Alberta is the low-tax outlier: there is no provincial sales tax at all, so you charge only the 5 percent federal GST. The minimum wage is $15.00 an hour, you get 60 days to register a builders lien (90 days on concrete and oil-and-gas work), with a 10 percent holdback, and prompt payment is in force. Your board is WCB Alberta and the small claims limit is the highest in the country at $100,000. This guide is the one-page summary; each topic links to a fuller guide.
Sales tax
Alberta has no provincial sales tax. You charge and remit only the 5 percent federal GST, a recoverable value-added tax, and you claim input tax credits on the GST you pay on materials, tools and fuel. For a tradesperson this is the simplest sales-tax regime in Canada: one tax, one rate, full recovery on business inputs. There is no PST, RST or HST provincial component to track.
Minimum wage
Alberta's general minimum wage is $15.00 an hour. It has been held at that level rather than indexed annually, so it is currently the lowest general minimum wage among the provinces. It is the floor for employees you hire; it does not constrain what you charge as a sole proprietor.
Builders lien and holdback
Alberta's Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act (the PPCLA, in force since 29 August 2022) gives a lien claimant 60 days to register a lien, extended to 90 days for work on an oil or gas well or well site and for the furnishing of concrete. The holdback is 10 percent. The longer 90-day window for concrete and oil-and-gas is an Alberta-specific feature that reflects the province's energy and heavy-civil work, so check which deadline applies to your contract.
Prompt payment
Prompt payment is in force in Alberta under the PPCLA since 29 August 2022. An owner must pay a proper invoice within 28 days, a contractor must pay its subcontractors within 7 days of receiving payment, and disputes can be taken to adjudication, with the adjudicator's decision binding on an interim basis and payable quickly. Alberta was an early adopter, so the regime is well established.
Workers comp
Your board is WCB Alberta. The 2026 average premium is about $1.46 per $100 of insurable earnings, with insurable earnings capped at $110,900. That $1.46 is the all-industry average rate: your construction industry code will carry its own rate, higher or lower, so confirm your class rate with WCB Alberta rather than budgeting on the average.
Licensing
Alberta has no general contractor licence, but a residential contractor who takes any payment before the work is finished, including a deposit, needs a Prepaid Contractor licence under the Consumer Protection Act, which requires a $10,000 bond and a compliant contract. Alberta has 19 compulsory trades, so the electrician, plumber or gasfitter on your job needs certification. Electrical and gas permits run through the Safety Codes Act system and accredited municipalities.
Small claims and quirks
Alberta's Civil (Small Claims) limit is $100,000, by far the highest in Canada, which means many disputes that would go to a higher court elsewhere stay in the simpler, cheaper provincial court here. Two Alberta quirks: that $100,000 small claims ceiling, and the 90-day lien window for concrete and oil-and-gas work, both of which set Alberta apart from neighbours like Saskatchewan (see Working in Saskatchewan).
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