No. TD does not authorize employment, and the principal’s credential does not become the spouse’s qualification.
Assess the spouse independently
A household plan should identify the spouse’s own proposed activity and lawful work basis. An employer’s willingness to hire a family member does not create permission. TD dependants may study, but they may not work.
TD exists so that a professional's household is not separated by the assignment, and it is generous about presence: the dependant is admitted for the same period, may come and go, and may enrol in school or a college program. The spouse and unmarried children under 21 of a TN professional may be admitted in TD status regardless of their own nationality, so a Canadian permanent resident spouse is eligible even though that spouse could never hold TN. The rule is category-specific rather than general: TD carries no employment authorization, while a qualifying L-2 or E-2 spouse is employment-authorized incident to status under current policy. TD status permits residence and study but authorizes no employment of any kind, and remote work for Canadian clients performed while physically in the United States is still work. School enrolment, a lease, a resignation, and a spouse's own notice period are all easier to delay than to undo, and the clearance timeline is set by parties outside the household.