Average Salary in Canada

Canadian Salaries – Wages in Canada – Average Pay in Canada

If you moved to Canada from another western economy a few years ago, you would most likely have found Canadian wages a bit lower than you expected.

This is generally not the case now.

The average salary in Canadian dollars has risen by 15 to 17 percent since 2007.

This rise, in combination with the strengthening Canadian dollar, has pushed the average salary in Canada higher than in the UK, the USA and most of Europe.

Between January 2007 and December 2012, the Canadian dollar rose 17 percent against the US dollar, 15 percent against the euro and 40 percent against the British pound.

The average Canadian income rose accordingly.

Canadian Average Hourly Earnings 2012

Earnings Classification	Average Hourly Earnings 2012	Average Hourly Earnings 2010	Average Hourly Earnings 2008
Males	$25.42	$24.33	$23.18
Females	$21.85	$20.74	$19.41
Full Time Employees	$25.20	$24.04	$22.71
Part Time Employees	$16.59	$15.96	$14.91

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Looking at weekly wages in the table below we see that the highest paid sector by a considerable margin is mining and oil/gas drilling, followed by work in the utilities: water, electricity and telecommunications.

The accommodation and food services sector followed by the arts, entertainment and recreation sector provide their employees with the lowest average weekly salaries.

Average Weekly Wages in Canada in 2012

Profession	Average Weekly Wage Aug 2012	Average Weekly Wage Aug 2010
Forestry, logging and support	$982	$971
Mining and quarrying, and oil and gas extraction	$1,952	$1,801
Utilities	$1,615	$1,516
Construction	$1,150	$1,071
Manufacturing	$1015	$977
Wholesale trade	$1,056	$1,024
Retail trade	$530	$501
Transportation and warehousing	$969	$900
Information and cultural industries	$1,149	$1,100
Finance and insurance	$1,076	$1,050
Real estate and rental and leasing	$868	$784
Professional, scientific and technical services	$1,285	$1,170
Management of companies and enterprises	$1,198	$1,105
Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services	$723	$727
Educational services	$1,002	$946
Health care and social assistance	$810	$792
Arts, entertainment and recreation	$575	$562
Accommodation and food services	$375	$361
Other services (excluding public administration)	$723	$670
Public administration	$1,109	$1,158

Looking at jobs throughout Canada, typical wages are as follows:

Average Hourly Wages in Canada in 2012

Profession	Average Hourly Wage
Retail Sales / Sales Clerk	$14
Data Entry Clerk	$16
Bookkeeper	$18
Accounting Clerk	$19
Truck Driver	$21
Carpenter	$22
Executive Assistant	$23
Plumber	$25
Electrician	$25
Social Worker	$29
Architect	$30
Registered Nurse	$34
Physiotherapist	$34
Computer Engineer (not software)	$35
Lawyer	$40
Computer and Info Systems Manager	$40
Engineering Manager	$43
Dentist	$70

In practice, wages vary from city to city and province to province – sometimes quite widely. Here are pay scales for jobs in Toronto, Calgary and Winnipeg:

Wages for Management Jobs
Wages for Business, Finance and Administration Jobs
Wages for Science / Technology Jobs
Wages for Health Jobs
Wages for Social and Education Jobs
Wages for Arts, Writing and Recreation Jobs
Wages for Sales and Service Jobs
Wages for Trades Jobs

And here are more detailed salaries for jobs in Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Fredericton, Halifax, Windsor-Essex County, Kitchener, Ottawa, Guelph, Prince Edward Island, Saskatoon, Montreal and Winnipeg:

References and Further Information
Academic Salaries (pdf document)
Wages by Job Type and Canadian Location
Canadian Statistics