NOC 2021 · 72106 · TEER 2
Welders and related machine operators
Unit group 72106 of the National Occupational Classification, 2021 Version 1.0.
What this group covers
Welders operate welding equipment to weld ferrous and non-ferrous metals. This unit group also includes machine operators who operate previously set up production welding, brazing and soldering equipment. They are employed by companies that manufacture structural steel and platework, boilers, heavy machinery, aircraft and ships and other metal products, and by welding contractors and welding shops, or they may be self-employed. Apprentices are also included in this unit group.
Example job titles
As Statistics Canada publishes them. Yours may be worded differently and still belong here.
- acetylene welder
- aircraft welder
- apprentice welder
- arc welder
- arc welder - pipeline
- assembler tack welder
- auto body solderer
- automated welding machine operator - flash butt process
- automatic welding machine operator
- aviation welding technician
- battery lead burner
- battery lead-burner operator
- blowtorch operator
- blowtorch welder
- boiler welder
- brazer
- brazer and hammerer
- brazing machine operator
- brazing machine setter
- cable welder
- combination welder
- dielectric welder
- downhand welder - pipeline
- drilling platform welder
- drilling rig welder
- electric arc welder
- electric spot welder
- electric spot welder operator
- electric spot-welding machine operator
- fabrication welder
- fit-up welder
- flame-brazing machine operator
- flame-brazing machine setter
- flash butt welder
- furnace brazer
- furnace solderer
- gas and arc welder
- gas brazer
- gas welder
- gas-shielded arc welder
- gas-shielded arc welding machine operator
- general welder
- hand arc welder
- hand electric arc welder
- hand resistance welder
- heliarc welder
- hot gas welder
- hydrogen braze furnace man/woman
- hydrogen braze furnace operator
- induction brazer operator
- induction solderer
- industrial welder
- iron brazer
- jig welder-fitter
- journeyman/woman welder
- laser beam machine-welder operator
- laser beam welder
- laser beam welding machine operator
- laser welding operator
- lead burner
- lead welder
- machine operator - welding, brazing and soldering
- machine type solderer
- machine welder
- maintenance welder
- mesh-welding machine operator
- metal brazier and heater
- metal inert gas (MIG) welder
- metal solderer
- metal straightener and heater
- metal welder
- oxyacetylene torch welder
- oxyacetylene welder
- oxyhydrogen welder
- pipeline welder
- portable spot welder
- precision welder
- pressure vessel welder
- production induction brazier
- production line solderer
- production line spot welder
- production line welder
- production spot welder
- production welder
- radio-frequency welder
- resistance brazer
- resistance seam welder
- resistance welder
- resistance welder tender
- resistance welder-setter
- resistance welding machine setter
- resistance welding set-up man/woman
- rig welder
- shielded-metal arc welder
- side seaming tender
- solderer
- solderer-dipper
- soldering machine operator
- spot resistance welder
- spot welder
- submerged arc welder
- submerged arc welding machine operator
- tack welder
- thermite welder
- tool and die welder
- torch brazer
- torch brazing machine setter
- torch welder
- tungsten inert gas (TIG) welder
- type-soldering machine tender
- vibration welder
- welder
- welder apprentice
- welder operator
- welder-assembler
- welder-fitter
- welding lay-out man/woman
- welding machine operator
- wire welder
What it pays, and where it is hiring
Job Bank publishes a wage estimate and a three-year employment outlook for each occupation, region by region. Both are below as published — where an estimate is missing from the source it is missing here too, because the alternative is inventing one.
Across Canada
$30.00 an hour
Low $22.00, high $47.00
Where it pays most
- Wood Buffalo--Cold Lake · Alberta$45.00
- Kootenay · British Columbia$40.68
- North Coast · British Columbia$40.22
- Banff--Jasper--Rocky Mountain House · Alberta$40.00
- Athabasca--Grande Prairie--Peace River · Alberta$40.00
Economic regions only. A province’s figure is an average over the regions inside it, so including one would rank a province above its own best region and read as a finding.
