How to Start a Carpentry Business in Canada
Start a carpentry business in Canada: trade certification, Quebec rules, business registration, insurance, workers' compensation, and pricing structure.
How to Start a Welding Business in Canada
Start a welding business in Canada: Red Seal and Alberta rules, pressure-welding limits, registration, insurance, workers' compensation, and pricing.
Applies in: across Canada
The short answer
A welding business is two businesses sharing one welder: the fabrication shop and the repair truck. Fabrication sells finished steel: gates, railings, trailers, frames, and custom parts, quoted from drawings and built in the shop. Repair sells a welder arriving where the broken thing sits: farm equipment, buckets, trailers, and fences, priced by time and fixed on site. The trade certificate opens the first door in Alberta and is voluntary elsewhere, but it is not the whole story: pressure work needs its own certificate, structural contracts often name their own qualification requirements, and site work brings safety tickets and insurance certificates that a shop job never asks for. Pick one lane, staff the credential that lane actually requires, and price the work in the way that lane's customers expect.
Step 1: Pick shop fabrication, mobile repair, or structural site work
The three lanes run differently:
- Shop fabrication: gates, railings, stairs, frames, trailers, and custom parts built from drawings or measurements. Customers compare written quotes, lead times matter, and steel supply and shop space set your capacity.
- Mobile repair: farm equipment, heavy equipment buckets, trailers, and fences fixed where they broke. Customers pay for speed and for a welder who arrives with the right rods, gas, and generator. Evenings and harvest season set the hours.
- Structural and site work: steel for buildings, bridges, and industrial sites, usually as a subcontractor. Contracts name qualification requirements, safety tickets, and insurance limits up front, and payment terms are longer than a homeowner's cheque on completion.
Start with one lane. A welding business that advertises shop, mobile, and structural work in the first month is really advertising that none of them is proven yet. One lane, done well, earns the photos and references that let you add the second.
Step 2: Certification, the Alberta rule, and the pressure layer
Job Bank's requirements, drawn from the National Occupational Classification for welders and related machine operators (NOC 72106), are the baseline:
- Completion of secondary school is usually required.
- Certification usually takes a three-year apprenticeship, or over three years of work experience in the trade plus some college or industry courses in welding.
- Trade certification is compulsory in Alberta and available, but voluntary, in all other provinces and the territories.
- A Red Seal endorsement is available on successful completion of the interprovincial Red Seal examination, and it is what lets a certified welder carry the credential across provinces.
Two layers sit on top of that baseline:
- Pressure welding: in Alberta, pressure welders must hold an Alberta Boilers Safety Association certificate of competency and a performance qualification card to weld on pressure vessels, boilers, pressure piping systems, or fittings. Grade B requires an interprovincial Red Seal journeyman welder certificate or welder trade certificate, valid pressure welder certificates matching the Alberta initial test, and a valid performance qualification. Other provinces run their own pressure-equipment authorities, so check the authority where the job sits.
- Contract qualifications: structural and industrial contracts often specify the welding qualification they will accept, such as a named standard or a testing body. Read the specification before bidding, and do not assume a trade certificate alone satisfies a contract that names something stricter.
Step 3: Register the business and set up tax before the money arrives
- Structure: most welding owners start as sole proprietors and incorporate later, when revenue and liability justify it. If you trade under a name other than your own legal name, register that name provincially.
- Ontario: registering a sole proprietorship under a business name costs $60 through the Ontario Business Registry and lasts five years. Operating under your own name does not require registration.
- British Columbia: request name approval first ($30), then register the sole proprietorship ($40) using the name request number within 56 days, or the approval lapses.
- Canada Revenue Agency business number: free, and needed for payroll and GST/HST accounts. Register for GST/HST once taxable supplies pass $30,000, or voluntarily before that so you can claim input tax credits on steel, gas, rods, and equipment.
- Municipal licences: check every city you work in. A shop also needs to check zoning for industrial use, noise, and outdoor storage, which a mobile-only business avoids.
- Bookkeeping from job one: track steel, consumables, gas, labour, mileage, and rework per job. A welder who knows the true cost per job prices with confidence; one who does not drifts into long days for hourly wages.
Step 4: Insurance and workers' compensation
Talk to a broker before the first paid job, in this order:
- Commercial general liability: covers injury or property damage to someone else, such as a fire from slag on a customer's site, or a gate that fails and damages a vehicle. A homeowner's policy does not cover your business.
