Commercial trade rates in Halifax.
Estimated commercial rates for all 8 trades tracked in Halifax, built from Job Bank Canada (ESDC), Small Area Estimation wage model wage data, for facility and property teams benchmarking vendor invoices.
Rates by trade
Plumbing (estimated)$96/hr median · $58–$111 range
Source: Job Bank Canada (ESDC), Small Area Estimation wage model, using a documented service multiplier.
Electrical (estimated)$85/hr median · $48–$126 range
Source: Job Bank Canada (ESDC), Small Area Estimation wage model, using a documented service multiplier.
HVAC and Refrigeration (estimated)$85/hr median · $55–$156 range
Source: Job Bank Canada (ESDC), Small Area Estimation wage model, using a documented service multiplier.
General Maintenance (estimated)$69/hr median · $42–$89 range
Source: Job Bank Canada (ESDC), Small Area Estimation wage model, using a documented service multiplier.
Janitorial and Cleaning (estimated)$52/hr median · $42–$78 range
Source: Job Bank Canada (ESDC), Small Area Estimation wage model, using a documented service multiplier.
Landscaping and Grounds (estimated)$55/hr median · $42–$75 range
Source: Job Bank Canada (ESDC), Small Area Estimation wage model, using a documented service multiplier.
Roofing (estimated)$74/hr median · $50–$105 range
Source: Job Bank Canada (ESDC), Small Area Estimation wage model, using a documented service multiplier.
Carpentry (estimated)$69/hr median · $53–$108 range
Source: Job Bank Canada (ESDC), Small Area Estimation wage model, using a documented service multiplier.
What's different in Halifax
- Labour market: Atlantic Canada has a smaller commercial trades market and generally lower union density than Ontario or Quebec, a common factor in the lower wage levels seen here.
- Climate and seasonality: Coastal climate with Atlantic storm exposure (including remnants of hurricanes) plus freeze-thaw winters drives roofing, moisture, and emergency heating work.
- Code and licensing: Nova Scotia licenses trades provincially; the Halifax Regional Municipality applies its own permitting on top of the Nova Scotia Building Code Regulations.
Frequently asked questions
- What do commercial trade rates cost in Halifax?
- Across the 8 trades tracked here, the median commercial hourly rate in Halifax runs around $73/hr, though it varies significantly by trade: see the table above for each one.
- Is this a real measured rate, or an estimate?
- Every rate on this page is currently an estimate: each trade's Halifax wage, multiplied by a documented service multiplier that converts an employee wage into a billed commercial rate. It is not drawn from actual invoices or job records. The full model is on the methodology page.
- Why a range instead of a single number?
- A single average hides the real spread: in the underlying wage data for estimated trades, and between emergency/scheduled and contract/ad-hoc work for measured ones. We show low, median, and high so the range reflects that honestly.
- Is this a residential or commercial rate?
- Commercial. These figures track facility-side trade work for businesses, property managers, and multi-site operators in Halifax. Commercial rates typically run above residential rates for the same trade, reflecting insurance, code compliance, and scheduling requirements that residential work doesn't carry.
- What's driving trade rates in Halifax specifically?
- Atlantic Canada has a smaller commercial trades market and generally lower union density than Ontario or Quebec, a common factor in the lower wage levels seen here.
Methodology
These figures are built from regional wage data multiplied by a documented service multiplier, or, where enough real job records exist, measured directly from vendor work logged in Evalystar. See the full model, sources, and what upgrades an estimate to a measured rate on the methodology page.
Nearby cities
Cite this data
These Halifax benchmarks are published under CC BY 4.0: reuse them anywhere, including commercially, as long as you attribute Evalystar. The machine-readable version is at /api/rates/ca/halifax.json.
Evalystar (2024). Commercial facility trade rate benchmarks, Halifax. Retrieved from https://evalystar.com/rates/ca/halifax. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.