There is no provincial contractor licence for snow and ice management anywhere in Canada, which makes this sound like an easy trade to enter. It is not. This is arguably the trade with the most legal exposure per dollar earned, because the real story is slip-and-fall liability and the insurance that covers it. A single injured pedestrian can trigger a claim that dwarfs the season's revenue, and in Ontario the law now names the snow contractor directly. Before you bolt a plow on a truck, sort your insurance, your written contracts and your service logs, because those are what stand between you and a ruinous claim.
Licensing: open to enter, governed by liability
You need no licence to plow snow, but you do need the business basics done properly, because the liability is severe:
- Business registration (a sole proprietorship at minimum).
- Commercial general liability (CGL) insurance: $2,000,000 is the practical minimum, and most commercial clients now require $5,000,000.
- Workers' compensation (WSIB or provincial WCB) registration for any employees or deemed workers.
- A written contract for every single commercial client. Verbal agreements are not defensible when a claim lands.
The trade is seasonal, and many operators pair it with landscaping to carry the same crew and customers year-round.
Ontario's 60-day notice law (Bill 118): the rule that changed the trade
This is the single most important thing a snow contractor in Ontario must understand. Bill 118 amended Ontario's Occupiers' Liability Act (Royal Assent December 8, 2020) to add a mandatory 60-day written notice requirement for slip-and-fall claims caused by snow or ice on private property:
- A person injured in a slip-and-fall on snow or ice must serve written notice within 60 days on at least one of: the occupier, or the independent snow-removal contractor.
- The notice must state the date, the time and the location of the incident, and be served personally or by registered mail.
- Failing to give notice within 60 days generally bars the claim, unless a judge finds a reasonable excuse and no prejudice to the defendant.
- This 60-day notice is in addition to the usual two-year limitation period, so both must be met.
- Municipal property such as public sidewalks and roads still falls under the older 10-day notice rule, not this one.
What this means for you in practice: you are a named party in that notice obligation, so claimants will name you directly even when the property owner is the main defendant. Your contract must clearly delineate whose scope covers what (sidewalks versus parking lot versus stairs), and your service logs and timestamps for every visit are your evidence in any dispute. Other provinces have their own occupiers' liability frameworks, so confirm the rule where you work; Ontario's is the strictest written-notice regime.
Contract structures and what they shift
There are three common commercial models, and each shifts the snow-volume risk differently:
- Per-push or per-event: billed each visit. Higher revenue in a heavy winter; the customer carries the snow-volume risk.
- Seasonal flat-rate: a fixed price for the season. You carry the snow-volume risk; price it off historical snowfall averages and build in a provision for above-average years.
- Hourly or time-and-materials: least common, used for large commercial sites with unpredictable scope.
Whichever you use, put it in writing and define the scope precisely. The scope clause is what the liability turns on.
Kit and start-up costs (estimates, CAD)
For a residential and light-commercial entry, the kit is modest if you already own a suitable truck. Indicative ranges, so confirm current prices:
- A plow kit on an existing truck: roughly $5,000 to $15,000 for the plow.
- A tailgate salter or spreader: roughly $1,500 to $4,000.
- A skid steer (year two and up, or leased): roughly $30,000 to $80,000.
- CGL insurance ($5,000,000 recommended for commercial): roughly $5,000 to $15,000 per year.
A realistic first-year operating estimate, plowing with a plow on an existing truck, lands around $15,000 to $35,000. The insurance is the line that scales hardest with the work you take on.
What you can charge (estimates, not fixed rates)
There is no single published national rate table, so treat these as indicative ranges that vary by region, lot size and scope, not fixed prices:
- A seasonal residential contract (Ontario): roughly $700 to $1,200.
- A per-visit driveway (Toronto): roughly $50 to $150.
- De-icing or salting per visit: roughly $50 to $200.
- A sidewalk service add-on: roughly $200 to $500 per season.
- Small commercial seasonal lots: highly variable, often roughly $3,000 to $8,000 and up, depending entirely on lot size and service scope.
Price the season and the risk, not just the push, and confirm your numbers against local competitors.
Common mistakes
- Carrying too little CGL. $2,000,000 is the floor; commercial sites commonly demand $5,000,000, and the claims in this trade are large.
- Working on a handshake. Without a written contract that defines scope, you cannot defend a slip-and-fall claim.
- Not logging every visit. Timestamped service logs are your evidence under Ontario's notice law; no log, no defence.
- 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.
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