- Vehicle, equipment, and cylinders: confirm the vehicle policy covers commercial use, and that the welder, generator, gas cylinders, and tools are covered in transit and on site, not just in your shop.
- Site requirements: structural and industrial sites often ask for a certificate of insurance and a workers' compensation clearance letter before you step on site. Get both in order before bidding site work, not after winning it.
Workers' compensation starts the day you hire. In Ontario, most businesses must register with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board within 10 calendar days of hiring their first employee. Every other province has its own board with its own registration trigger, so register with the board in the province where your crew works, before the crew's first shift. Solo operators should ask their board about optional personal coverage, since a solo operator is not automatically covered the way an employee is.
Step 5: Kit, shop, and safety discipline
The kit list follows the lane, but the safety discipline does not change:
- Shop: welder, cutting gear, grinders, clamps, welding table, ventilation, and fire watch gear. Ventilation is not optional in an enclosed shop: welding fume builds up fast, and a fan in the door is not extraction.
- Mobile: a truck or trailer rig with a generator or engine-driven welder. Keep gas cylinders secured upright, rods dry, and a fire extinguisher within reach. Cylinder transport rules apply on the road as well as in the shop.
- Safety habits that win site work: hot-work permits where the site requires them, fire watch after the last weld, eye protection for helpers as well as the welder, and lockout on equipment being repaired so it cannot start mid-weld.
- Quality habits that win repeat work: fit-up before striking an arc, clean joints, welds you would sign your name to, and photos of finished work for the next quote. In welding, the last job is the brochure for the next one.
Step 6: Pricing structure, without invented figures
This guide gives no price figures, because rates vary by city and by job, and a made-up number would mislead. The structure is what matters:
- Fabrication: one project price covering labour, steel, consumables, finishing, and delivery. State what is excluded, such as engineering, inspection, finishing, and installation, so extras do not become arguments.
- Mobile repair: time on site plus consumables, with the call-out stated up front. A minimum charge for a call-out protects the day against a five-minute fix an hour away.
- Site and structural work: price from drawings, state the specification the quote meets, and confirm payment terms before starting. Long payment terms on site work need cash flow planning that a homeowner job does not.
- Rework line: decide in advance who pays when a weld fails inspection or a part does not fit. Put it in the quote, not in the argument afterwards.
- Quoting discipline: a quote that lists labour, materials, and consumables separately is easier to defend than a lump sum, and it teaches you which jobs actually pay.
The numbers worth knowing
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Ontario sole proprietorship registration | $60, five years |
| BC name request plus registration | $30 plus $40 |
| BC name request hold | 56 days |
| CRA business number | Free |
| GST/HST registration threshold | $30,000 in taxable supplies |
| Ontario workers' compensation registration | Within 10 calendar days of hiring the first employee |
| Welder apprenticeship | Three years |
Related guides: how to become a welder apprentice in Ontario (the apprenticeship path in Ontario), how to become a welder apprentice in Alberta (the province where the trade certificate is compulsory), and how to start an electrician business in Canada (the sister trade's licensing ladder).
Starting a welding business in Canada, in six steps
- Earn the ticket before you sell the workWelding certification usually takes a three-year apprenticeship, or over three years of work experience in the trade plus some college or industry courses in welding.
- Sort the province rule and the pressure ruleTrade certification is compulsory in Alberta and voluntary in all other provinces and the territories. Pressure work in Alberta needs an Alberta Boilers Safety Association certificate of competency plus a performance qualification card.
- Register the businessRegister a business name with your province if you trade under a name other than your own, get a free Canada Revenue Agency business number, and register for GST/HST once taxable supplies pass $30,000.
- Insure the shop and the mobile rigCommercial general liability covers damage to someone else's property. Confirm the vehicle policy covers commercial use and that the welder, gas cylinders, and tools are covered in transit and on site.
- Pick a lane: shop, mobile, or structuralShop fabrication, mobile repair, and structural site work need different kit, different customers, and different paperwork. Pick one lane first and add the second once the first books steadily.
- Price the job, then price the consumablesQuote fabrication as one project price for labour, steel, and consumables. Quote repair work by time on site plus consumables, with the diagnostic visit stated up front.
