 11"); undergraduate students should aim for one or two pages; list information in reverse chronological order.)
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