The Gender Pay Gap in Canada (2025 Data)
Women in Canada earned 88.1 cents for every dollar men earned in average hourly wages in 2025, a gap of 11.9%. Measured by average weekly wages instead of hourly rate, the gap is 20.4%, which also reflects hours worked: women work fewer average hours per week than men. This page is part of our guide to average and median income in Canada; overall pay levels are on the average salary in Canada page, and pay by industry for everyone is on highest-paying industries in Canada.
| Metric | Men | Women | Ratio | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average hourly wage | $38.64 | $34.04 | 88.1% | 11.9% |
| Average weekly wage | $1,476 | $1,175 | 79.6% | 20.4% |
Source: Statistics Canada Table 14-10-0064, 2025 annual average, both full- and part-time employees, all industries, age 15+.
That 8.5 percentage point difference between the hourly gap (11.9%) and the weekly gap (20.4%) reflects hours worked. Put another way, about 58% of the weekly gap comes from the wage rate itself and about 42% from women working fewer paid hours.
Gaps measured on annual earnings, such as census income, also include differences in weeks worked and in who works at all, so they are usually not the same number as the hourly gap. The average salary in Canada page shows men’s and women’s average weekly earnings as annual salaries.
Gender Pay Gap by Industry
The gap varies by industry, from 4.1% in business, building and other support services to 19.2% in finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing.
| Industry | Men (avg hourly) | Women (avg hourly) | Gender Pay Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing | $49.21 | $39.74 | 19.2% |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | $52.92 | $42.93 | 18.9% |
| Wholesale and retail trade | $30.05 | $24.88 | 17.2% |
| Information, culture and recreation | $36.69 | $31.38 | 14.5% |
| Other services (except public administration) | $33.76 | $29.45 | 12.8% |
| Manufacturing | $36.45 | $31.94 | 12.4% |
| Educational services | $45.40 | $40.93 | 9.8% |
| Construction | $38.40 | $34.72 | 9.6% |
| Health care and social assistance | $36.99 | $34.31 | 7.2% |
| Public administration | $48.14 | $44.68 | 7.2% |
| Agriculture | $26.41 | $24.61 | 6.8% |
| Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas | $51.97 | $48.51 | 6.7% |
| Transportation and warehousing | $34.79 | $32.59 | 6.3% |
| Utilities | $56.76 | $53.25 | 6.2% |
| Accommodation and food services | $21.61 | $20.51 | 5.1% |
| Business, building and other support services | $29.13 | $27.93 | 4.1% |
Source: Statistics Canada Table 14-10-0064, 2025 annual average hourly wage, by gender and industry.
Where the widest gaps are. In 2025, the two largest gaps were in finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (19.2%) and professional, scientific and technical services (18.9%).
Where the narrowest gaps are. The three smallest were in business, building and other support services (4.1%), accommodation and food services (5.1%) and utilities (6.2%). The utilities gap was 6.2%, and utilities was the highest-paying industry by average hourly wage.
Union coverage. In 2025, women covered by a union earned 4.4% less per hour than unionized men ($37.91 against $39.67), compared with a 16.0% gap for employees without union coverage ($32.11 against $38.24; Labour Force Survey, Table 14-10-0066-01).
Gender Pay Gap by Province
| Province | Men (avg hourly) | Women (avg hourly) | Gender Pay Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | $40.87 | $33.46 | 18.1% |
| British Columbia | $40.47 | $35.28 | 12.8% |
| Saskatchewan | $35.60 | $31.07 | 12.7% |
| Ontario | $39.98 | $35.35 | 11.6% |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $35.24 | $31.59 | 10.4% |
| Quebec | $36.81 | $33.17 | 9.9% |
| Manitoba | $33.16 | $29.96 | 9.7% |
| Nova Scotia | $33.46 | $31.30 | 6.5% |
| New Brunswick | $32.06 | $30.48 | 4.9% |
| Prince Edward Island | $29.57 | $30.63 | -3.6% |
Source: Statistics Canada Table 14-10-0064, 2025 annual average hourly wage, all industries.
Prince Edward Island’s gap was -3.6% in 2025, the smallest of any province (a negative gap means women’s average hourly wage was higher than men’s).
Ontario’s gap was 11.6%, against 11.9% nationally. In the other Atlantic provinces, the gap was 4.9% in New Brunswick, 6.5% in Nova Scotia and 10.4% in Newfoundland and Labrador; in the Prairie provinces it was 18.1% in Alberta, 12.7% in Saskatchewan and 9.7% in Manitoba.
What explains the gap
Statistics Canada’s study The Gender Wage Gap in Canada: 1998 to 2018 split the 2018 average hourly wage gap of employees aged 25 to 54 (13.3%) into a part explained by measured differences between women and men and a part left unexplained:
- Explained (36.6% of the gap): factors such as industry, occupation, education, part-time work and union coverage. The study found the two largest were the distribution of women and men across industries and women’s overrepresentation in part-time work; occupation on its own explained 5.1%.
- Unexplained (63.4% of the gap, about 8.4 percentage points): the study says this can include differences in characteristics the data doesn’t capture, such as wage negotiation, as well as explicit or implicit gender-based wage discrimination.
Related reading
- Average and Median Income in Canada: individual income by province, age and education
- Average Salary in Canada: salary benchmarks by province, age and education
- Highest Paying Industries in Canada: full industry wage ranking
- Income Percentile Calculator: where a specific income ranks
- Salaries in Canada by Profession: profession-specific salary guides
Data source: Statistics Canada, Table 14-10-0064, “Employee wages by industry, annual,” 2025, both full- and part-time employees, age 15 and over. Ratios are calculated by dividing women’s average wage by men’s average wage for each category.
Sources
The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them on September 24, 2026. How we check facts.
- Statistics Canada: Employee wages by industry, annual
- Statistics Canada: Employee wages by job permanency and union coverage, annual
- Statistics Canada: The gender wage gap in Canada: 1998 to 2018