TD does not authorize employment, and location uncertainty does not create an exception.
Plan the spouse’s activity independently
A separate genuine offer needs its own lawful work basis. Do not assume that helping the employer remotely from the United States is permitted merely because the family has not yet settled on a permanent address.
Plan each family member’s activities before travel, not after a spouse informally starts helping. A principal TN applicant must be a Canadian or Mexican citizen with prearranged work in a listed USMCA profession and the profession-specific qualification; Canadian permanent residence is a different status and does not create TN eligibility. A spouse and eligible children may seek TD classification, but TD dependants are not authorized to work, although they may study. Location uncertainty changes none of those limits. If the spouse has a genuine job offer, review a separate immigration category and its timing rather than describing productive services as casual remote assistance.
Hypothetical example: A chemist from Saint-David-de-Falardeau expects a laboratory assignment, while her husband wants to edit the US employer’s safety manuals from their temporary accommodation. His writing would be productive work, even if performed online and before the laboratory city is settled. The family should preserve the chemist’s TN evidence, use TD only for permitted dependent activities, and delay his services unless he obtains an independent work-authorized basis.