CCQ wage rates 2026: wages, increases and the real cost of a construction worker by trade

2026 wage rates by sector, increases through 2028, apprentices, the 13%, contributions and CNESST: what one hour of a CCQ worker really costs in Québec.

A journeyperson carpenter-joiner earns $50.16 an hour in the institutional and commercial sector since April 26, 2026. For the employer, that hour costs about $75 — once the 13% indemnity, the pension plan, insurance, government charges and the CNESST are added up. The collective-agreement rate is the first line of the bill, not the last.

This guide brings together what the CCQ, the employer associations and public bodies publish for 2026: where to find the official rates, how much they rise through 2028, what is added to the wage line by line, and what the CMMTQ actually means by its “hourly rate”.

Where to find the official rates

The CCQ publishes a wage-rate tool on its “Salaire et taux” page: pick a date and a sector, and it shows the rate of every trade and occupation. The rates themselves come from the 2025-2029 collective agreements, negotiated by sector: civil engineering and roads, industrial, institutional and commercial, residential. For wages, residential splits in two — light and heavy — which makes five scales.

Increases from 2026 to 2028

Rates rise once a year, on a date tied to the monthly-report periods. In 2026, the increase took effect on April 26.

The 2026 percentages are the CCQ’s. For the following years, the ACQ publishes the schedule for the institutional, commercial and industrial sectors (which already had 8% on April 27, 2025), and the residential ones come from the arbitration decision reported by The Canadian Press. The CCQ adds that some trades and occupations may get a wage catch-up: always check the specific trade.

The rate of a few trades in 2026

Journeyperson, straight time, in force since April 26, 2026 (official French trade names):

Premiums (overtime, evening, night), isolated sites and north of the 55th parallel follow other rules and are not in this table.

Apprentices: a percentage of the journeyperson rate

Apprenticeship is split into periods of 2,000 hours. As soon as an apprentice completes one, the employer must adjust the rate to the next period. Each period’s rate is a percentage of the journeyperson’s, depending on how long the trade’s apprenticeship lasts:

• Three-period trades: 60, 70 and 85%. Carpenter-joiner, institutional and commercial: $30.10, $35.11, $42.64.
• Four-period trades: 50, 60, 70 and 85%. Pipefitter, institutional and commercial: $25.40, $30.47, $35.55, $43.17.

The 13%: vacation, holidays and sick leave

Every week, the employer credits each employee with 13% of the wages earned: 6% annual vacation, 5.5% statutory holidays and 1.5% sick leave. It remits these amounts to the CCQ with its monthly report, and the CCQ pays them to the employees twice a year: at the end of June, then at the end of November (November 25 in 2026). It is a real cost for the business, paid every month — not a provision to plan for “later”.

What is added to the wage, line by line

Here is the hour of the journeyperson carpenter-joiner at $50.16, institutional and commercial, with the CNESST rate of the carpentry-joinery unit ($6.04 per $100 of payroll in 2026, plus $0.04 for ASP Construction) and a 1.65% FSS:

Four details make the difference between a sound calculation and one that underestimates:

• The base of the charges. QPP, employment insurance, QPIP, FSS, CNESST and the levy are computed on the wage plus the 13%, not on the rate alone.
• The trade’s insurance. $2.93 is the base employer contribution. Some trades pay more: the CMMTQ lists $3.11 for the pipefitter in light residential and $3.692 in institutional, commercial and industrial.
• Associations by sector. $0.06 in institutional, commercial and industrial; $0.075 in civil engineering (AECQ plus ACRGTQ); $0.03 in residential, where the employer also pays the $0.04 sectoral contribution.
• Annual ceilings. QPP, employment insurance and QPIP stop at each employee’s annual maximum: late in the year, for a full-timer, the hour costs a little less. An hourly calculation takes them at the full rate, which is prudent.

The CNESST, the line that changes everything

The CNESST rate depends on the business’s classification unit — and, for some, on a personalized rate. In 2026 the average rate across all industries is $1.54 per $100 of payroll; the construction units go well beyond:

At the same wage, the same hour therefore costs a roofer several dollars more than an electrician. Add $0.04 for ASP Construction, and rely on your assessment notice: that is the one that counts.

The same calculation for three other cases (base insurance unless stated):

“CMMTQ hourly rate”: what it really is

The CMMTQ publishes reference hourly rates: indicative billing rates, not wages. Four documents are dated April 26, 2026 — pipefitter (plumbing and heating), refrigeration mechanic, sheet metal worker (ventilation) and fire protection. For a journeyperson pipefitter working alone for one regular hour, in a three-employee business at 1,856 hours a year, with 25% operating overhead and 10% profit, it reaches $123.70 an hour in light residential for a $47.85 wage.

The CMMTQ says it itself: these rates are provided for reference only, and the contractor and client are free to agree on another rate. It does not set wages — the agreements do — and imposes no price. The CMEQ publishes the equivalent for electricians. To redo this calculation with your own overhead, see Calculating your hourly rate.

The BatiCore team

We build BatiCore, management software for Québec construction contractors — estimates, job sites, CCQ payroll, compliance. Our articles cite dated public sources; when a fact comes from a regulator or a competitor, we say which one and when. Spotted an error? Write to us, we fix it.