NOC 2021 · 73400 · TEER 3
Heavy equipment operators
Unit group 73400 of the National Occupational Classification, 2021 Version 1.0.
Check which category draws this code qualifies for
What this group covers
Heavy equipment operators operate heavy equipment used in the construction and maintenance of roads, bridges, airports, gas and oil pipelines, tunnels, buildings and other structures; in surface mining and quarrying activities; and in material handling work. They are employed by construction companies, heavy equipment contractors, public works departments and pipeline, logging, cargo-handling and other companies. 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.
- aerial tram operator
- apprentice heavy equipment operator
- asphalt batch plant operator
- asphalt plant operator
- asphalt roller operator
- asphalt spreader operator
- asphalt street paver operator
- asphalt-grooving machine operator
- asphalt-paving machine operator
- asphalt-paving screed operator
- backhoe operator
- bituminous paver operator - heavy equipment
- bobcat operator
- boom-conveyor operator
- bucketwheel operator
- bucketwheel-excavator operator
- buggy-operator skinner
- buggy-scraper operator
- bulldozer driver
- bulldozer operator
- cat operator
- cat skinner
- caterpillar car operator
- caterpillar operator
- concrete spreader operator - heavy equipment
- concrete-grooving machine operator
- concrete-paving machine operator
- construction equipment operator
- continuous bucket excavator operator
- crawler tractor operator
- ditcher operator - construction
- ditching machine operator
- dozer operator
- dredge operator
- dredge runner
- earth-moving equipment operator
- electrical equipment operator - shovel
- elevating grader operator
- elevating scraper operator
- excavating machine operator
- excavator operator
- forest road machine operator
- front end loader operator
- gradall operator
- grader operator
- groove-cutting machine operator
- grooving machine operator - heavy equipment
- heater-planer operator
- heavy construction-equipment operator
- heavy equipment operating engineer
- heavy equipment operator
- heavy equipment operator apprentice
- heavy-duty equipment operator
- heavy-duty equipment operator apprentice
- ho-ram operator
- horizontal earth-boring machine operator
- hydraulic excavator operator
- industrial backhoe operator
- loader operator - construction
- marine railway operator
- mining shovel operator (except underground)
- mole operator
- mucker operator - construction
- mucking machine operator - construction
- paver operator
- payloader operator
- peat-moss-cutting machine operator
- peat-moss-gathering machine operator
- pile driver winch operator
- pile-driving hammer operator
- pipelayer operator
- power grader operator
- power shovel operator
- pulvimixer operator
- ripper operator - heavy equipment
- road grader operator
- road mixer operator
- road planer operator
- road roller operator
- roller operator
- rotary trencher operator
- scarifier operator
- scraper operator
- shield operator
- shovel operator - heavy equipment
- side boom operator - pipeline construction
- side boom tractor operator
- snow removal equipment operator - private home
- snow-grooming machine operator
- spreader operator - heavy equipment
