How to Start a Renovation Contracting Business in Canada

The short answer

A renovation contracting business is a registered business that sells defined jobs under written contracts — plus a licence picture that changes at every provincial border. Canada has no national renovation licence. Quebec licenses nearly all construction work. British Columbia licenses new-home builders and building envelope renovators. Ontario licenses no general contractor at all, only specific trades and activities. The mistake that costs new renovators the most time is chasing a general licence that does not exist in their province, or starting regulated work without the specific licence that does. Find your province's rule first, then build the rest of the business around it.

This guide is about starting the business. It is not about planning a renovation as a homeowner. If you are renovating your own home and need permits and secondary-suite rules, that is a different question from registering a company and hiring a crew.

Step 1: Pick the scope you will sell

Renovation contracting covers too much ground to sell all of it at once. Pick a scope you can do well and staff honestly:

• General renovation. Kitchens, bathrooms, basements, and whole-home updates, usually with subcontractors for the licensed trades.
• One trade done well. Drywall, flooring, painting, tile, or carpentry. A narrow scope needs fewer subcontractors and a simpler licence picture.
• Exterior and envelope work. Roofing, siding, windows, and decks. In British Columbia, building envelope renovation on multi-unit buildings is licensed work of its own — check that rule before you bid it.
• What you will not do. Name the work you turn down: electrical, gas, and plumbing unless you or a licensed subcontractor hold the trade licence for it. Turning down work outside your licence is what keeps the business open.

The scope also decides the crew. A general renovator hires and manages subcontractors. A one-trade shop may run with two or three employees. Write down which model you are before you register, because the insurance and workers' compensation quotes depend on it.

Step 2: Register the business

The business paperwork is the same shape as any trade business:

1. Choose a structure. Most solo renovators start as a sole proprietorship and incorporate later if liability or income makes it worthwhile.
2. Register the business name with your province if you trade under a name other than your own. In Ontario the fee is $60 and the registration is valid for 5 years. Other provinces set their own fees, so check the provincial registry rather than assuming Ontario's figure travels.
3. Get a Canada Revenue Agency business number. It is free, and you need it for tax accounts and for payroll if you hire employees.
4. Register for GST/HST once your taxable supplies pass $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive calendar quarters. Renovation services are taxable supplies, so a busy first year will cross that line.
5. Check the municipal business licence. Cities set their own rules, and a licence is required in every municipality you work in where one applies. A provincial contractor licence does not replace it. BizPaL generates the permit and licence list for your business from all three levels of government.

This guide gives general information, not legal or tax advice for your situation. A short talk with an accountant before the first hire is cheaper than fixing payroll and tax accounts after.

Step 3: Get the contractor licence your province requires

Work through your own province's rule, not a national list.

Quebec. Anyone who carries out construction work or has construction work done must hold a licence from the Régie du bâtiment du Québec, unless exempted by law. That covers a building contractor who does work for a third party, submits bids, seeks out clients, or places advertisements. Household maintenance aimed chiefly at cleanliness, such as washing walls and waxing floors, does not need a contractor licence. Quebec is the strictest province on this point: if you bid construction work there, assume you need the licence until the Régie tells you otherwise.

British Columbia. BC Housing licenses residential builders under the Homeowner Protection Act. You need the licence before starting construction on a new home, and you need it even where no building permit is required. Building envelope renovators must also be licensed, and must arrange warranty on the project. The two-year materials and labour warranty duty applies where the job costs at least the greater of $10,000 or $2,000 per self-contained unit and replaces 60% or more of the cladding, per the Building Envelope Renovation Regulation. Other renovation work does not fall under builder licensing — but that does not mean it is unlicensed work. Electrical and gas contracting are licensed separately through Technical Safety BC, and the municipality still requires its own business licence. The application fee for a residential builder licence is $600.

Ontario. Ontario has no general contractor licence to apply for. The licences that exist are specific: Toronto issues a Building Renovator licence for renovation work in Toronto (application $234.62, licence $260.50, $495.12 total; trade examination $79.65; renewal $293.14); the Electrical Safety Authority licenses electrical contracting businesses; the Technical Standards and Safety Authority covers fuels work; the Home Construction Regulatory Authority licenses builders and vendors of new homes; and hands-on compulsory trade work needs a Certificate of Qualification from Skilled Trades Ontario. If your work is general renovation outside Toronto with licensed subcontractors doing the electrical, gas, and plumbing, you may need no provincial contractor licence at all — but confirm that against the work you actually sell, and check the municipal licence in every city you work in.

Other provinces. Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and the Atlantic provinces do not run a single general renovation licence like Quebec's, but trade licensing, municipal licensing, and new-home warranty rules still apply. Check your province's regulator and your city's licensing office before you bid, and do not carry another province's answer across the border with you.

Step 4: Arrange insurance and workers' compensation

Get both in place before the first job, not after the first accident.

• Commercial general liability insurance. Covers third-party injury and property damage from your work. Clients and general contractors routinely ask for the certificate before awarding work, so have it ready to send.
• Workers' compensation. Register with your province's workers' compensation board. In Ontario, coverage is mandatory for businesses in construction, including independent operators, sole proprietors, partners, and executive officers. The narrow home-renovation exemption covers operators doing home renovation work only, hired directly by the homeowner who occupies the home — and employees on the job must still be covered. In Ontario, employers must give the WSIB their business information within 10 calendar days of the first worker starting and complete registration by the end of the following month. Outside Ontario, register with the provincial board that covers your province and follow its rules for owners and workers.
• Clearance certificates. In Ontario, a contractor's client or general contractor will ask for a WSIB clearance certificate showing the account is in good standing. Keep yours current and collect current clearances from every subcontractor before they step on site.
• Tools, vehicle, and builder's risk. A commercial vehicle policy for work vehicles, tool cover for theft from a site or vehicle, and course-of-construction cover for larger projects are quoted separately by a broker. Get the quotes before you buy the truck, not after.