By province and territory
| Where | Median hourly | Low to high | Outlook 2025–2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $38.41 | $23.46 – $54.00 | Moderate |
| Prince Edward Island | $25.00 | $20.00 – $32.50 | Good |
| Nova Scotia | $29.00 | $21.00 – $43.00 | Good |
| New Brunswick | $28.00 | $22.00 – $46.00 | Moderate |
| Quebec | $28.00 | $22.00 – $35.38 | Limited |
| Ontario | $28.00 | $21.00 – $41.28 | Very limited |
| Manitoba | $27.00 | $21.00 – $40.16 | Limited |
| Saskatchewan | $32.00 | $22.00 – $46.00 | Moderate |
| Alberta | $38.00 | $25.00 – $52.18 | Limited |
| British Columbia | $35.00 | $23.25 – $51.87 | Limited |
| Yukon Territory | $37.47 | $30.96 – $49.71 | Undetermined |
| Northwest Territories | $48.29 | $22.48 – $57.68 | Undetermined |
| Nunavut | Not published | Not published | Undetermined |
By economic region
The 72 economic regions where Job Bank publishes a wage or a rated outlook, of 72.
| Where | Province | Median hourly | Low to high | Outlook 2025–2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avalon Peninsula | Newfoundland and Labrador | $36.00 | $23.46 – $42.65 | Moderate |
| South Coast--Burin Peninsula | Newfoundland and Labrador | $38.94 | $22.25 – $49.73 | Moderate |
| West Coast--Northern Peninsula--Labrador | Newfoundland and Labrador | $35.00 | $20.00 – $49.60 | Moderate |
| Notre Dame--Central Bonavista Bay | Newfoundland and Labrador | $35.00 | $25.00 – $48.24 | Moderate |
| Cape Breton | Nova Scotia | $31.48 | $22.19 – $42.88 | Moderate |
| North Shore | Nova Scotia | $30.00 | $20.00 – $42.49 | Moderate |
| Annapolis Valley | Nova Scotia | $29.86 | $23.19 – $36.33 | Moderate |
| Southern | Nova Scotia | $26.92 | $19.00 – $31.00 | Moderate |
| Halifax | Nova Scotia | $31.60 | $23.58 – $47.23 | Good |
| Campbellton--Miramichi | New Brunswick | $30.00 | $24.00 – $50.00 | Moderate |
| Moncton--Richibucto | New Brunswick | $27.00 | $22.00 – $34.00 | Moderate |
| Saint John--St. Stephen | New Brunswick | $29.00 | $22.00 – $48.00 | Moderate |
| Fredericton--Oromocto | New Brunswick | $27.00 | $22.00 – $46.09 | Moderate |
| Edmundston--Woodstock | New Brunswick | $26.00 | $19.50 – $32.00 | Moderate |
| Gaspésie--Îles-de-la-Madeleine | Quebec | $27.50 | $21.63 – $35.00 | Very limited |
| Bas-Saint-Laurent | Quebec | $28.00 | $23.00 – $35.00 | Limited |
| Capitale-Nationale | Quebec | $28.00 | $22.38 – $35.34 | Limited |
| Chaudière-Appalaches | Quebec | $28.13 | $23.00 – $33.94 | Moderate |
| Estrie | Quebec | $28.00 | $22.00 – $35.00 | Limited |
| Centre-du-Québec | Quebec | $28.50 | $23.00 – $35.38 | Limited |
| Montérégie | Quebec | $28.00 | $22.00 – $36.75 | Limited |
| Montréal | Quebec | $28.00 | $22.00 – $35.38 | Limited |
| Laval | Quebec | $27.00 | $21.95 – $35.00 | Limited |
| Lanaudière | Quebec | $28.00 | $22.92 – $41.10 | Limited |
| Laurentides | Quebec | $28.00 | $22.00 – $35.00 | Very limited |
| Outaouais | Quebec | $28.00 | $22.00 – $46.12 | Limited |
| Abitibi-Témiscamingue | Quebec | $32.00 | $25.00 – $43.89 | Limited |
| Mauricie | Quebec | $28.00 | $22.00 – $34.01 | Limited |
| Saguenay--Lac-Saint-Jean | Quebec | $28.09 | $23.00 – $33.19 | Limited |
| Côte-Nord | Quebec | $30.00 | $25.00 – $43.00 | Very limited |
| Nord-du-Québec | Quebec | Not published | Not published | Very limited |
| Ottawa | Ontario | $28.00 | $21.00 – $41.28 | Very limited |
| Kingston--Pembroke | Ontario | $27.00 | $20.50 – $46.85 | Limited |
| Muskoka--Kawarthas | Ontario | $27.00 | $21.66 – $35.00 | Very limited |
| Toronto | Ontario | $28.00 | $20.00 – $42.00 | Limited |
| Kitchener--Waterloo--Barrie | Ontario | $27.66 | $21.00 – $37.00 | Very limited |
| Hamilton--Niagara Peninsula | Ontario | $27.00 | $20.00 – $35.00 | Very limited |
| London | Ontario | $28.00 | $21.00 – $41.28 | Very limited |
