How Much Do Construction Workers Make in Canada? Labourer and Building Trade Wages

Construction work runs from general labouring to certified trades and site supervision, and pay differs a great deal along the way. This page looks at the construction industry as a whole, then at the building trades and labourers job by job: what the Labour Force Survey shows for construction employees, Job Bank’s hourly wages for each construction occupation, what the 2021 Census recorded for the finishing trades, and how people get into construction in Ontario, Alberta and Quebec. It is part of the salary by profession hub. For electrical and plumbing work, see what electricians and plumbers earn by province; for industrial and maintenance trades such as millwrights and elevator mechanics, the skilled trades pay overview.

Pay across the construction industry

Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey reports wages by industry for employees (people on a payroll, not the self-employed). In 2025, the construction industry had about 1,287,800 employees, with a median wage of $35.00 an hour and an average of $37.86. The median for all industries that year was $30.77, so construction’s median was 14% above it (Table 14-10-0064-01). These figures cover all employees in the construction industry, whatever their job, including office and management staff, so the occupation tables below say more about any one job.

Hourly wages by construction occupation

Job Bank publishes a low (10th percentile), median and high (90th percentile) wage for each occupation. Across Canada:

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

The rows are hourly rates, so a yearly figure depends on hours. A carpenter paid the national median of $32.12 for 40 hours a week over 52 weeks (2,080 hours) would earn about $66,810 a year before tax. Construction work can be seasonal or tied to projects, so weeks without work, or with overtime, move real earnings in either direction; the hourly to salary calculator runs the numbers with your own hours.

Construction labourers by province

For construction trades helpers and labourers (NOC 75110), the national median is $25.00 an hour, with $27.00 in Ontario, $29.85 in Quebec, $25.00 in Alberta and $25.00 in British Columbia. The last column shows which survey each row comes from.

Source: Job Bank wages (Employment and Social Development Canada), NOC 75110. Low is the 10th percentile and high the 90th percentile of wages.

The finishing trades in the 2021 Census

The 2021 Census groups concrete finishers, tilesetters, plasterers and drywall installers, roofers, glaziers, painters and floor covering installers together as “general construction trades” (NOC group 731). For people in that group who worked full year, full time, median employment income in 2020 was $46,800 across Canada. The table gives each province; the inflation-adjusted columns restate those 2020 incomes in today’s dollars and are not newer pay data. The Job Bank wages above are the more recent source.

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.

Getting into construction

How someone enters construction depends on the province and the trade.

Ontario. Skilled Trades Ontario sets the apprenticeship hours for each trade. General Carpenter is 7,200 hours (approximately four years), of which 720 are in school, and Construction Craft Worker is 2,880 hours (approximately one and a half years), of which 480 are in school. Skilled Trades Ontario lists General Carpenter as non-compulsory and Construction Craft Worker as non-compulsory (General Carpenter, Construction Craft Worker). 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.

Alberta. Alberta’s profiles list carpenter as Optional Certification and roofer as Optional Certification. In Alberta, an apprentice must be paid at least a set percentage of the rate received by the lowest-paid journeyperson in the same trade employed by the same company, and the percentage rises with each period of the apprenticeship. The minimums for carpentry and roofing apprentices (Alberta carpenter profile, Alberta roofer profile):

• Carpenter: at least 60% in period 1, 70% in period 2, 80% in period 3 and 90% in period 4.
• Roofer: at least 65% in period 1, 75% in period 2, 85% in period 3 and 95% in period 4.

A roofing apprentice’s periods are 1,420 hours of work experience (periods 1 to 3) and 1,600 hours (period 4) (Alberta roofer profile). The trades overview compares these minimums with other trades.

Quebec. Construction in Quebec has its own system, run by the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ). In the construction industry covered by Quebec’s construction labour relations act (Act R-20), workers must hold a competency certificate. There are three kinds: an apprentice certificate, for a trade apprenticeship of one to five periods of 2,000 hours each depending on the trade; a journeyperson certificate; and an occupation certificate, for people working on construction sites as a labourer or specialized labourer. The industry favours graduates of a construction training program; the CCQ lets other candidates in only at times when a trade’s labour pool is short, and then under specific conditions (CCQ competency certificates).

The Red Seal

Carpenter and Construction Craft Worker are both Red Seal trades in Ontario. 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 overview explains the endorsement in full.

Unions, overtime and contracting

Some construction workers are paid under collective agreements, which set wage schedules, overtime and benefits for each trade; others are paid whatever their employer offers, and some work as independent contractors. The wage tables above don’t separate these groups. A pension and benefits can be worth as much as a difference in hourly rate (total compensation versus salary), and when overtime is owed depends on the province’s rules or the agreement (overtime pay rules in Canada).

Related pages

• Salary by profession in Canada
• How much trades workers make in Canada
• How much electricians and plumbers make in Canada
• How much welders make in Canada
• How much truck drivers make in Canada
• How much architects make in Canada

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