Start a construction company in New Brunswick: register the business with Service New Brunswick, register with WorkSafeNB, and get the building permit.
Applies in: New Brunswick
Register the business with Service New Brunswick, register with WorkSafeNB once you have workers, then get the building permit from the local government or regional service commission. New Brunswick has no general contractor licence. What it has instead is a workers compensation threshold that catches most crews, a building permit system run under the Building Code Administration Act, and 12 compulsory trades where only certified workers or registered apprentices may do the work. This guide covers only the New Brunswick mechanics. It does not re-cover Ontario's WSIB and constructor rules or British Columbia's WorkSafeBC rules — those belong to the Ontario and British Columbia guides, and New Brunswick's bodies, forms, and thresholds are different.
Start with the business itself. If you trade under a name other than your own, register that name with the Service New Brunswick Corporate Registry. A new Certificate of Business Name costs $112, including the mandatory $12 Royal Gazette publication fee, and it expires after five years; renewal costs $62, also including publication, according to Service New Brunswick, Registration of Business Name Form. A NUANS Atlantic name search report is required with an initial registration, on the same page. You can also file the registration electronically through the Corporate Registry, on the same page.
Incorporation is the usual choice once you hire crews or sign larger contracts, because it separates the company's liabilities from your personal assets. Incorporate through Service New Brunswick as well. The full steps for both routes are in our How to Register a Business in New Brunswick guide — this guide does not repeat them. Get a Canada Revenue Agency business number early: WorkSafeNB and the Canada Revenue Agency both use it to identify the business, and you will need it again for GST/HST, covered in the GST/HST guide linked below.
WorkSafeNB runs the province's no-fault workers compensation system. Mandatory coverage applies to employers with three or more workers usually employed, and employers who must have mandatory coverage must register with WorkSafeNB within 15 days of workers beginning their employment, according to WorkSafeNB, Employer Registration. Workers can be full-time, part-time, casual, or non-registered contractors, subcontractors, or brokers, on the same page. If you do not register in time, WorkSafeNB will assess you retroactively for the period when registration was required, and if a compensable accident happens before registration is complete, the full cost of the claim can be charged to you as well, on the same page.
Below the three-worker threshold, coverage is voluntary. Employers and individuals who are not required to register for mandatory coverage have the option of voluntary coverage and personal coverage, on the same page. Personal coverage is available to self-employed people with two or more work contracts, and to registered employers who want to extend coverage to non-salaried officers of a corporation, proprietors and their spouses, and partners and their spouses, on the same page. Voluntary coverage takes effect when WorkSafeNB receives full payment and approves the application, on the same page.
WorkSafeNB classifies each employer by primary business activity to set the assessment rate, using the North American Industry Classification System. You can register online through Service New Brunswick or through WorkSafeNB's MyServices, and WorkSafeNB's assessment phone line is 1-800-999-9775 for questions about registration, rates, balances, and clearance certificates.
Clearances are the document your clients will ask for, and they protect you when you hire others. A clearance certificate issued by WorkSafeNB states that an employer is in good standing, and employers may request one to minimize liability when hiring contractors and subcontractors, according to WorkSafeNB, Payment of Employer Assessments. Since the employer's account can change, a clearance certificate is valid only to the date of issue, or to a specified period of time as determined by WorkSafeNB, on the same page. WorkSafeNB will not issue a clearance certificate if the employer has an overdue account balance, on the same page.
Build this into your job file both ways. When you hire a subcontractor, ask for their clearance before they start, and ask again if it expires mid-job. When a client or general contractor hires you, they will ask for yours before you start. A clearance that was valid at the start of the job may not still be valid at the end of it, so keep the dates with the project file.
No person may construct a building in New Brunswick unless a building permit has been issued and the work conforms with the Code, the standards in the local building by-law or regulation, and the terms of the permit. The Code is the National Building Code of Canada 2020, adopted under the General Regulation – Building Code Administration Act, which also adopts Energy Performance Tier 2 as the minimum standard for energy performance. Before commencing construction or demolition work, the owner or a person acting for the owner must give written notice to the local government or regional service commission, stating when work will start and naming the constructors, architects, engineers, designers, and inspection agencies involved, on the same page.
Where the local government has not made a building by-law, and in rural districts, the permit fee is $25 plus $5 for each $1,000 of the estimated construction cost, and a demolition permit costs $25, on the same page. Municipalities with a building by-law set their own fees, so the number that matters is the one in the fee schedule where the work will happen. A copy of the permit must be posted on the premises before work begins and stay posted until the work is complete, on the same page. At least one inspection must happen at each of three stages: completion of footings and foundations before backfilling, substantial completion of structural framing, and completion of construction or before occupation, on the same page. An inspection must be made within two days of the notice of readiness for inspection, or on a date and time agreed with the building inspector, on the same page.
The constructor must build in accordance with the Code, the description of the work in the permit, and any plans approved by the building inspector, on the same page. If the work is not under the control of a constructor, the owner is deemed to be the constructor and takes on those responsibilities, on the same page — so put the constructor role in writing on every project.
