Builders' Lien -- Deadline & Holdback (All 13)

A builders' lien is your security for getting paid -- but every province runs its own clock, and miss it and the right is gone. The preservation deadline and the statutory holdback for every jurisdiction.

Lien deadline (from last work) and holdback

Ontario (ON)	60 days preserve / 90 perfect (150 total); 10% holdback
British Columbia (BC)	45 days (then 1-year action + CPL); 10% holdback
Alberta (AB)	60 days (90 for concrete + oil/gas); 10% holdback
Saskatchewan (SK)	40 CLEAR DAYS; 10% holdback
Manitoba (MB)	60 days (ALL contracts); 7.5% holdback
Nova Scotia (NS)	60 / 105 days from last work; 10% (drops to 2.5% finishing)
New Brunswick (NB)	60 days; 10% private / 5% Crown
Prince Edward Island (PEI)	60 days; 15% (over $15k) / 20% (up to $15k)
Newfoundland & Labrador (NL)	30 days; 10% holdback
Northwest Territories (NT)	60 days; 10% (new Builders' Lien Act in force 1 Sep 2025)
Nunavut (NU)	45 days; 10% holdback
Yukon (YT)	30 days; 10% holdback (held 30 days)
Quebec (QC)	Legal hypothec, NOT a lien -- 30 days to register + serve / 6 months to act; no mandated holdback

Watch these cells

Saskatchewan is 40 CLEAR DAYS -- it is NOT 40-then-60 (that is Manitoba)
Manitoba's 60-day lien and 7.5% holdback apply to ALL live contracts, not just new ones
Quebec is a legal hypothec under the Civil Code (art 2727 CCQ), a separate process from a common-law lien
Northwest Territories: the old Mechanics Lien Act '45-day wage lien' is REPEALED -- do not rely on it

As of 2026 -- not legal advice. Some provinces are in transition (the deadline can depend on your contract date -- e.g. AB pre/post 29 Aug 2022), and perfection clocks differ. The clocks are strict -- diarise them and confirm against your province's lien/hypothec statute.

Sources: provincial Builders'/Mechanics' Lien Acts (all 10 provinces + 3 territories) · Civil Code of Quebec art 2727 (legal hypothec)

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