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Getting in

How to become an HVAC technician in Ontario

You become an HVAC technician in Ontario through an apprenticeship — paid, on-the-job training with in-school levels, finishing with the 313A (full refrigeration & A/C) or 313D (residential A/C) Certificate of Qualification. You earn from day one, typically starting around half of journeyperson rate and stepping up each level.

HVAC & Refrigeration at a glance

Licence to do the work
Required — 313A/313D C of Q (compulsory) + TSSA gas ticket + ODP card by scope
Path in
Apprenticeship — 313A about 5 years; 313D is the shorter residential stream
Regulated by
Skilled Trades Ontario + TSSA
Insurance baseline
$2M CGL — confirm gas and completed-operations coverage
Union route
UA Local 787

The path, step by step

  1. 1

    Line up a sponsor

    An apprenticeship needs an employer or union training centre willing to register and train you. For this trade that usually means an HVAC/mechanical contractor, or UA Local 787's training centre. Cold-calling shops with a resume and any safety tickets (WHMIS, Working at Heights) in hand still works — contractors are chronically short of apprentices.

  2. 2

    Register the apprenticeship

    You and your sponsor sign a training agreement through Ontario's apprenticeship system, and you register with Skilled Trades Ontario. Registration is what makes your hours count.

    Start an apprenticeship — ontario.ca
  3. 3

    Do the hours and the school

    Complete the on-the-job hours and in-school levels for the trade — about 5 years for 313A; the 313D residential stream is shorter. The in-school blocks run at colleges and union training centres; you alternate between earning on site and learning in class.

  4. 4

    Write the Certificate of Qualification exam

    When your hours and schooling are done, you book and write the C of Q exam with Skilled Trades Ontario. We wrote a full operator-level guide to the last mile — closing out the logbook, booking, prep, and exam day.

    Full guide: 313A Refrigeration & A/C
  5. 5

    Then: the gas ticket and the ODP card

    A TSSA gas certificate (G3 → G2) and the Ozone Depletion Prevention card are what make you a full-service HVAC tech — most of the residential market is gas furnaces and heat pumps.

    Gas technician certification — TSSA

Already an apprentice closing in on your ticket? Skip ahead. Our Last Mile guide covers closing out the logbook, booking the C of Q exam, what to expect on exam day, and the credentials that stack on top. 313A Refrigeration & A/C →

The real picture

HVAC's real questions: residential service or commercial refrigeration, how much the gas and refrigeration tickets actually add to your cheque, surviving the summer-rush/winter-slow swing, the on-call grind, and whether to chase the comfort-advisor sales money or stay on the tools. Here's the straight version.

What you'll actually make

From day one to the top of the trade. Ontario figures, approximate and worth verifying against current rates.

  1. Apprentice (313D/313A)

    $20–28/hr

    Climbs as you accumulate hours and add tickets.

  2. Journeyperson 313A + G2

    ≈$58k–78k

    The gas ticket is what unlocks most residential money.

  3. Commercial / refrigeration (HVAC/R)

    $37/hr median+

    Cold-chain and industrial refrigeration pay above standard HVAC.

  4. Comfort advisor / in-home sales

    High (commission)

    The replacement-sales side — top earners live here, off the tools.

  5. Owner / contractor

    $100k–250k+

    Business income — install volume, service contracts, and how you run it.

Which lane is right for you

Residential service vs commercial/refrigeration

Residential service

Furnaces, ACs, and heat pumps in homes. Seasonal rushes (AC in summer, heat in the first cold snap), on-call, and a lot of customer and sales contact.

Pay: ≈$50k–60k typical.

Best for: People who like variety, customers, and the path to their own service business.

Commercial / refrigeration

Rooftop units, chillers, and refrigeration/cold-chain. More technical, less seasonal, steadier hours.

Pay: ≈$55k–75k+; refrigeration pays a premium.

Best for: Technical people who want the higher, steadier ceiling.

The tickets that actually move your pay

313A vs 313D

313A is full refrigeration & A/C; 313D is the shorter residential A/C stream. 313D can be upgraded to 313A.

Gas G3 → G2 → G1

TSSA gas tickets unlock furnaces and boilers — most residential HVAC money is gas, so G2 is close to essential.

ODP card

Required to handle refrigerant — the floor for any A/C or refrigeration work.

Tools vs sales vs ownership

Service tech

On the tools and on-call. Great money, hard hours in the shoulder seasons.

Best for: People who love the diagnostic work.

Comfort advisor (sales)

The in-home equipment-replacement sales role — high earners on commission, no more attic crawls.

Best for: Strong communicators who know the gear.

Owner

The contracting business — installs, service contracts, and a team. You stop fixing furnaces and start running a company.

Best for: People who want to build something.

Getting in

HVAC is career-changer friendly — college HVAC programs feed a lot of people in, and the seasonal hiring rush (spring, before AC season) is a good time to land a first job. As with every trade, the sponsor/first-employer hunt is the real gate, not the schooling.

Where it leads (and the way out)

Off the tools: service manager, estimator, comfort-advisor sales, instructor, TSSA inspector, manufacturer rep, or owning a contracting business. The seasonal swing and on-call grind are exactly why so many HVAC techs move into management, sales, or ownership — and a service business with a book of maintenance contracts is a genuinely sellable asset.

Where the real conversations are

The communities, official bodies, and wage data tradespeople actually use.

Go to the source

The official pages that govern this trade. Bookmark these, they are the final word on requirements and fees.

Thinking bigger? Start an HVAC business

The step-by-step from qualified tradesperson to business owner.

HVAC & Refrigeration questions, answered

Licences, costs, timelines. Answered straight.