Engineering salaries in Canada span a remarkably wide range depending on the discipline. Software engineers at top tech companies earn 2-3x more than civil engineers with the same experience, creating one of the largest within-profession pay gaps in the country. The P.Eng designation matters for traditional disciplines (civil, mechanical, electrical) where it is legally required to sign off on designs, but is largely irrelevant in software engineering. Province and industry also play a large role — petroleum engineers in Alberta can earn $200,000+, while environmental engineers in Atlantic Canada may top out at $140,000.
Average Engineer Salary by Discipline
Engineering Discipline
Entry Level (0–3 yr)
Mid-Career (4–9 yr)
Senior (10+ yr)
Management/Principal
Software engineering
$70,000–$110,000
$110,000–$170,000
$150,000–$250,000+
$180,000–$350,000+
Petroleum engineering
$75,000–$110,000
$110,000–$160,000
$140,000–$200,000
$170,000–$250,000
Mining engineering
$70,000–$100,000
$100,000–$140,000
$130,000–$180,000
$150,000–$220,000
Chemical engineering
$65,000–$90,000
$90,000–$130,000
$120,000–$170,000
$140,000–$200,000
Electrical engineering
$60,000–$85,000
$85,000–$120,000
$110,000–$160,000
$130,000–$190,000
Mechanical engineering
$58,000–$80,000
$80,000–$115,000
$105,000–$155,000
$130,000–$185,000
Aerospace engineering
$60,000–$85,000
$85,000–$125,000
$115,000–$165,000
$140,000–$200,000
Biomedical engineering
$55,000–$80,000
$80,000–$120,000
$110,000–$160,000
$130,000–$190,000
Civil engineering
$55,000–$75,000
$75,000–$110,000
$100,000–$145,000
$120,000–$180,000
Environmental engineering
$55,000–$75,000
$75,000–$105,000
$95,000–$140,000
$120,000–$170,000
Industrial engineering
$55,000–$78,000
$78,000–$110,000
$100,000–$145,000
$120,000–$175,000
Structural engineering
$55,000–$78,000
$78,000–$115,000
$105,000–$155,000
$125,000–$185,000
Software Engineer Salary by Company Type
Company Type
Junior (0–2 yr)
Intermediate (3–5 yr)
Senior (6+ yr)
Staff/Principal
FAANG/Big Tech (Canada offices)
$100,000–$130,000
$140,000–$200,000
$200,000–$350,000+
$300,000–$500,000+
Shopify, Wealthsimple, etc.
$80,000–$110,000
$110,000–$160,000
$160,000–$240,000
$220,000–$350,000
Mid-size tech
$65,000–$90,000
$90,000–$130,000
$130,000–$180,000
$160,000–$220,000
Startup
$55,000–$85,000
$85,000–$130,000
$120,000–$180,000
$150,000+ + equity
Non-tech company (IT dept)
$55,000–$75,000
$75,000–$105,000
$100,000–$140,000
$130,000–$170,000
Government
$60,000–$80,000
$80,000–$105,000
$100,000–$130,000
$120,000–$150,000
Consulting
$60,000–$90,000
$90,000–$130,000
$125,000–$175,000
$150,000–$220,000
Big Tech total compensation includes base salary + stock (RSUs) + bonus. Base alone may be $120K–$180K for seniors, but total comp reaches $250K–$400K+.
Engineer Salary by Province
Alberta offers the highest salaries for traditional engineering disciplines due to the oil and gas sector, while Ontario and BC lead in software engineering thanks to their tech ecosystems. Quebec’s emergence as an AI and gaming hub (Montreal) has significantly boosted software engineer pay in the province. For non-software engineers, the gap between provinces is smaller but still meaningful — roughly 15-25% between the highest (Alberta) and lowest (Atlantic Canada) paying regions.
Province
General Engineer Avg
Software Engineer Avg
Oil & Gas Engineer Avg
Notes
Alberta
$85,000–$130,000
$90,000–$150,000
$100,000–$200,000
Oil & gas premium
Ontario
$75,000–$120,000
$85,000–$200,000+
N/A
Toronto tech hub
British Columbia
$72,000–$115,000
$80,000–$180,000
N/A
Vancouver tech hub
Saskatchewan
$72,000–$110,000
$70,000–$110,000
$90,000–$150,000
Mining, potash
Quebec
$65,000–$100,000
$70,000–$140,000
N/A
Montreal AI hub
Manitoba
$65,000–$100,000
$65,000–$110,000
N/A
Aerospace
New Brunswick
$58,000–$90,000
$60,000–$100,000
N/A
Lower cost of living
Nova Scotia
$58,000–$90,000
$60,000–$105,000
N/A
Growing tech sector
Newfoundland
$65,000–$100,000
$60,000–$95,000
$90,000–$150,000
Offshore oil
Engineering Career Path
Stage
Duration
Earnings
Designation
Engineering degree (BEng/BASc)
4 years
−$30,000–$80,000 (tuition)
None
Engineer-in-Training (EIT)
4 years
$55,000–$100,000/year
EIT
P.Eng license
After 4 yr experience
Salary bump (~5–15%)
P.Eng
Senior engineer
8–15 years
$100,000–$180,000
P.Eng
Engineering manager
10+ years
$120,000–$200,000+
P.Eng + MBA (optional)
VP Engineering/Director
15+ years
$150,000–$300,000+
—
Master’s degree (MEng/MASc)
1–2 years
Salary bump $5K–$15K
—
PhD
4–6 years
$25,000–$35,000/yr stipend
—
Canada vs US Engineering Salary Comparison
The Canada-US salary gap varies dramatically by discipline. Software engineers face the largest gap (30-50% less in Canada) primarily because US Big Tech firms use aggressive stock-based compensation that inflates total packages. For traditional engineering disciplines like mechanical and civil, the gap is a more modest 20-30%. Many Canadian engineers who want US-level pay now work remotely for US companies, which is an increasingly common arrangement in software but rare in other engineering disciplines that require on-site presence.
Discipline
Canada (CAD)
US (USD)
US (CAD equiv.)
Difference
Software (senior)
$150,000–$250,000
$150,000–$350,000+
$205,000–$480,000
30–50% higher in US
Mechanical (mid)
$80,000–$115,000
$80,000–$110,000
$110,000–$150,000
20–30% higher in US
Civil (mid)
$75,000–$110,000
$75,000–$100,000
$103,000–$137,000
20–25% higher in US
Petroleum (senior)
$140,000–$200,000
$140,000–$200,000
$192,000–$274,000
25–35% higher in US
The US-Canada gap is largest in software engineering due to Big Tech compensation structures (heavy stock-based comp in the US).