Can I avoid personal services business status by working for more than one client?

Working for more than one client helps, but it isn't a guarantee against PSB status on its own. CRA and the courts look at the whole substance of each working relationship, and someone with several clients who is nonetheless closely controlled, supervised, and integrated into each one's operations the way an employee would be can still risk being characterized as running a personal services business through at least some of those engagements, even with multiple clients on the books.

Having multiple clients is a genuinely positive factor because it demonstrates independence and reduces reliance on any single relationship, which is part of what distinguishes a real business from an incorporated employment arrangement. But it works alongside the other factors, control, ownership of tools, financial risk, and integration, rather than overriding them; a large client list doesn't rescue an arrangement where every individual relationship still looks like employment in substance.

The practical takeaway is that structuring your work to have real independence with each client, set your own hours where possible, use your own equipment, and take on genuine financial risk, matters more than simply accumulating a client count, though a diverse client base is still a meaningful part of the overall picture.