Every figure below is a published range, not a price. Renovation costs in Canada swing enormously with your region, the condition of your home, the materials you choose, and how busy the trades are that month. The point of these ranges is to give you a realistic sense of scale so you can spot a quote that is wildly high or suspiciously low. They are a guide. The only way to know what your specific job costs is to get three written quotes for the same defined scope.
All figures are in Canadian dollars and reflect 2025 to 2026 published data. City rates (Toronto, Vancouver) sit at the top of each range; the Prairies, Atlantic Canada and rural areas sit lower; the territories carry a further premium.
Hourly and call-out rates
- Electrician: roughly $80 to $150 per hour, with first-hour or mobilization fees of $100 to $300. Emergency and after-hours work is typically 1.5 to 2 times the standard rate.
- Plumber: roughly $80 to $150 per hour standard; $180 to $300 for the first hour of an emergency call-out.
- HVAC technician: a service call often runs $150 to $250 for the first hour.
- Painter: roughly $25 to $80 per hour for a professional crew.
- Handyman: roughly $85 to $110 per hour.
Common jobs, as ranges
These are the prices homeowners search for most. Treat each as a wide band:
- Electrical panel upgrade (200A): about $2,500 to $5,000.
- EV charger install: about $1,000 to $2,500.
- Pot lights: about $150 to $350 per light.
- Water heater replacement: about $900 to $2,000.
- Drain unblocking: about $150 to $350.
- Toilet replacement: about $200 to $500.
- Furnace install: about $3,000 to $8,000 depending on efficiency.
- Central air-conditioning install: about $3,500 to $7,500.
- Interior painting, full home (about 1,500 sq ft): about $4,000 to $6,500.
- Single room repaint (200 sq ft, one colour): about $200 to $500.
- Tile floor (200 sq ft): about $1,000 to $2,500.
- Backsplash (30 sq ft): about $600 to $1,500.
- Basement framing (1,000 sq ft): about $3,000 to $7,000.
- Deck build (about 200 sq ft): about $6,000 to $15,000.
Roofing, concrete and bigger projects
- Asphalt shingle re-roof (1,500 sq ft, supply and install): about $9,000 to $16,500 all in, varying heavily by material.
- Flat roof (1,000 sq ft): about $9,000 to $12,000.
- Concrete pad (Ontario): about $15 to $30 per square foot installed; stamped or decorative runs higher.
- Home foundation: a wide band, with published averages around $9,300 and a range from roughly $5,500 to $20,400.
- Interlocking paver patio (200 sq ft): about $5,000 to $12,000.
How to read a quote
- Compare like for like. Three quotes only mean something if they cover the exact same scope, materials and finish level. Write the scope yourself and give the same one to each contractor.
- Ask what is not included. The cheap quote is often cheap because it leaves out permits, removal of old materials, or the finishing work.
- Beware the outlier. A bid 40 percent below the others usually signals missing scope or a contractor who plans to add "discovered" costs later, or to walk away.
- Expect regional and seasonal swing. Costs rose noticeably in 2025 to 2026, and a 25 percent tariff on US steel and aluminium from March 2025 has pushed some material prices up. A quote from last year is not today's price.
Why these are ranges, not prices
Published rate guides in Canada come from crowd-sourced platforms, contractor pricing pages and Statistics Canada wage data. They disagree with each other, they lag the market, and none of them know your house. A useful rule of thumb from the wage data: a tradesperson's billed rate to you is typically 2.5 to 3.5 times their employee wage, because it has to cover overhead, insurance, the vehicle, tools, and the time they are not on a paid job. That is normal, not a markup to haggle away.
Common mistakes
- Treating a range as a quote. It is a sanity check, nothing more. Get three real quotes.
- Choosing on price alone. The lowest bid is the most likely to come back with extras or to leave the job unfinished. Weigh the licence, insurance and references too.
- Forgetting permits and disposal. These are real costs. Ask whether they are in the number.
- Comparing an old quote to a new one. Material and labour costs have moved. Price the job now.
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