Verified fees in the welding business startup paperwork
| Ontario sole proprietorship registration | $60, five years |
|---|---|
| BC name request plus registration | $30 plus $40 |
| CRA business number | $0 — free |
| GST/HST registration threshold | $30,000 in taxable supplies |
Questions people ask
Do I need a licence to start a welding business in Canada?
It depends on the province and on the work. Job Bank, drawing on the National Occupational Classification, states that trade certification for welders and related machine operators is compulsory in Alberta and available, but voluntary, in all other provinces and the territories. That covers the trade certificate. Pressure welding is a second, stricter layer: in Alberta, pressure welders must hold an Alberta Boilers Safety Association certificate of competency and a performance qualification card to weld on pressure vessels, boilers, pressure piping systems, or fittings. A business registration is separate from both: you still register a business name if you trade under a name other than your own, and you still check the municipal business licence in every city you work in.
What training does a welder need before going out on their own?
Job Bank lists completion of secondary school as usually required, plus completion of a three-year apprenticeship program, or a combination of over three years of work experience in the trade and some college or industry courses in welding, to be eligible for trade certification. A Red Seal endorsement is available to qualified welders on successful completion of the interprovincial Red Seal examination. Going out on your own needs more than the ticket: you need enough paid hours running jobs, quoting work, and dealing with customers that you can price a job without guessing. Apprenticeship hours alone do not teach quoting.
What is pressure welding, and why is it a separate credential?
Pressure welding is welding on equipment that holds pressure: pressure vessels, boilers, pressure piping systems, and associated fittings. A failed weld there can injure people, so provinces regulate it separately from general fabrication welding. In Alberta, the Alberta Boilers Safety Association issues the certificates of competency, including Grade B and Grade C pressure welder certificates and machine welding operator certificates, and the holder must work within the limits on their performance qualification card and under a registered welding procedure. Other provinces run their own pressure-equipment authorities with their own certificates, so check the authority in the province where the job sits rather than assuming an Alberta certificate travels.
What does Alberta require for a Grade B pressure welder certificate?
The Alberta Boilers Safety Association lists three minimum qualifications for Grade B: an interprovincial Red Seal journeyman welder certificate or welder trade certificate, valid pressure welder certificates where the test is identical to the Alberta initial test and conducted by the jurisdictional inspector, and a valid performance qualification issued by the jurisdiction. A pressure welder from another Canadian jurisdiction who is not equivalent to the Grade B requirements may apply for a temporary Grade C pressure welder certification. If pressure work is your lane, sort this credential before bidding pressure jobs, not after winning one.
What business registration does a welding business need?
The same as any Canadian service business. If you trade under a name other than your own legal name, register that name provincially: in Ontario that costs $60 through the Ontario Business Registry and lasts five years, and in British Columbia a name request costs $30 followed by a $40 registration, with the approved name held for 56 days. A Canada Revenue Agency business number is free. Register for GST/HST once your taxable supplies pass $30,000, or voluntarily before that if claiming input tax credits matters to you. Check the municipal business licence in every city you work in, since the answer changes at the city line.
How do welding businesses price a job?
Most shops price in two ways, and the job type decides which one fits. Fabrication quotes as one project price: labour, steel, consumables, finishing, and delivery, stated as a single number the customer can compare. Repair and mobile work usually prices by time on site plus consumables, with the call-out or diagnostic visit stated up front, because the true scope is unknown until the broken part is seen. Structural or site work priced from drawings should state what is excluded, such as engineering, inspection, and coatings, so a low quote does not turn into an unpaid extra. No price figures appear in this guide, because rates vary by city and by job, and a made-up number would mislead.
Sources
- Government of Canada Job Bank, welder-fitter employment requirements, NOC 72106 (three-year apprenticeship path, Alberta compulsory certification, Red Seal)
- Alberta Boilers Safety Association, pressure welders (certificate of competency and performance qualification card required for pressure equipment work)
- Alberta Boilers Safety Association, Grade B pressure welder (Red Seal journeyman certificate, valid pressure welder certificates, valid performance qualification)
- Canada Revenue Agency, GST/HST small supplier rules ($30,000 threshold)
- Government of British Columbia, corporate registry forms and fees (name request $30, sole proprietorship registration $40)
- Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, registration questions and answers (register within 10 calendar days of hiring the first employee)