New Brunswick does not require a licence to be a general contractor. What it requires is certified workers for 12 compulsory occupations: bricklayer, construction electrician, oil burner mechanic, plumber, refrigeration and air conditioning technician, sheet metal worker, sprinkler system installer, steamfitter-pipefitter, construction boilermaker, mobile crane operator, automotive service technician, and automotive service technician (steering, suspension and brakes), according to Government of New Brunswick, Compulsory Occupations. No employer may employ a person in a compulsory occupation unless that person holds a valid certificate of qualification or is registered as an apprentice, on the same page.
That rule shapes hiring. Before anyone does electrical, plumbing, sheet metal, refrigeration, sprinkler, or other compulsory trade work on your jobs, verify their certificate or apprenticeship status and keep the proof on file. In total, 82 occupations are designated under the Apprenticeship and Occupational Certification Act, 53 of them Red Seal occupations, and apprenticeship training is available in 44 of them, according to Government of New Brunswick, Designated occupations. Voluntary trades such as carpentry need no certificate to work, but the same hiring discipline still pays: clients and general contractors check credentials. The carpenter apprentice guide linked below covers the apprenticeship path in New Brunswick.
WorkSafeNB coverage is not liability insurance: it covers workplace injury, not damage you cause to a client's property or a third party. Arrange commercial general liability insurance before you bid, and expect clients and general contractors to ask for proof of insurance alongside your WorkSafeNB clearance. No premium or coverage figure is printed here, because no official source states one — get quotes for your trade mix and contract sizes, and check what your contracts require.
On site, your duties sit under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and its regulations, including the General Regulation that sets the safety rules for construction work. Name a competent supervisor for the work, keep first aid on site, and make sure every worker knows the hazards of the job before they start. The safety rules are enforced by WorkSafeNB, which also runs the compensation system — the same body that registers you is the one that inspects you.
WorkSafeNB does not publish a single construction assessment rate, so do not budget from one flat figure. Your rate is set from your industry classification and rate group, which WorkSafeNB assigns from the description of your operations when you register, and it is charged on your assessable payroll. The opened WorkSafeNB pages do not state a construction rate or an average rate, so this guide states neither. Your individual rate comes from WorkSafeNB, not from an average.
The opened WorkSafeNB pages do not publish a construction assessment rate or an average assessment rate, so this guide states neither — only how rates are set. The opened Service New Brunswick pages do not state the current incorporation fee, so this guide states no fee for incorporation. The opened pages do not state a fixed processing time for WorkSafeNB registration, so this guide states none. Municipal building permit fees apply where a local building by-law exists, so the $25 plus $5 per $1,000 figure in this guide is only the fee where no local building by-law applies.
New Brunswick sets separate safety representation rules for construction project sites, based on how many employees work at the site and how long the project runs. On a small project site, the contractor and the employees must jointly designate a health and safety representative within two weeks after the work starts: one representative where there are between five and 50 employees on site, and one additional representative for each additional 50 employees. On a medium project site, where 30 to 499 employees work at the site and the project lasts more than 90 days, and on a large project site, with more than 499 employees working at any time, a joint health and safety committee is required instead, established within two weeks after the site meets the definition. The committee meets at least once a month, keeps its minutes for three years, and the contractor posts the committee members names and the minutes of the most recent meeting in a prominent place at the site. No person may serve as a committee member or a health and safety representative unless they have attended a WorkSafeNB approved educational program, and the employer must grant leave with pay to attend it.
No, mandatory coverage applies to employers with three or more workers usually employed. If you have fewer workers, you can still register for voluntary coverage, or apply for personal coverage as a self-employed person. Clients and general contractors may still ask for proof of coverage before they let you on site, so check what your contracts require before you start work.
Within 15 days of workers beginning their employment. Employers who do not register in time face retroactive assessments for the period when registration was required, and if a compensable workplace accident happens before registration is complete, WorkSafeNB will charge the total cost or capitalized value of the claim to the employer in addition to the retroactive assessments.
A clearance certificate states that an employer is in good standing with WorkSafeNB. Employers request one to limit liability when hiring contractors and subcontractors, or when ownership changes. A clearance is valid only to the date it is issued, or to a specified period set by WorkSafeNB, and WorkSafeNB will not issue one if the employer has an overdue account balance.
The National Building Code of Canada 2020 is adopted under the General Regulation to the Building Code Administration Act, with Energy Performance Tier 2 as the minimum standard. No person may construct a building in the province unless a building permit has been issued and the work conforms with the Code, the applicable building by-law or regulation, and the terms of the permit.
Where no local building by-law applies, such as in a rural district, the fee is $25 plus $5 for each $1,000 of the estimated construction cost, and a demolition permit costs $25. Municipalities that have made a building by-law set their own permit fees, so check the fee schedule of the local government or regional service commission where the work will happen.
Only for the 12 compulsory occupations, which include bricklayer, construction electrician, oil burner mechanic, plumber, refrigeration and air conditioning technician, sheet metal worker, sprinkler system installer, steamfitter-pipefitter, construction boilermaker, mobile crane operator, automotive service technician, and automotive service technician (steering, suspension and brakes). No employer may employ a person in a compulsory occupation unless that person holds a valid certificate of qualification or is registered as an apprentice. Other trades, such as carpentry, are voluntary occupations, so no certificate is legally required for that work.