A relocation benefit is not work authorization. TD status does not authorize employment.
Review the spouse’s actual option
Identify the proposed activity and any independent lawful route. A company’s willingness to support the family cannot waive the spouse’s immigration requirements.
Work performed physically in Canada is not US employment and does not require TN status, but it changes the record: the applicant becomes an existing employee whose US entry must be as a TN professional, not a visitor. TD status does not authorise employment in the United States, and remote work performed from inside the country raises questions that depend on the specific facts. A TD dependant may enrol in school or university, may hold a bank account and may live in the United States for as long as the principal's admission runs, but any employment, paid or unpaid in substance, is outside the status. Spouses and unmarried children under 21 may be admitted in TD status; TD holders may study in the United States, and they may not accept employment, which regularly surprises households where both adults work. TN workers and their dependents may qualify for a limited discretionary grace period after employment ends; the actual end date, admission validity and individual circumstances determine the next steps.