Young and new workers are hurt far more often than experienced ones, because they are inexperienced, less likely to refuse unsafe work, and physically more vulnerable. Every Canadian jurisdiction responds with two things: a minimum age for construction work, and a heightened duty on the employer to orient and supervise anyone who is young or new to the job. As a contractor you carry both. The minimum age differs by province, so confirm the rule where you work before you put a teenager on site, and treat day-one orientation and close supervision as legal duties, not goodwill.
Minimum age is set by province
There is no single national minimum age for construction. The patchwork looks like this:
- Saskatchewan: the minimum age for a construction site is 16; under-16s are prohibited on construction sites. Workers aged 14 and 15 must complete the Young Worker Readiness Certificate Course (YWRCC) before any employment at all.
- British Columbia: 15-year-olds can do "light work" with parental consent, but entering a construction site (along with heavy manufacturing and heavy industrial environments) is excluded from "light work", which effectively keeps under-15s off construction sites. Under-15 non-light work needs Director permission.
- Alberta: construction jobs are classified as "potentially harmful", which generally prohibits workers under 15 without a special exemption, with further restrictions on heavy machinery, pneumatic drills and welding for those under 16.
- Ontario: the minimum age for hazardous work, which includes most construction, is effectively 16 or over. The employer must not employ a person under the prescribed age, and the OHSA prohibits underage workers in or near the workplace for prescribed hazardous work.
- Federal (federally regulated work): a worker under 17 may not work underground, as a nuclear energy worker, or in work likely to endanger their health or safety.
Confirm your own province's current minimum age before hiring, because the figure above is jurisdiction-specific and the restrictions on particular tasks differ again.
Tasks young workers cannot do
On top of the minimum age, most provinces ban under-18s from the highest-risk tasks regardless of whether they are otherwise allowed on site. Commonly off-limits for those under 18:
- work involving asbestos or silica processes
- confined-space entry
- use of an atmosphere-supplying respirator
These are exactly the hazards (covered in Silica, Asbestos and Dust) where a young worker's inexperience can be fatal, which is why the bans are firm.
"Young worker" can mean under 25
Most provinces focus their minimum-age rules on under-18 minors, but for the purposes of OHS protection some go wider. British Columbia defines a "young worker" as anyone under 25 in its OHS regulation, a deliberately broad net, because the elevated injury risk does not switch off at 18. The point for you: a 22-year-old who is new to your trade still needs the orientation and supervision a new worker is owed, even though they are not a minor.
Your duties: orientation and supervision
Whatever the worker's age, when someone is young or new to the workplace your duties step up:
- Safety orientation on day one or two. A workplace-specific safety orientation is required in several jurisdictions by statute and is best practice everywhere. It covers the site's hazards, the emergency procedures, where the equipment and first aid are, who the supervisor and the safety representative are, and the worker's three rights (to know, to participate, and to refuse unsafe work, see The Right to Refuse Unsafe Work).
- Heightened supervision. A new or young worker needs closer, more active supervision than a seasoned hand, because they are less likely to spot a hazard and less likely to speak up. This is a recognised duty, not a courtesy.
- Document it. Record the orientation and the training. If a young worker is hurt, the records are what show you met the heightened duty, and the absence of records is what an investigator notices.
Why the law leans this hard
Workers under 25 are statistically at the highest risk of workplace injury. Inexperience means they do not yet recognise the hazard; reluctance to challenge a supervisor means they do the unsafe thing rather than refuse; and they may be put on tasks beyond their training. Ontario's Working for Workers Act, 2022 raised the maximum fine for an individual to $500,000, a penalty structure with particular bite for an employer who exposes a young worker to a documented hazard.
Common mistakes
- Assuming one national minimum age. It ranges by province; Saskatchewan is 16 on sites, others differ. Confirm yours.
- Putting an under-18 on a banned task. Asbestos, silica, confined spaces and atmosphere-supplying respirators are off-limits regardless.
- Treating a 22-year-old as fully experienced. New is new; the orientation and supervision duty still applies, and in BC the "young worker" net reaches to 25.
- Skipping the documented orientation. A day-one orientation you cannot prove is, to an investigator, an orientation that did not happen.
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