How Much Do Chefs and Cooks Make in Canada? Wages by Province

Canada’s occupation system separates chefs (NOC 62200) from cooks (NOC 63200), and Job Bank publishes wages for each. This page covers both by province, adds the 2021 Census figures for chefs, compares other kitchen and restaurant jobs, and explains the cook apprenticeship that leads to a trade certificate and a Red Seal endorsement. It is part of the salary by profession hub; what welders earn and mechanic pay in Canada cover two other Red Seal trades.

Hourly wages for chefs by province

Chefs earn a national median of $23.00 an hour, and the provincial medians run from $19.00 in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to $24.00 in Quebec. A chef paid the national median for 40 hours a week over 52 weeks (2,080 hours) would earn about $47,840 a year, though kitchen hours differ from job to job, so a yearly figure built on a fixed week is only a rough guide.

Source: Job Bank wages (Employment and Social Development Canada), NOC 62200. Low is the 10th percentile and high the 90th percentile of wages.

Hourly wages for cooks by province

For cooks, Job Bank’s national median is $18.00 an hour, with the 10th percentile at $15.00 and the 90th percentile at $25.00. Each province sets its own minimum wage; the minimum wage page lists the current rates.

Source: Job Bank wages (Employment and Social Development Canada), NOC 63200. Low is the 10th percentile and high the 90th percentile of wages.

Chefs’ 2020 income in the Census

The 2021 Census reported employment income in 2020 for chefs who worked the full year, full time: a median of $40,400 across Canada, $38,800 in Ontario and $42,400 in British Columbia. The inflation-adjusted columns restate 2020 incomes in today’s dollars; they are not newer pay data, for which Job Bank’s hourly wages above are the better guide.

Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population, Table 98-10-0586-01: employment income in 2020 of people who worked full year, full time. Columns in August 2026 dollars multiply the 2020 figure by the change in the Consumer Price Index from its 2020 average to August 2026 and round to the nearest $100; they are not newer survey results.

Kitchen and restaurant jobs compared

Job Bank’s national wages for five kitchen and restaurant occupations, from kitchen helpers to restaurant managers:

Source: Job Bank wages (Employment and Social Development Canada), 2023-2024, Labour Force Survey. Low is the 10th percentile and high the 90th percentile of wages.

The hourly to salary calculator turns any of these hourly rates into a weekly, monthly or yearly figure for the hours you enter.

The cook apprenticeship in Ontario

Each province and territory runs its own apprenticeship and certification for cooks, and the details differ. In Ontario, Skilled Trades Ontario gives the general time-frame for the Cook trade as 6,000 hours (approximately three years): 5,280 hours of on-the-job work experience and 720 hours of in-school training, taught in two levels of theoretical training.

Skilled Trades Ontario lists cook as a non-compulsory trade. In a non-compulsory trade in Ontario, you don't have to be certified to work, and a Certificate of Qualification earned in it doesn't have to be renewed. In Ontario, you can take a trade's certifying exam once you complete an Ontario apprenticeship and receive a Certificate of Apprenticeship, or, as an experienced worker, once Skilled Trades Ontario approves you through a Trade Equivalency Assessment; the exam fee is $150 + HST per attempt, but apprentices with completed training agreements don't pay it for their first attempt.

Red Seal for cooks

In Ontario, Cook is part of the Interprovincial Red Seal Program. A Red Seal endorsement is added to your provincial or territorial trade certificate once you pass the interprovincial Red Seal examination for your trade; it shows you meet that trade's national standard and helps you move between provinces, but certification to work in a trade is still issued by each province or territory. The trades workers pay guide explains the Red Seal program across trades.

Owning a restaurant

Chef-owners are paid from what the business earns, not a wage, so their income depends on sales, food and labour costs and rent rather than on any of the wage figures above. The small business tax deductions guide covers what a restaurant owner can deduct, and the contractor vs employee tax comparison explains how business income is taxed differently from a paycheque.

Related pages

• Salary by profession in Canada
• How much trades workers make in Canada
• How much welders make in Canada
• How much mechanics make in Canada
• How much truck drivers make in Canada
• Minimum wage in Canada by province

→ Back to: Canadian Income Guide