| Windsor--Sarnia | Ontario | $25.50 | $20.00 – $38.00 | Very limited |
| Stratford--Bruce Peninsula | Ontario | $28.00 | $21.00 – $41.28 | Very limited |
| Northeast | Ontario | $32.00 | $17.60 – $45.00 | Very limited |
| Northwest | Ontario | $36.00 | $25.75 – $41.50 | Limited |
| Southeast | Manitoba | $27.25 | $21.00 – $37.43 | Limited |
| South Central | Manitoba | $25.00 | $21.00 – $31.05 | Very limited |
| Southwest | Manitoba | $26.25 | $21.31 – $37.00 | Limited |
| North Central | Manitoba | $25.00 | $21.00 – $31.05 | Very limited |
| Winnipeg | Manitoba | $28.00 | $23.00 – $40.16 | Limited |
| Interlake | Manitoba | $28.00 | $17.00 – $40.59 | Very limited |
| Parklands | Manitoba | Not published | Not published | Limited |
| North | Manitoba | Not published | Not published | Limited |
| Regina--Moose Mountain | Saskatchewan | $32.82 | $24.02 – $45.15 | Moderate |
| Swift Current--Moose Jaw | Saskatchewan | $26.00 | $21.50 – $42.00 | Moderate |
| Saskatoon--Biggar | Saskatchewan | $32.45 | $23.00 – $52.00 | Limited |
| Yorkton--Melville | Saskatchewan | $32.25 | $24.42 – $47.86 | Moderate |
| Prince Albert | Saskatchewan | $31.33 | $21.97 – $44.07 | Moderate |
| Northern | Saskatchewan | $29.00 | $20.00 – $42.25 | Moderate |
| Lethbridge--Medicine Hat | Alberta | $32.00 | $18.00 – $40.00 | Limited |
| Camrose--Drumheller | Alberta | $35.00 | $25.00 – $52.18 | Limited |
| Calgary | Alberta | $37.72 | $26.16 – $54.27 | Limited |
| Banff--Jasper--Rocky Mountain House | Alberta | $40.00 | $27.00 – $48.00 | Very limited |
| Red Deer | Alberta | $36.96 | $24.83 – $55.38 | Limited |
| Edmonton | Alberta | $39.90 | $28.00 – $54.00 | Limited |
| Athabasca--Grande Prairie--Peace River | Alberta | $40.00 | $27.00 – $48.00 | Very limited |
| Wood Buffalo--Cold Lake | Alberta | $45.00 | $30.00 – $72.00 | Very limited |
| Vancouver Island and Coast | British Columbia | $35.00 | $23.00 – $48.00 | Limited |
| Lower Mainland | British Columbia | $37.50 | $26.00 – $49.50 | Limited |
| Thompson--Okanagan | British Columbia | $34.87 | $24.41 – $51.97 | Very limited |
| Kootenay | British Columbia | $40.68 | $28.38 – $58.97 | Limited |
| Cariboo | British Columbia | $39.95 | $28.51 – $54.40 | Very limited |
| North Coast | British Columbia | $40.22 | $28.66 – $54.60 | Very limited |
| Nechako | British Columbia | Not published | Not published | Very limited |
| Northeast | British Columbia | $37.81 | $28.74 – $52.88 | Limited |
Job Bank rates employment prospects for each occupation in each economic region from very good to very limited over 2025–2027, and says “undetermined” where it has not got enough to rate. It is an assessment of prospects, not a count of vacancies.
The estimates on this page come from Labour Force Survey (2023-2024) · Employment Insurance Survey Data (2023-2024) · Small Area Estimation (2024).
Job Bank publishes an estimate for 24,364 of the 44,376 occupation-and-place pairs in this release. The rest are suppressed rather than modelled, and appear here as not published.
Wage estimates from the 2025 Wages release, revised 19 November 2025; employment outlooks from 2025-2027 Employment Outlooks - NOC 2021, released 8 December 2025. Both are updated annually. Estimates for different regions come from different surveys, so comparing two regions is exactly as sound as Job Bank’s own regional comparison and no more.
Source: Statistics Canada — National Occupational Classification 2021 V1.0; Employment and Social Development Canada — Job Bank wages; Employment and Social Development Canada — Job Bank 3-year employment outlooks. Data current as of 13 August 2026. NOC 2021 Version 1.0. The classification is versioned rather than dated — IRCC moved to it in November 2022, and a new version would be a new classification rather than an update.