- stacker operator - heavy equipment
- street paver operator
- stripping shovel operator
- structural hydraulic jack erector
- surface mining equipment operator
- track-loader operator
- tractor operator - construction
- tractor-excavator operator
- trench-digging machine operator
- trenching machine operator
- tunnelling machine operator
- vibratory road roller operator
- vibratory roller operator
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
$32.50 an hour
Low $24.00, high $45.00
Where it pays most
- Wood Buffalo--Cold Lake · Alberta$40.00
- Montérégie · Quebec$39.55
- Laval · Quebec$39.53
- Lanaudière · Quebec$39.00
- Centre-du-Québec · Quebec$38.98
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 | $30.00 | $22.00 – $38.00 | Moderate |
| Prince Edward Island | $24.00 | $18.25 – $35.00 | Good |
| Nova Scotia | $25.00 | $18.00 – $35.50 | Moderate |
| New Brunswick | $25.00 | $20.00 – $34.50 | Moderate |
| Quebec | $36.00 | $24.00 – $43.40 | Limited |
| Ontario | $32.00 | $23.63 – $47.70 | Moderate |
| Manitoba | $28.92 | $22.00 – $38.00 | Limited |
| Saskatchewan | $30.00 | $24.00 – $44.00 | Good |
| Alberta | $34.30 | $26.00 – $45.00 | Limited |
| British Columbia | $35.75 | $27.00 – $46.00 | Limited |
| Yukon Territory | $39.00 | $32.65 – $42.00 | Moderate |
| Northwest Territories | $43.73 | $26.80 – $64.01 | Limited |
| Nunavut | $38.08 | $21.87 – $51.49 | Good |
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 | $29.00 | $21.00 – $37.00 | Moderate |
| South Coast--Burin Peninsula | Newfoundland and Labrador | $29.74 | $22.00 – $40.00 | Moderate |
| West Coast--Northern Peninsula--Labrador | Newfoundland and Labrador | $32.00 | $23.00 – $45.00 | Moderate |
| Notre Dame--Central Bonavista Bay | Newfoundland and Labrador | $29.74 | $22.00 – $40.00 | Moderate |
| Cape Breton | Nova Scotia | $27.00 | $20.00 – $37.00 | Moderate |
| North Shore | Nova Scotia | $23.60 | $16.50 – $35.00 | Moderate |
| Annapolis Valley | Nova Scotia | $25.00 | $18.00 – $35.50 | Moderate |
| Southern | Nova Scotia | $22.00 | $18.00 – $31.00 | Moderate |
| Halifax | Nova Scotia | $25.00 | $17.00 – $55.00 | Good |
| Campbellton--Miramichi | New Brunswick | $25.00 | $20.00 – $34.00 | Moderate |
| Moncton--Richibucto | New Brunswick | $24.00 | $19.35 – $28.91 | Moderate |
| Saint John--St. Stephen | New Brunswick | $25.00 | $20.00 – $33.00 | Moderate |
| Fredericton--Oromocto | New Brunswick | $24.98 | $19.00 – $30.00 | Moderate |
| Edmundston--Woodstock | New Brunswick | $23.00 | $20.24 – $32.00 | Moderate |
| Gaspésie--Îles-de-la-Madeleine | Quebec | $30.00 | $22.00 – $42.87 | Limited |
| Bas-Saint-Laurent | Quebec | $32.45 | $22.00 – $43.68 | Limited |
| Capitale-Nationale | Quebec | $38.56 | $24.00 – $43.75 | Limited |
| Chaudière-Appalaches | Quebec | $38.95 | $24.00 – $43.75 | Moderate |
| Estrie | Quebec | $37.51 | $23.95 – $43.31 | Moderate |
| Centre-du-Québec | Quebec | $38.98 | $24.48 – $43.22 | Moderate |
| Montérégie | Quebec | $39.55 | $25.00 – $43.75 | Limited |
| Montréal | Quebec | $38.16 | $23.25 – $43.75 | Limited |
| Laval | Quebec | $39.53 | $25.00 – $43.64 | Limited |
| Lanaudière | Quebec | $39.00 | $25.00 – $43.75 | Limited |
| Laurentides | Quebec | $37.19 | $25.00 – $43.22 | Limited |