Step 5: Set up contracts and permits

A written contract for every job, even a small one. Cover: the scope of work in plain words, the materials and who supplies them, the price and what is excluded, the payment schedule tied to stages of work, how change orders are priced and approved in writing, the start and finish dates, who pulls the building permit, and how defects after completion are handled. A contract that only states a price is not a contract for renovation work — it is an argument waiting for a change.

Permits are separate from licences. Structural changes, additions, plumbing and electrical changes, and secondary suites commonly need a municipal building permit, while painting and flooring usually do not. Confirm in the contract who applies for the permit and who pays the fee. Never start work that needs a permit on the promise that the homeowner will sort it out later.

Deposits deserve care. Take a deposit that covers materials ordered for the job, tie further payments to finished stages, and keep the final payment due on completion. A large upfront payment with no stages is the pattern behind most contractor disputes.

Step 6: Take the first jobs

Start with small, well-defined jobs: a bathroom refresh, a flooring replacement, a basement room, a deck. Small jobs teach you your real pace, your real material costs, and which subcontractors show up on time. Price from your own costs — labour, materials, disposal, permits, insurance, and driving time — not from a rate you read online.

Get the first jobs from people who can see finished work: past employers, neighbours, local trades suppliers, and homeowners in one or two neighbourhoods. Photograph every finished job with the homeowner's permission, and ask for a short reference you can pass on. In renovation work, the last finished job is the best advertisement, and a bad first job travels just as fast.

Once the small jobs run on schedule and on budget, add size: a full kitchen, then a full basement, then a whole-home update. Let booked work, not ambition, decide when to hire the next person.

What it costs to launch

The paperwork is the cheap part. Insurance, premiums, tools, and the first months of wages are the real cost, and they vary too much by province and crew size to put a single figure on.

Sources

• Régie du bâtiment du Québec, Work requiring a licence — anyone who carries out construction work or has construction work done must hold an RBQ licence unless exempted by law; a building contractor working for a third party, submitting bids, seeking clients, or advertising needs one; household maintenance aimed chiefly at cleanliness does not.
• BC Housing, Apply to Become a Licensed Residential Builder in B.C. — a residential builder must hold a licence before starting construction on a new home, even in areas where building permits are not required; three licence types (general contractor, developer, building envelope renovator); the fee is $600; building envelope renovators must arrange warranty on the project.
• Building Envelope Renovation Regulation, B.C. Reg. 240/2000 — a building envelope renovator must be licensed; projects below the greater of $10,000 or $2,000 per self-contained unit are exempt; a two-year materials and labour warranty is required where the cost meets that threshold and 60% or more of the cladding is replaced.
• City of Toronto, Building Renovators — a Building Renovator licence is required for all businesses that repair or renovate buildings, including any business that advertises renovation services; application fee $234.62, licence fee $260.50, total $495.12, trade examination $79.65, renewal $293.14; page modified October 1, 2026.
• Home Construction Regulatory Authority, Do You Need a Licence to Build or Sell in Ontario? — all new home builders and sellers in Ontario must be licensed by the HCRA; building or selling a new home without a valid licence is illegal; renovations or upgrades to an existing home typically do not make it a new home.
• Electrical Safety Authority, Hire a Licensed Electrical Contractor — in Ontario only Licensed Electrical Contractors (or electricians employed by a Licensed Electrical Contracting business) are legally authorized to be hired for electrical work in a home; the 7-digit ECRA/ESA licence number proves authorization.
• Technical Standards and Safety Authority, Contractor Registration and Certification — TSSA registers fuels contractors; each technical field (heating fuel, petroleum, natural gas, propane, motor fuel, hydrogen fuel) requires a separate contractor registration.
• Technical Safety BC, 5 Key Responsibilities Every Licensed Gas Contractor Should Know — licensed gas contractors work under the Safety Standards Act; one licence per technology performed; licences must be renewed each year before expiry.
• Ontario, Cost and Time Required to Register a Business Name — sole proprietorship new registration and renewal $60, updated September 29, 2026.
• CRA, When You Need a BN — a BN is needed for a GST/HST, payroll, or another CRA program account; an unincorporated business needs a BN only when registering for program accounts.
• CRA, When to Register for and Start Charging the GST/HST — $30,000 small-supplier threshold in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive calendar quarters; 29 days to register after the effective date; voluntary registration below the threshold.
• WSIB, Registration — mandatorily covered employers must provide business information within 10 calendar days of the first worker beginning employment and complete registration by the end of the following month; optional coverage for employers not required by law.
• BizPaL, Frequently Asked Questions — free Government of Canada service that generates the permits and licences a business needs from federal, provincial/territorial, and municipal governments.

Related guides: How to Get a Contractor Licence in BC, How to Get a Contractor Licence in Ontario: The Step-by-Step Process, Contractor Licence Cost in Ontario: What You Actually Pay (2026), Renovating in Richmond: Permits, Secondary Suites and the Rules That Bite, Small Claims and Contractor Dispute Process in Canada, How to Start a Handyman Business in Ontario, How to Start a Mould Remediation Business in Canada