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Trade Playbook
Gas is the fastest-entry regulated trade in construction — months to a G3, not the five-year apprenticeship of the compulsory trades — and the questions are about climbing and combining: G3 vs G2 vs G1, how fast you can actually earn, whether to pair it with HVAC or plumbing, and the on-call reality of no-heat calls at midnight in January.
Where it starts
$22–30/hr
G3 (entry)
Where it tops out
Business income
Gas/HVAC contractor
Ontario figures for fuel systems & gas fitting, from the first day on site to the top of the trade. Approximate, and worth checking against current collective agreement rates and job postings in your region.
| Stage | Pay | What is going on at this stage |
|---|---|---|
| G3 (entry) | $22–30/hr | Limited residential input; must work under a G2/G1. |
| G2 | $30–42/hr | Most residential and light-commercial gas work — where most self-employed gas techs operate. |
| G1 | Higher | Unlimited input — large commercial and industrial. |
| Gas/HVAC contractor | Business income | TSSA-registered, usually paired with HVAC or plumbing. |
Every figure above is what gas fitters get paid. It is not what you charge once you run a gas fitting business. Your rate has to carry the hours you are not on the tools, the truck, the tools themselves, WSIB, insurance, the quote you wrote and lost, and the holdback sitting in someone else's account for 60 days. Contractors who set their rate off their old hourly wage are the ones who work every weekend and still cannot say whether the year was profitable.
The step from paid by the hour to paid by the jobUp to G1 and commercial/industrial gas, into owning a gas/HVAC contracting business, or off the tools into TSSA inspection, instruction, or sales. Realistically, most gas fitters broaden rather than stay gas-only — into full HVAC or plumbing — because gas alone is a narrow scope. The ticket is a powerful add-on more than a standalone career.
Wage data, union rate sheets, and the places gas fitters talk about money openly.
The rates above are the market. The live feed is the market this week: which builders and contractors just pulled a permit or won a contract in Ontario, what they are about to need, and who to call.
HVAC, Refrigeration and Mechanical Jobs in Ontario: Who Is HiringAEC Stack handles incorporation, WSIB, insurance certificates, quoting, invoicing, and chasing the money, so a gas fitting business runs like one with an office behind it.
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