| Outaouais | Quebec | $35.00 | $24.00 – $43.64 | Limited |
| Abitibi-Témiscamingue | Quebec | $30.00 | $26.00 – $42.00 | Moderate |
| Mauricie | Quebec | $30.21 | $22.00 – $43.00 | Limited |
| Saguenay--Lac-Saint-Jean | Quebec | $32.00 | $24.33 – $43.39 | Limited |
| Côte-Nord | Quebec | $36.00 | $24.00 – $45.00 | Very limited |
| Nord-du-Québec | Quebec | $32.83 | $26.84 – $42.21 | Very limited |
| Ottawa | Ontario | $31.00 | $19.00 – $38.75 | Moderate |
| Kingston--Pembroke | Ontario | $32.23 | $23.48 – $40.19 | Moderate |
| Muskoka--Kawarthas | Ontario | $33.49 | $25.28 – $44.83 | Moderate |
| Toronto | Ontario | $35.00 | $23.08 – $50.12 | Moderate |
| Kitchener--Waterloo--Barrie | Ontario | $30.00 | $23.63 – $45.63 | Moderate |
| Hamilton--Niagara Peninsula | Ontario | $35.00 | $26.00 – $47.30 | Moderate |
| London | Ontario | $30.00 | $25.00 – $41.00 | Moderate |
| Windsor--Sarnia | Ontario | $37.00 | $25.00 – $43.00 | Moderate |
| Stratford--Bruce Peninsula | Ontario | $32.21 | $24.34 – $41.90 | Moderate |
| Northeast | Ontario | $28.85 | $23.00 – $38.00 | Moderate |
| Northwest | Ontario | $28.85 | $25.00 – $44.50 | Moderate |
| Southeast | Manitoba | $28.31 | $24.00 – $40.00 | Limited |
| South Central | Manitoba | $28.96 | $22.54 – $35.92 | Limited |
| Southwest | Manitoba | $30.00 | $24.68 – $38.00 | Limited |
| North Central | Manitoba | $30.00 | $23.50 – $32.00 | Limited |
| Winnipeg | Manitoba | $28.92 | $23.00 – $37.00 | Limited |
| Interlake | Manitoba | $28.92 | $21.00 – $40.00 | Limited |
| Parklands | Manitoba | $28.00 | $18.75 – $40.00 | Limited |
| North | Manitoba | $28.00 | $18.75 – $40.00 | Limited |
| Regina--Moose Mountain | Saskatchewan | $30.00 | $22.00 – $42.23 | Good |
| Swift Current--Moose Jaw | Saskatchewan | $30.00 | $27.00 – $42.00 | Very good |
| Saskatoon--Biggar | Saskatchewan | $30.00 | $24.00 – $49.01 | Good |
| Yorkton--Melville | Saskatchewan | $30.00 | $25.00 – $44.00 | Good |
| Prince Albert | Saskatchewan | $30.00 | $22.00 – $48.00 | Moderate |
| Northern | Saskatchewan | $30.00 | $22.00 – $48.00 | Moderate |
| Lethbridge--Medicine Hat | Alberta | $34.30 | $29.80 – $40.50 | Limited |
| Camrose--Drumheller | Alberta | $35.99 | $25.00 – $47.10 | Limited |
| Calgary | Alberta | $34.00 | $25.00 – $43.00 | Limited |
| Banff--Jasper--Rocky Mountain House | Alberta | $35.00 | $26.00 – $42.00 | Limited |
| Red Deer | Alberta | $32.87 | $29.50 – $40.00 | Limited |
| Edmonton | Alberta | $33.00 | $25.00 – $45.00 | Limited |
| Athabasca--Grande Prairie--Peace River | Alberta | $35.00 | $26.00 – $42.00 | Limited |
| Wood Buffalo--Cold Lake | Alberta | $40.00 | $32.00 – $66.00 | Very limited |
| Vancouver Island and Coast | British Columbia | $32.00 | $27.50 – $50.00 | Limited |
| Lower Mainland | British Columbia | $37.00 | $26.00 – $50.00 | Limited |
| Thompson--Okanagan | British Columbia | $35.00 | $27.00 – $45.00 | Limited |
| Kootenay | British Columbia | $35.00 | $28.00 – $46.00 | Very limited |
| Cariboo | British Columbia | $35.75 | $28.34 – $39.75 | Limited |
| North Coast | British Columbia | $36.00 | $30.00 – $49.00 | Limited |
| Nechako | British Columbia | $36.00 | $30.00 – $49.00 | Limited |
| Northeast | British Columbia | $36.00 | $30.00 – $41.00 | 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.