Most of Canada has no general contractor licence. In the majority of provinces you can register a business and start taking renovation work without a specific GC certificate. There are two big exceptions you cannot ignore: in Ontario, anyone who builds and sells NEW homes must be licensed by the Home Construction Regulatory Authority (HCRA), and in Quebec every general contractor needs a licence from the Regie du batiment du Quebec (RBQ). For ordinary renovation work elsewhere, the real discipline is not a licence, it is doing the business properly: pulling permits, carrying insurance, holding back on your subs, and protecting your clients (and yourself) from lien and warranty exposure.
Licensing: usually none, with two hard exceptions
For general renovation work, most provinces do not require a GC licence. What changes the picture is new-home building and Quebec:
- Ontario, new homes (HCRA). Anyone who builds or sells new homes in Ontario must hold a licence from the Home Construction Regulatory Authority (HCRA), and the home is covered by the Ontario New Home Warranty Plan administered by Tarion. This applies to new-home construction, not to ordinary renovations of an existing home. You can verify a builder's HCRA licence at hcraontario.ca.
- Quebec (RBQ). Every general contractor in Quebec needs an RBQ licence to carry out construction work, and tradespeople work under CCQ competency cards. Quebec is a separate licensing world.
Outside those, a renovator typically registers a business, gets a Business Number from the Canada Revenue Agency, and carries insurance. Municipal building permits are still required for the work itself. Compulsory rules vary by province, so confirm with your provincial authority.
Holdback and the construction lien: the part that protects you both
Every province with a construction or builders' lien act gives the property owner the right, and in many cases the obligation, to hold back a portion of each payment as security for unpaid subcontractors and suppliers. As a renovator you sit on both sides of this:
- As the contractor, you must understand that your client may hold back (in Ontario, 10 percent of each payment is the basic holdback) until the lien period expires. Price and plan your cash flow around it.
- As the person paying your own subs and suppliers, your client's holdback is the fund that unpaid subs can claim against, so keeping your subs paid, and being able to provide a statutory declaration that they are paid, is what lets the holdback be released.
The holdback percentage and the lien period vary by province (for example, Ontario is a 10 percent basic holdback; Prince Edward Island requires 15 percent on contracts above $15,000 and 20 percent below, held 60 days past substantial completion). Confirm your province's figures, because they differ.
New-home warranty: who carries it
If you build new homes, a warranty program usually applies and the buyer is protected for years:
- Ontario: the Tarion-administered Ontario New Home Warranty Plan runs in three periods (one year on workmanship and materials, two years on systems and water penetration, seven years on major structural defects). HCRA licenses the builders.
- British Columbia: the mandatory 2-5-10 warranty (two years labour and materials, five years building envelope, ten years structural), with every new home registered in the BC Housing New Home Registry.
- Quebec: the mandatory GCR (Garantie de construction residentielle) covers deposits, completion and post-completion defects.
- Alberta has mandatory new-home warranty insurance under its New Home Buyer Protection Act; other provinces vary. Confirm warranty obligations before you build to sell.
Kit, insurance and start-up costs (estimates, CAD)
A GC's main investment is insurance, a vehicle and project management, not a shed full of tools, because you coordinate trades. Indicative ranges, so confirm current prices:
- CGL insurance: roughly $2,500 to $7,000 per year, with $2,000,000 a common minimum and $5,000,000 often required on larger jobs.
- Business registration (sole proprietorship to incorporation): roughly $60 to $1,500.
- A work truck: roughly $20,000 to $45,000 used.
- Project management and estimating software, and a bonding relationship if you bid larger contracts: budget for both.
A realistic first-year operating estimate varies widely with the size of work you take, but plan for insurance, a vehicle and working capital to float materials and subs before progress payments arrive.
What you can charge (estimates, not fixed rates)
General contracting is priced by the project, not the hour, so there is no simple published rate. A renovator's margin is typically a percentage added to the cost of materials and subcontracted labour (commonly a meaningful double-digit percentage, varying by market and project), or a fixed fee on a cost-plus contract. There is no single published national rate table, and what you can charge depends on your market, the complexity, and your reputation. Price the whole job with a clear scope, a written contract, and a margin that covers your overhead, your insurance, and the risk you carry. Confirm your numbers against local competitors before you commit.
Common mistakes
- Building new homes in Ontario without an HCRA licence, or working in Quebec without an RBQ licence. Those two are not optional.
- Skipping the permit. Permits protect you and your client; a renovator who discourages a permit is a red flag, and unpermitted work can fail on resale.
- Ignoring holdback and lien rules. Paying subs late, or your client paying you 100 percent up front, exposes everyone to lien claims.
- Forgetting GST/HST. Once your taxable revenue passes $30,000 over four consecutive quarters (or in a single quarter), you must register for GST/HST within 29 days of the effective date.
Know someone who needs this?
Keep reading
Was this guide useful?
Didn't find what you were looking for?
Spotted something wrong or out of date? Email us at hello@kilnguides.co.uk.
In crisis? 988 Suicide Crisis Helpline (call or text 988) ·