Climb, prune and remove trees, often with a chainsaw at height. Line clearing near power lines is a specialty of its own, and this is one of the more dangerous trades.
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Pay, the path, pros and cons and the facts on one printable page. Counsellors: send it to a student from your own email in one click.
An apprenticeship: you are hired by a sponsor, paid while you learn on the job, and go to class for a few weeks at a time. Every fact here is from Skilled Trades Ontario (STO) and the Ontario government. See every Ontario trade side by side
You are paid from your first day. Over the 5,400 hours on the job, even at the minimum wage you would earn at least $96,930 before tax while you train, and most sponsors pay more as your skills grow.
The trade on Skilled Trades Ontario's site(opens in a new tab)
You are paid from your first day. Over the 5,340 hours on the job, even at the minimum wage you would earn at least $95,853 before tax while you train, and most sponsors pay more as your skills grow.
The trade on Skilled Trades Ontario's site(opens in a new tab)
Still in high school? In Grade 11 or 12, with at least 14 credits and age 15 or older, you can start an apprenticeship through co-op placements and earn credits at the same time. Ask your school's OYAP recruiter, guidance counsellor or co-op teacher. Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP)(opens in a new tab)
Not ready to find a sponsor? Free pre-apprenticeship programs (up to a year at a college or community agency, tools and books covered, with a work placement) get you ready and in front of employers. Employment Ontario helps you apply. Pre-apprenticeship training(opens in a new tab)
Ontario sets no percentage of full pay for apprentices. Your sponsor agrees your wage with you, and it can never be below the minimum wage: $17.95 an hour from 1 October 2026. Source (opens in a new tab)
The median pay is about $62,000 a year. Across everyone in the job it runs from about $44,000 at the lower end to about $85,000 at the upper end. The source is listed under Sources at the end of this page.
2 to 4 years, on the usual route, and you are paid while you train from the first day.
$1,800 to $21,000 all in for tuition, fees, exams and kit. Living costs are not counted.
No. There is no licence to hold, though many employers still ask for training or a certificate.
Limited demand nationally, from government outlook data. Demand varies by region, so check your area.
Or read the whole thing here
What you earn and what it costs to get there.
Median
$62,000
Lower end
$44,000
Upper end
$85,000
Job Bank's range for arborists is $21 to $40.87 an hour, with a median of $30, about $62,000 a year full time. Utility line clearing (keeping trees off power lines for Hydro One, BC Hydro and others) is often unionized, and city forestry crews add pensions.
$31.05 an hour
The median in Ontario, the highest in Canada
Quebec is next at $27.00, and Manitoba is lowest at $21.50. Everyone starts on the ground, dragging brush and feeding the chipper, and the raise comes when you start climbing.
Roughly, all in
$1,800 to $21,000
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
The low end is a registered apprenticeship where the employer covers the school blocks, so what you pay for is climbing gear, a saddle, ropes, helmet and boots, and the ISA (International Society of Arboriculture) Certified Arborist exam. The high end is a one or two year college arboriculture program paid up front plus the blocks, better gear, and the exam and renewal fees. Gear wears out and ropes have a hard life limit, so there is a real ongoing cost after you qualify. The federal Apprenticeship Incentive Grant closed in March 2025, so that money is gone, although the Canada Apprentice Loan is still there.
Gear wears out and ropes have a life limit, so expect ongoing costs. The federal Apprenticeship Incentive Grant closed in March 2025.
Utilities and cities
Pension, benefits, union.
Storm overtime
Ice storms and windstorms mean weeks of overtime.
Outdoors and fit
Climbing keeps you in shape.
Gear supplied
Most employers supply saws, chippers and safety gear.
Travel
Storm crews get sent across the country.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
Ground crew first, then climbing, then certification. Ontario and BC (British Columbia) run apprenticeships.
High school diploma
Grade 12
Grade 12 with biology, math and physical education. Fitness matters more than marks here.
Start as a groundworker
Months
Tree care companies hire in spring. You drag brush, run the chipper and learn knots. Chainsaw safety and first aid courses come first.
