You can verify most Canadian contractors in a few minutes using free, official online tools, and you should do it before you sign anything. There are two separate things to confirm: that the trade holds the licence or certificate the law requires (which varies by province and by trade), and that they carry a current Workers Compensation Board (WCB) clearance letter and liability insurance. The licence protects the quality of the work. The WCB clearance protects you from being held liable if a worker is hurt on your property.
Why the licence matters to you, not just them
Licensing is not red tape. Where a trade is compulsory, work done by an unlicensed person is more likely to contain faults, and the consequences land on you. If an unlicensed contractor is injured on your job, you may be responsible because they are unlikely to be insured. Insurance claims linked to work done by an unlicensed contractor may be denied by your home insurer. A permit and a properly licensed trade are what make the work insurable and lawful.
Where to check a licence, by province
Use the official lookup for the trade and province:
- Ontario (compulsory trades): Skilled Trades Ontario verifies Certificate of Qualification holders at skilledtradesontario.ca.
- Ontario (electricians): the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) lists every licensed electrical contractor (the ECRA/ESA number) at esasafe.com.
- Ontario (new-home builders): the Home Construction Regulatory Authority (HCRA) at hcraontario.ca, and Tarion at tarion.com for warranty status.
- Quebec: the Regie du batiment du Quebec (RBQ) holds the contractor licence repertory for all construction work. Check it at rbq.gouv.qc.ca. Quebec runs its own system end to end and is not covered by the other provinces' tools.
- British Columbia: Technical Safety BC at technicalsafetybc.ca for electrical and gas contractors; BC Housing at bchousing.org for new-home builders; Skilled Trades BC at skilledtradesbc.ca for certified tradespeople.
- Alberta: the Apprenticeship and Industry Training tradesperson lookup; Service Alberta for consumer matters.
- Saskatchewan: saskapprenticeship.ca. Nova Scotia: nsapprenticeship.ca. The other provinces each run a tradesperson registry.
- All provinces (Red Seal): verify an interprovincial Red Seal endorsement at sceau-rouge.ca.
Note that many trades, such as carpentry, painting, drywall, tiling, landscaping and (in most provinces) roofing, are not licensed at all outside Quebec. For those, insurance, WCB clearance and references do the work that a licence cannot.
The WCB clearance letter, and why you want it
This is the step most homeowners skip, and it can cost the most. Every province runs a Workers Compensation Board: WSIB in Ontario, WorkSafeBC, WCB-Alberta, CNESST in Quebec, and equivalents elsewhere. A clearance letter, which is free and takes minutes to produce, confirms the contractor has an account in good standing.
If you hire a contractor who is not registered with their WCB and that contractor is injured on your property, you can be deemed the employer and held liable for their compensation premiums and potentially their injury costs. WCB-Alberta states plainly that if a contractor does not have or may not be eligible for a WCB account, you may be responsible for providing coverage. This applies to homeowners, not just businesses. Always ask for a current clearance letter before work starts.
The insurance certificate
Alongside the WCB letter, ask for a Certificate of Insurance for Commercial General Liability (CGL), sent direct from the insurer:
- Minimum $2 million CGL for any residential renovation.
- Ask for $5 million for roofing, excavation or other high-risk work.
- Check the expiry date. A common trick is presenting an expired certificate.
Common mistakes
- Confusing a business card number with a verified licence. Numbers can be made up. Type it into the regulator's own lookup.
- Assuming "licensed" covers everything. A contractor licence is not a WCB clearance and is not insurance. Ask for all three.
- Forgetting Quebec is different. A licence from another province does not stand in for an RBQ licence in Quebec.
- Skipping the clearance letter because the job is small. The deemed-employer risk does not care how small the job is.
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