CCQ trade · Elevator Mechanic
Elevator Mechanic in Québec: wage, competency card and outlook.
What anelevator mechanic does, what it pays under the CCQ, how you get your competency card, and where the market is headed. The facts, sourced, no fluff.
CCQ wage
How much does anelevator mechanic earn in Québec?
$52.95 – $56.70 / hour (journeyperson, by sector, April 26, 2026)
Hourly rates are set by the collective agreements of Québec's construction industry and vary by sector: $52.95/h in light residential, $55.63/h in heavy residential, $56.70/h in institutional-commercial and industrial and $56.70/h in civil engineering and roads (journeyperson rate, effective April 26, 2026). Apprentices earn a percentage of that rate depending on their apprenticeship period. Official grids published by the ACQ (residential and institutional-commercial-industrial) and the ACRGTQ (civil engineering and roads).
The trade
Elevator mechanics install, repair, modify, and maintain mechanized transportation systems — traction and hydraulic elevators, escalators, freight elevators, and moving walkways — on construction sites. They read plans, apply current codes, and commission complex electromechanical equipment in buildings of every height, from small commercial buildings to institutional towers.
Competency card
How to become a CCQ-carded elevator mechanic.
The elevator mechanic trade is regulated by the CCQ. Entry starts with the apprentice competency certificate (CCA), earned after completing the DEP in Elevator Mechanics (5337, 1,800 hours) and a job guarantee of at least 150 hours over 3 consecutive months with a CCQ-registered employer. The apprenticeship covers 5 periods of 2,000 hours each (10,000 hours total) — the longest apprenticeship of any construction trade in Quebec. After those 10,000 hours, the apprentice sits the provincial qualification exam (3 hours, 61 questions, 60% pass threshold) to earn the journeyperson competency certificate (CCC). The apprentice-to-journeyperson ratio is 1:1 in residential; in other sectors, every apprentice must work under the immediate supervision of a journeyperson in the trade (a minimum of 1 journeyperson per apprentice on site).
Outlook
The elevator mechanic market, in 2025.
In 2024, 1,327 elevator mechanics were active on Quebec job sites — 882 journeypersons and 445 apprentices — with an average age of 39.3. Only 71 new apprentices were admitted into the trade that year, a thin pipeline given the industry's longest apprenticeship (10,000 hours). The CCQ rates job prospects for this trade as excellent. Demand is concentrated in institutional-commercial (97% of work volume), driven by construction of medium- and high-rise buildings and by modernization of the existing elevator stock. Journeypersons who worked at least 500 hours in the year averaged an annual salary of $106,947 in 2024, one of the highest among construction trades. Interregional mobility remains low (12%), a sign of a workforce concentrated near major urban centres.
What it takes
The skills in demand.
- Valid CCQ competency certificate (apprentice CCA or journeyperson CCC) — mandatory to work on job sites governed by the R-20 Act
- Completed DEP in Elevator Mechanics (5337) or a CCQ-recognized equivalent
- ASP Construction card (general health and safety on construction sites)
- Mastery of traction, hydraulic, and electromechanical systems, plus the ability to read plans and apply current codes
- Experience in institutional-commercial, the sector holding 97% of hours worked in the trade
Frequently asked questions
The elevator mechanic trade, plainly.
How long does it take to become a journeyperson elevator mechanic?
It's the longest apprenticeship in Quebec's construction industry: 10,000 hours spread across 5 periods of 2,000 hours each. Once you've got your DEP in Elevator Mechanics (5337) and a 150-hour job guarantee lined up, you earn your apprentice certificate (CCA) and start logging hours on site. After the full 10,000 hours, you sit the provincial qualification exam — 3 hours, 61 questions, 60% pass threshold — to become a journeyperson (CCC). Working full-time, that works out to roughly 5 to 6 years. It's worth the wait: the CCQ rates job prospects for this trade as excellent, and only 71 new apprentices were admitted in 2024, which leaves plenty of room for newcomers.
What kinds of buildings will I work on as an elevator mechanic?
Almost exclusively institutional-commercial: that sector holds 97% of hours worked in the trade. Think office towers, hospitals, shopping centres, hotels, schools, and high-rise residential buildings. Civil engineering and roads (2%) and residential (1%) round out the picture, while industrial is practically nonexistent. Day to day, you install, modernize, and maintain traction and hydraulic elevators, escalators, and freight elevators. It's a fairly stationary trade geographically: only 12% of elevator mechanics travel between regions for work, since most job sites sit near major urban centres, where medium- and high-rise buildings get built.
Is this a well-paying trade?
Yes, it's one of the best-paid trades in Quebec construction. As of April 26, 2026, the journeyperson rate reaches $56.70/h in institutional-commercial, industrial, and civil engineering and roads, and $52.95/h in light residential. On an annual basis, journeypersons who worked at least 500 hours in the year averaged $106,947 in 2024. Even as an apprentice, the progression is solid: the rate climbs with each period, from $26.48/h in period 1 up to $48.20/h in periods 4 and 5 in the institutional-commercial and industrial sectors. The trade's outlook is strong too: the CCQ rates job prospects as excellent, and the pool stays tight at 1,327 active workers in 2024 with an average age of 39.3.
Sector breakdown, regional mobility and apprenticeship progression figures are drawn from Commission de la construction du Québec data. Hourly rates: official grids published by the ACQ (residential, institutional-commercial and industrial) and the ACRGTQ (civil engineering and roads), in force since April 26, 2026. acq.org
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