visa for independent contractor needed?

I was told if I am hired by a company as a Independent Contractor I do not need any sort of visa to work, is this true? Seems too good to be true. I am Canadian with a job opportunity in ths USA.
From what I've researched this does not seem to be true, so a simple yes or no answer would be great.

You will most definitely need a visa in order to legally work in the US.

If you do the work in Canada you don't, i.e. you just go to the US for meetings and training, etc. If you are actually employed in the US directly or independently you need work authorization, usually you would need an E-2 visa (i.e. set up a business in the US with a significant investment) in order to get it.