Confused about work permits

[timeclones]

Next year, when I'm 18, I'm hoping to travel to Canada for 4/5 months in order to do an internship at a media production company in Toronto. As I'm a British citizen, I know that I can enter Canada for 6 months without a visa.
However, I've not being able to find information about the need for a work permit.

What I'm wondering about is possibly extremely simple but nonetheless here's my question -

For 4/5 months work in Canada as a British citizen, do I only need to apply for a work permit and nothing more?

If anyone could shed some light, that'd be brilliant. I tried contacting the official authorities but I've not yet had response and it's been over a month!

 

[scylla]

Yes - you certainly need a work permit. It's illegal to work in Canada as a visitor alone. However obtaining a work permit isn't going to be easy.

In order to qualify for a work permit, your employer will first have to obtain an approved LMIA (permission to hire a foreign worker). This is a long and expensive process - and doesn't tend to be successful for internships. To start with, your employer will have to advertise the position for at least a month to prove that no Canadians could be found for the role. The employer will then have to pay a $1,000 fee and submit the LMIA application for processing. Process can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months with no guarantee of approval. If the LMIA is approved, you could then travel to Canada and obtain a work permit at the port of entry. Typically, it's next to impossible to obtain approved LMIAs for internship positions since there are plenty of Canadians willing to take the role.

Alternatively, you can look into the working holiday visa program (IEC) which allows individuals from certainly countries (including the UK) to come to Canada on a working holiday visa for a year or two without having to obtain an LMIA first. The downside of this process is that very few spots are available and they are snapped up extremely quickly. This year I believe there were two windows for applications (March and April). In both cases I believe all of the available spots were snatched up within 5 minutes. So you literally have to be at your computer and ready to apply when the program opens if you want any hope of getting a spot. So while the IEC program would probably be a great option for you - it's by no means a sure thing.