The trade
What an electrician does.
Electricians handle construction, retrofit, modification, repair, and maintenance of electrical installations — lighting, heating, and power — including wires, cables, conduit, devices, and electrical equipment. They read plans, apply code, and solve technical problems on job sites of every size.
CCQ rate
$45.36 – $48.45 / hour (journeyperson, May 2025)
Hourly rates are set by CCQ collective agreements and vary by sector: $45.36/h in light residential, $48.37/h in institutional-commercial and industrial, and $48.45/h in civil engineering and roads (journeyperson rate, effective May 2025). Check the official CCQ rate grid at ccq.org for current rates and apprentice progression.
Why it's tight
The pool is thin. Speed makes the difference.
The CCQ projects average annual needs of 17,000 new workers for 2026-2030 across all trades, driven by heavy order books. Electricians rank among the trades with the best outlook per the CCQ 2026-2030 report. In 2024, 22,269 electricians were active and 2,877 companies were hiring — a sign of a very active market. Hydro-Québec plans to double its production capacity by 2035, which is fueling sustained demand for electricians on transmission and distribution projects. The law modernizing the construction industry (passed in May 2024) introduced measures to widen the labour pool — a sign the recruiting pressure is officially recognized by government.
That's exactly where Aplomb wins: Audrey activates candidates in under 2 minutes, 24/7. While others call back the next day, your electrician is already talking to us.
What we check
Before it lands on your desk.
- Valid CCQ competency card (apprentice or journeyperson) — mandatory to work on CCQ-regulated job sites
- ASP Construction card (general health and safety on job sites) — required to obtain the CCQ competency certificate
- Ability to read electrical plans and interpret the Quebec Building Code (Chapter V — Electricity)
- Experience in the employer's target sector(s) — institutional-commercial, industrial, civil engineering, or residential
- Comfortable working as part of a crew on large sites, able to meet deadlines and safety requirements
Competency card
How an electrician qualifies.
Electricians must hold a CCQ competency card. The apprentice certificate (CCA) is issued after completing the DEP in Electricity (1,800 hours) and presenting a job guarantee of 150 hours over 3 consecutive months with a CCQ-registered employer. The apprenticeship covers 4 periods of 2,000 hours each (8,000 hours total). After those 8,000 hours, the apprentice can sit the provincial qualification exam (3 hours, 60 questions, 60% pass threshold) to earn the journeyperson certificate (CCC). The apprentice-to-journeyperson ratio is 1:1 in residential; in institutional-commercial, industrial, and civil engineering, the ratio is 2 journeypersons per apprentice (a second apprentice can be added if one of them is in their 4th period).
Frequently asked questions
Hiring an electrician, plainly.
How do I check that an electrician I want to hire is in good standing with the CCQ?
You can verify a worker's competency certificate directly through CCQ's online services (sel.ccq.org). It's a quick step to run before hiring — a worker without a valid certificate can't legally work on your CCQ-regulated sites.
How many apprentice electricians can I have per journeyperson on my site?
In institutional-commercial, industrial, and civil engineering, the CCQ ratio is 2 journeypersons per apprentice. A second apprentice can be authorized if one of them is in their 4th apprenticeship period. In residential, it's 1 journeyperson per apprentice. Always check the ratios specific to your sector on ccq.org, since they can vary.
The electrician I want to hire is from another Canadian province — can they work in Quebec?
Workers from other provinces can access the CCQ through interprovincial mobility agreements, under certain conditions (trade recognition, equivalent experience). France also has a specific agreement with Quebec for electricians. The CCQ handles these requests — point the candidate to the 'Outside Quebec' section on ccq.org for the exact process.
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Also by region
electricians in your area.
We recruit across Québec. See the candidate job pages by region for this trade.