Shingle houses and seal flat commercial roofs. Quick to enter, in short supply, hot and high.
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Pay, the path, pros and cons and the facts on one printable page. Good for a wall or a guidance counsellor.
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What you earn and what it costs to get there.
Journeyperson
$64,000
1st-year apprentice
$46,000
Union or foreperson
$92,000
Job Bank's median for roofers is about $31 an hour, or $64,000 a year with full-time hours. Union commercial roofers doing flat membrane roofs in big cities earn at the top. Residential shingle crews are often paid by the square (100 square feet), so fast crews earn more.
$20 to $25 an hour
First-year apprentice, roughly 60 to 75% of the journeyperson rate
Many roofers start as a labourer tearing off old shingles and carrying bundles. It is paid, and it is how most get their first sponsor.
$31 to $44 an hour
About $64,000 to $92,000 a year with a full season
The season is the catch. Roofing slows in the coldest months, so a year's pay depends on how much winter work your employer has. Snow removal and emergency leak repairs fill some of the gap.
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
This is a paid apprenticeship, so there is no tuition year to fund. The low end is two cheap in school blocks, a basic set of tools and the certificate exam. The high end is pricier blocks in a higher cost province plus a full harness, boots and hand tools. The Canada Apprentice Loan is interest free during class and EI (Employment Insurance) covers the lost wages, so almost nobody leaves this trade with student debt.
Almost nobody leaves this trade with student debt. The federal Apprenticeship Incentive Grant ended in 2025, so check the Government of Canada apprenticeship page for current help.
Union pension and health plan
The roofers' union locals in Toronto, Vancouver and elsewhere run pension, health and dental plans on commercial jobs.
Overtime at premium rates
Common in the busy months when the weather is good.
EI (Employment Insurance) in the off-season
Normal for roofers laid off in winter, though it pays much less than working.
Fast path to your own company
A truck, a ladder and a crew is a business. Many roofers own one by 30.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
One of the shortest apprenticeships in construction.
High school diploma
Grade 12
Grade 12 helps but some employers will take you without it. Math and shop are useful.
Find a sponsor
Weeks
A roofing contractor or the union hall. Showing up as a labourer for a season is the usual way in.
Register the apprenticeship
Days
With Skilled Trades Ontario, Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training, or your province's trades body.
Work and study
2 to 3 years
About 4,000 hours in Ontario: roughly 3,500 on the job plus two in-school levels of about 6 weeks at a college or union training centre.
Certificate of Qualification and Red Seal
After your hours
Pass the provincial exam. The Red Seal endorsement lets you work in any province.
Math
Roof area, pitch, material counts and quotes.
Construction technology or shop
Basic tool skills and reading a plan.
Physical education
Carrying 30 kilogram bundles up a ladder in July is the job.
Business or entrepreneurship
Useful sooner than you think in this trade.
Roofer is not a compulsory trade in Ontario, Alberta or BC. Plenty of roofers work without a certificate. Certification is still worth it: union and commercial employers prefer it, it raises your rate, and it helps if you ever want to bid on public work. Quebec regulates construction work through the CCQ (Commission de la construction du Québec). The Red Seal endorsement transfers between provinces.
Things you don't need, but that help.
Red Seal endorsement
One extra exam. Recognised across Canada.
Flat and low-slope membrane roofing
Torch-on, rubber and single-ply systems on commercial buildings. Better paid and more year-round than shingles.
Metal roofing and cladding
Standing-seam steel on houses, barns and commercial buildings. Growing fast.
Manufacturer certifications
Roofing product makers certify installers so their warranties apply. Employers want certified crews.
Green and solar-ready roofs
Rooftop gardens and solar mounting are a small but growing niche in cities.
Working at heights and WHMIS (workplace hazardous materials training)
Mandatory in Ontario before you go up. One-day courses.
Driver's licence
Jobs move every day or two.
Heat tolerance
A dark roof in August can be 20 degrees hotter than the air.
Fall-arrest habits
Wearing your harness every time is what separates a long career from a short one.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
Start at 7am, earlier in summer to beat the heat. Set up ladders and fall protection, tear off the old roof and throw it into the bin, replace rotten boards, lay underlay and flashing, then shingle. On a commercial job, roll out and heat-weld membrane over insulation. Sweep the yard for nails, tarp everything if rain is coming, done by 3 or 4pm.
The good
The hard parts
Things people don't tell you.
Asphalt shingles, the most common roof on Canadian houses, wear out in about 20 to 30 years. Every house in the country needs a roofer at least a few times in its life.
Falls from height are consistently among the top causes of death and critical injury on Canadian construction sites. That is why Ontario requires working at heights training before you can go up.
Almost every warehouse, school, mall and condo tower has a flat or low-slope roof sealed with a membrane rather than shingles. Commercial roofing is a different craft from houses and usually pays more.
Last checked September 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.