Scotiabank and Shopify are among the major Canadian companies asking employees to work from home until at least 2021, presumably prompting many staff members to rush out and stock up on pyjamas.

Canada is experiencing an unprecedented shift to remote work, with about one-third of Canadians now officially working from home throughout the pandemic.

While some jobs require that employees be physically present at work (e.g. mail couriers, healthcare workers, retail assistants, plumbers), many office jobs can transition to remote work with minimal difficulty.

Here are some of the Canadian companies that are asking at least some employees to work from home until 2021:

• Shopify
• Royal Bank of Canada
• Scotiabank
• Toronto-Dominion Bank
• Open Text Corp.
• Telus

Other international companies with offices in Canada have also asked employees to stay home until 2021, including Google, Apple and Amazon. Facebook is even giving employees the option to work remotely permanently (as are Shopify and Open Text Corp.).

Canadian media powerhouse Rogers Communications Inc. will keep employees working from home for at least the summer months, per Investment Executive.

Meanwhile, the Ontario government is asking all residents who can work from home to continue to do so for the foreseeable future.