The three territories share one big tax advantage, GST only at 5% with no PST or HST, but they differ on almost everything else: the highest minimum wages in Canada, three separate lien Acts with three different deadlines, two separate workers compensation bodies, and an extra 4 cents a kilometre on the CRA mileage rate. This guide covers Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut together so you can see where they line up and where they part.
Sales tax: GST only, 5%
None of the territories has a provincial sales tax or HST. You charge only the 5% federal GST. Register once taxable revenue passes $30,000 over four consecutive quarters, within 29 days of the effective date. That single 5% rate is one of the few things all three territories agree on.
The 4-cent mileage top-up
The CRA per-kilometre rate is 4 cents higher in the territories. So the 2026 rate is 77 cents for the first 5,000 km (against 73 cents in the provinces) and 71 cents after (against 67 cents), reflecting northern operating costs. Claim it on your business travel.
Minimum wage: the highest in the country
- Nunavut: $19.75 an hour, the highest in Canada.
- Yukon: $18.51 an hour.
- Northwest Territories: $16.95 an hour.
The cost of carrying any crew member is correspondingly high. Northern wages, accommodation and freight all need building into a quote that looks nothing like a southern one.
Builders lien: three Acts, three deadlines
This is where the territories diverge most. Do not assume a 60-day rule applies.
- Northwest Territories: a new Builders' Lien Act came into force on 1 September 2025, replacing the old Mechanics Lien Act. Preserve within 60 days, with a 10% holdback. (The old 45-day wage lien from the repealed Act is no longer the headline rule.)
- Yukon: the Builders Lien Act (RSY 2002, c.18) is older legislation with a short 30-day general preservation window, and a 10% holdback the owner may retain for 30 days after completion. Miss the 30 days and a supplier or subcontractor loses lien rights entirely. There is no substantial-performance extension.
- Nunavut: still runs the Mechanics Lien Act (RSNWT 1988, c.M-7, as duplicated for Nunavut). Preserve within 45 days, with a 10% holdback.
So: NWT 60 days, Yukon 30 days, Nunavut 45 days, all at 10%. Calendar the right one the day you sign.
Prompt payment
NWT brought in a prompt-payment regime alongside its new lien Act in September 2025. Yukon and Nunavut have none. In those two, the lien is your only statutory backstop.
Workers compensation: two bodies
- NWT and Nunavut: WSCC (the Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission, wscc.nt.ca). One agency runs both workers comp and OHS for both territories. The 2026 average provisional rate is $2.40 per $100 of assessable payroll. Maximum insurable remuneration is $116,000 in NWT and $117,300 in Nunavut. Registration is triggered when you hire one or more workers for more than 10 days a year. Construction subclass rates require a WSCC Connect login and vary by code: do not rely on the $2.40 average for your class.
- Yukon: the Workers' Safety and Compensation Board (WSCB) (wcb.yk.ca), entirely separate from WSCC. The 2026 average is roughly $2.20 per $100; maximum annual earnings is $107,599. Yukon uses rate groups, and construction sits in higher Medium and High groups: again, confirm your own group rather than using the average.
A southern contractor must register with the right territorial body and get a clearance before putting workers on site. Fall protection is required at 3 metres in all three territories.
Licensing
There is no territorial-level general contractor licence in any of the three; the obligation attaches to the trade. Yukon, NWT and Nunavut each run their own apprenticeship and certification unit and each recognises Red Seal endorsements, which is the simplest way to prove your crew's qualifications. Gas fitters and construction electricians face extra licensing through safety legislation. Verify every journeyperson's certificate before you mobilise; on remote Nunavut jobs many southern contractors bring their whole crew.
Small claims
- Yukon: $25,000.
- Northwest Territories: $35,000.
- Nunavut: $20,000.
Quirks worth knowing
- GST only is a real edge on materials-heavy jobs: no provincial tax layer to administer.
- Permafrost and extreme cold change the build. An engineer's stamp is effectively mandatory for foundations on permafrost, and concrete cannot be poured below set temperatures without heated enclosures. Treat heated hoarding as a standard winter cost line.
- Remote work allowances. Board, lodging and travel paid on temporary or remote sites can be excluded from an employee's income under the CRA special work site rules; as a self-employed contractor you deduct these as business expenses on out-of-base projects.
- Northern procurement. Government-funded jobs, especially in Nunavut under the land claim, can carry Inuit firm priority and local-hire conditions. Read the tender.
Common mistakes
- Assuming one lien deadline. It is 60 days in NWT, 30 in Yukon, 45 in Nunavut.
- Registering with the wrong board. WSCC covers NWT and Nunavut; WSCB covers Yukon. They share nothing.
- Pricing like the south. Freight, accommodation, the 4-cent mileage top-up and winter heating all reshape the number.
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