What is the average Canadian salary?
Which provinces offer the highest salary?
Which industry is experiencing a rapid growth rate?
Are there sectors of the economy that have experienced a drop in wages?
Statistics Canada has released data that shows the growth in salaries in different sectors and industries in the Canadian labour market. By analyzing and reviewing this data, it is possible to answer some important questions about the state of the Canadian economy and to highlight some industries that employ large numbers of people. It is also an opportunity for young people entering the labor market to use this data to see the sectors and fields where their skills will be valued, and to target their job searches in these fields.
An important thing to notice: It is important to note that the majority of the following data was collected before the COVID-19 pandemic. The closures and distancing measures needed to tackle this devastating virus have undoubtedly had a huge economic impact, the full extent of which will not become entirely clear in the years to come. Presenting this data can still provide useful information to job seekers, and once more data regarding the economic impact of the pandemic becomes available, it will be a useful point of comparison.
What is the average salary in Canada?
The Average Salary in Canada last year was CAD 1,050.59 per week across the country, which determines the average salary for full-time employees is just over 54,630 $ per year. The Canadian wage rate has been in a positive trend and the majority of workers in the Canadian labour market earn more than the last year.
The average salary in Canada in 2020 has increased by 4% since January 2019, as shown by data from Statistics Canada. This shows the rate of growth as the Canadian wages were previously increased by an average of 2.7% over years.
Average annual salary in Canada by province and territory
- Newfoundland and Labrador – CAD 55,508 (+2.3)
- Prince Edward Island – CAD 45,912 (+3.6%)
- Nova Scotia – CAD 48,470 (+4.3%)
- New Brunswick – CAD 49,511 (+2.9%)
- Québec – CAD 51,735 (+4.8%)
- Ontario – CAD 55,524 (+3.8%)
- Manitoba – CAD 49,661 (+0.1%)
- Saskatchewan – CAD 54,371 (+1.9%)
- Alberta – CAD 61,865 (+3.8%)
- British Columbia – CAD 53,416 (+5.6%)
- Yukon – CAD 61,812 (+5.0%)
- Northwest Territories – CAD 77,670 (+5.4%)
- Nunavut – CAD 87,355 (+20.1%)
The average salary has increased all over the nation, but it does not show that employees earn the same salaries around the provinces and territories. Average wages remain high in the traditionally strong provinces of the economy – Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec.
Surprising as it may seem to some, the average annual wage in Newfoundland and Labrador, and Saskatchewan has increased to meet or exceed the rate observed in these provinces. Average salaries in Newfoundland and Labrador & Ontario are the same.
The previous year has the highest average Canadian wages in the region like the Yukon, Nunavut, and Northwest Territories with Alberta having a similar wage rate. This is an indicator that the Canadian energy sector, which has a strong resource base in these regions of Canada, continues to play a very important role in the overall national economy.
Which province has the highest rate of salary growth?
The rate of wage growth differs in every province and territory in Canada. Four regions of the country have experienced exceptional wage growth, with increases of more than 5% in 12 months. Of these four, Nunavut experienced a 20.1% increase in average annual salary, by far the highest of any province or territory.
- Nunavut – +20.1%
- British Columbia – +5.6%
- Northwest Territories – +5.4%
- Yukon – +5.0%
It is important to note that a smaller increase in the average wage does not mean that the average wage itself is low. Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador both saw wage growth of less than 2.3%, while the average wage in each province remains among the highest in Canada.
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Which job has the most salary in Canada?
- Accommodation and Food Services – CAD 22,877.92 (+6.4%)
- Administrative and Support – CAD 47,369.92 (+9.4%)
- Arts, Entertainment and Recreation – CAD 40,241.76 (+26.3%)
- Construction – CAD 68,374.28 (+3.2%)
- Education – CAD 58,343.48 (+6.5%)
- Finance and Insurance – CAD 76.843 (+9.1%)
- Forestry and Logging – CAD 58,739.20 (-8.9%)
- Health Care and Social Assistance – CAD 52,888.68 (+8.4%)
- Information and Culture Industries – CAD 71,634 (+4.3%)
- Management of Companies and Enterprises – CAD 74,560.72 (+0.0%)
- Manufacturing – CAD 59,250,36 (+1.6%)
- Mining, Oil and Gas Extraction – CAD 113,506.12 (+3.1%)
- Professional, Scientific and Technical Services – CAD 76,077.56 (+2.0%)
- Public Administration – CAD 75,799.88 (+9.3%)
- Real Estate (Rental/Leasing) – CAD 58,623.76 (+14.6%)
- Retail – CAD 34,503.04 (+8.0%)
- Transportation and Warehousing – CAD 61,011.08 (+6.7%)
- Utilities – CAD 101,531.04 (+1.6%)
- Wholesale Trade – CAD 67,456.48 (+2.8%)
For new job seekers planning their careers, studying which industries have experienced the highest levels of growth in the past 12 months can be a great tool. Although the average salary in Canada has increased by 4% since 2019, that does not mean that this rate of growth is constant across all industries and all economic sectors. In fact, among the industries listed above, six enjoyed an average wage increase of more than 8%, double the national average:
- Arts, Entertainment and Recreation – +26.3%
- Real Estate (Rental/Leasing) – +14.6%
- Administrative and Support – +9.4%
- Public Administration – +9.3%
- Finance and Insurance – +9.1%
- Health Care and Social Assistance – +8.4%
- Retail – +8.0%
Of the five industries that saw the largest average wage increase at the start of 2019, it’s interesting that only two of them are present here. The finance and insurance sector remained very strong, while the arts, entertainment, and recreation sector saw huge levels of salary growth, with an incredible increase of 26.3%
Despite all the talk about the Canadian housing market, the real estate sector has rebounded significantly from its negative growth position at the start of 2019. This sector has seen the highest rate in salary growth, with average salary increased by 14.6%.
Which job sector has the highest average annual salary?
- Mining, Oil and Gas Extraction – CAD 113,506.12
- Utilities – CAD 101,531.04
- Finance and Insurance – CAD 76.843
- Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services – CAD 76,077.56
- Public Administration – CAD 75,799.88
As in 2019, the employment sectors with the highest average annual wages in Canada are energy and natural resources, finance and insurance, and scientific and technical services. Industries like oil and gas extraction and mining remain the highest paid jobs in Canada with an average salary of CAD 113,506.12. Wages in the utility sector have the second-highest and are in line with the oil & gas extraction and mining in the six-figure range.
According to data from Statistics Canada, the average salary in the management of companies and enterprises sector has fallen among the top five but still stands at CAD 74,560.72 per year, on par with the 2019 average. was pushed further down the list by the public administration sector, which saw an average wage increase of over 9%, bringing it to CAD 75,799.88 per year.