Register an apprenticeship
2 to 3 years
Ontario's Arborist trade (code 444A) needs 6,120 hours: 5,400 on the job plus 720 in school, about 3 years. BC has Arborist Technician, Climbing Arborist and Utility Arborist programs through SkilledTradesBC.
ISA (International Society of Arboriculture) Certified Arborist
After 3 years
The credential the industry recognizes. Needs about 3 years of experience, or a related degree plus experience, then an exam. Many employers require it for lead roles.
Specialize
Ongoing
Utility arborist (line clearing), crane and rigging, or a college diploma in urban forestry to move into municipal planning and consulting.
Biology
Tree health, pests and soil.
Physical education
Climbing is an athletic job.
Physics
Rigging is loads, angles and forces.
Math
Estimating weights and quoting jobs.
Shop
Saw maintenance and small engines.
No province requires a licence to cut trees. Arborist is a provincial trade in Ontario and BC (British Columbia), but it is not a Red Seal trade, so certificates do not automatically transfer between provinces. The ISA (International Society of Arboriculture) Certified Arborist credential is recognized across Canada and internationally and is what most employers and cities ask for. Working near power lines requires utility arborist training and certification.
In Quebec the usual route is a short vocational diploma in tree pruning, not an apprenticeship.
Secondary III courses
From age 16
The DEP (Diploma of Vocational Studies) in Tree Pruning needs a high school diploma, or age 16 with Secondary III language, second language and math. From 18, the general development test is another way in.
DEP in Tree Pruning (Élagage, 5366)
About 9 months
915 hours of pruning, felling, planting and stump removal. In French at Fierbourg in Quebec City, the Laval horticulture centre, the La Tuque forestry school and the Suroît centre in Montérégie.
First job
After the DEP
Graduates work in urban forestry, for cities, and clearing trees around power lines for utilities.
An English version exists, the DEP (Diploma of Vocational Studies) in Tree Pruning (5866), with the same 915 hours. No centre is offering it at the moment, so check Inforoute FPT (the Quebec vocational training directory) before you plan around it.
Things you don't need, but that help.
Utility arborist
Line-clearing certification, and the most danger.
ISA (International Society of Arboriculture) Certified Tree Climber
A written exam plus a practical climbing test, with first aid and aerial rescue training required first.
Crane and rigging
Big removals over houses.
Tree risk assessment qualification
Consulting and municipal work, less climbing.
Urban forestry diploma or degree
City forester, planner and consultant jobs.
Chainsaw safety and first aid
Take them before applying.
Rope skills
Climbing gyms, sailing and knots all help.
Driver's licence, DZ (medium truck) in Ontario
Chip trucks are big.
Fitness
Climbing a 25-metre maple with a saw takes real strength.
Plant identification
Know your species.
After ice storms and hurricanes, tree companies and utilities send crews across Canada and into the US for weeks of 14-hour days at overtime rates. It is exhausting, and the overtime adds up.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
7am at the yard: load saws, ropes and fuel, check the chipper. First job by 8. A residential removal: the climber goes up, sets a rope, takes the tree down piece by piece while the ground crew lowers limbs on rigging lines and feeds the chipper. Lunch on the tailgate. A pruning job in the afternoon, rain or shine. Clean the site, sharpen chains, home by 5.
The good
The hard parts
Things people don't tell you.
Tree work consistently ranks among the most dangerous jobs in North America. Falls, chainsaw cuts, being struck by limbs and contact with power lines are the main causes. Training and gear are not optional.
The 1998 ice storm in Ontario and Quebec brought down trees across the region, and the cleanup kept tree crews busy long after. Big storms still send crews across the country.
Toronto's urban forest has over 11.5 million trees, the City reported in 2025, in streets, parks, ravines and back yards. The city runs its own forestry crews plus contractors.
Every list is built from the same numbers shown above, so you can see where this career sits next to the others.
Personal, food and outdoor trades first, then the rest of the field. See every career in skilled trades.
Last checked October 2026. Pay figures are typical full-time annual amounts in Canadian dollars, based on Government of Canada Job Bank wage data and published salary grids. They vary by province, employer and experience. Tuition is for domestic students. How every figure on this site is sourced and checked.
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