Guides carrière/English
Job in Trades · 7 oct. 2026 · 6 min read

Welding tickets in Canada in 2026: the trade certificate, the Red Seal and the pressure ticket, province by province

The welder trade certificate is compulsory only in Alberta, but welding on boilers and pressure piping takes a separate pressure ticket in every province we checked, each from a different safety authority. What each one asks for, with sources.

WelderPressure weldingRed SealApprenticeshipTickets
Chaque chiffre a été vérifié à la source le 7 octobre 2026. Les sources sont à la fin.

Ask a welder which ticket they have and you might hear three different answers: a trade certificate, a Red Seal, or a pressure ticket. They're not the same thing, they come from different places, and the one that decides whether you can weld on a boiler or a high-pressure line isn't the trade certificate at all.

Here's how they fit together in each province.

The short version

  • The welder trade certificate is compulsory only in Alberta. Everywhere else it's voluntary1.
  • Welder is a Red Seal trade, Québec included. The national standard is 5,400 hours over 3 levels; Ontario asks for 6,00023.
  • Pressure welding is separate. Welding on boilers, pressure vessels and pressure piping takes a pressure welder certificate or licence from the province's safety authority, with a welding test, whatever trade certificate you hold4.
  • Certification includes a practical test as well as the written exam in Ontario, Manitoba and New Brunswick5.

Province by province

Province Trade certificate Training Pressure ticket
Alberta Compulsory 3 periods: 4,680 hours on the job + 24 weeks of school ABSA certificate (Grade B)
British Columbia Voluntary 3 levels of school: 8, 8 and 10 weeks Technical Safety BC certificate
Saskatchewan Voluntary 5,400 hours; 3 levels of 7, 7 and 8 weeks TSASK welder's licence
Manitoba Voluntary Not confirmed yet Inspection and Technical Services licence
Ontario Voluntary (456A) 6,000 hours: 5,280 on the job + 720 in school TSSA certificate
Québec Voluntary DEP 5382; ASP 5234 for high pressure Class A or B certificate; CCQ on construction sites
Nova Scotia Not confirmed 5,400 hours over 3 levels Pressure Welder Licence

Each row's sources are on our welder guide. We haven't confirmed the pressure rules in New Brunswick, PEI, Newfoundland and Labrador or the territories yet.

The pressure ticket, explained

The pressure ticket is what lets you weld on equipment that holds pressure. Each province runs its own, and each asks for something a little different:

  • Alberta: a pressure welder certificate from the Alberta Boilers Safety Association (ABSA) plus a performance qualification card. The Grade B exam requires an Alberta journeyperson welder certificate, a Red Seal from another province or an Alberta equivalency document6.
  • British Columbia: a Technical Safety BC certificate of qualification, Class A for any pressure welding, or the temporary Class IT and Class R, with valid CSA B51 performance qualifications and a licensed contractor as employer7.
  • Saskatchewan: a welder's licence from the Technical Safety Authority of Saskatchewan (TSASK). A first licence starts with a 6-inch pipe weld test8.
  • Manitoba: a licence from Inspection and Technical Services, after a qualification test with an approved testing provider9.
  • Ontario: a TSSA welder certificate, under the Boilers and Pressure Vessels regulation (O. Reg. 220/01)10.
  • Québec: a compulsory certificate for welding on pressure equipment, class A or class B. Class B also helps you qualify in Alberta and other provinces with the same requirement. On construction sites, high-pressure piping welders also need a CCQ competency certificate11.
  • Nova Scotia: a Pressure Welder Licence from the Technical Safety Division, valid 2 years. A Red Seal or journeyperson certificate qualifies you to apply; so do a recognized welding diploma, a year of welding experience or a recognized welding qualification12.

So in Alberta, the trade certificate comes first. In Nova Scotia, it's one route among four.

Ontario's practical test

In Ontario, you must pass a practical assessment before you can write the certificate of qualification exam; that's been the rule since March 1, 2017. Experienced welders applying for a trade equivalency assessment also need a valid all-position SMAW certificate from the Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB) or TSSA13.

Apprentice pay: Nova Scotia sets a floor

Nova Scotia's welder regulations set the minimum apprentice wage at 65 % of a journeyperson's wage at the same workplace in level 1, 75 % in level 2 and 90 % in level 3, never below the general minimum wage14. That's a higher start than the province sets for electricians, at 45 %15.

With a journeyperson rate of $40 an hour, as an example, that's $26.00, $30.00 and $36.00 an hour. A year of 1,800 hours at each step leaves $36,171, $40,870 and $47,512 after 2026 tax16. Our apprentice pay calculator does it with your own rate, and with your agreement's percentages in other provinces.

Moving provinces

With the Red Seal, your trade certificate is recognized in every province and territory without another exam17. Pressure tickets are a different matter: each one comes from its own provincial authority, so check what the province you're heading to asks for before you start. Our Can I work there? tool lists each province's requirements, pressure tickets included, and the rotation pay calculator works out a camp or pipeline schedule.

Next steps

Footnotes

  1. Job Bank, Welder: job requirements (compulsory in Alberta, voluntary in the other provinces and the territories); Government of Alberta, Tradesecrets: Welder. ↩

  2. Red Seal Program, Welder Red Seal Occupational Standard; Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency, Harmonization of Red Seal trades; Government of Québec, Soudeuse, soudeur (French). ↩

  3. Skilled Trades Ontario, Welder (456A) trade report, 2025. ↩

  4. Government of Alberta, alis: Pressure welder; Technical Safety BC, Pressure welder certification; TSSA, Welder / welding operator certificate; Government of Québec, Soudage sur appareils sous pression, classe B (French); Government of Manitoba, Welding and brazing licence. Each province's rule is detailed below. ↩

  5. Skilled Trades Ontario, Welder practical assessment advisory; Apprenticeship Manitoba, Welder; Government of New Brunswick, Welder: apprenticeship and occupational certification. ↩

  6. Government of Alberta, alis: Pressure welder; Northwestern Polytechnic, Grade B pressure welder application. ↩

  7. Technical Safety BC, Pressure welder certification and Directive: qualification requirements for pressure welders. ↩

  8. Technical Safety Authority of Saskatchewan, Pressure welder licensing and examinations. ↩

  9. Government of Manitoba, Welding and brazing licence and Pressure welder testing and licensing process. ↩

  10. TSSA, Welder / welding operator certificate and Certificate of authorization. ↩

  11. Government of Québec, Soudage sur appareils sous pression, classe A and classe B; Commission de la construction du Québec, Soudeur en tuyauterie (French). ↩

  12. Government of Nova Scotia, Welding, high pressure: certification and Boiler and Pressure Equipment Regulations. ↩

  13. Skilled Trades Ontario, Welder practical assessment advisory (February 2025) and Ontario welder practical assessment (July 2025). ↩

  14. Government of Nova Scotia, Welder Trade Regulations. ↩

  15. Government of Nova Scotia, Construction Electrician Trade Regulations. ↩

  16. Our calculation with the apprentice pay calculator: an example journeyperson rate of $40 an hour, 1,800 hours a year at each level, 2026 federal and Nova Scotia tax, CPP and EI for a single employment income. Employment Insurance during school, vacation pay and union dues are not included. ↩

  17. Red Seal Program, About the Red Seal Program. ↩

Passez de la recherche à l’action

Explorer les métiers Trouver une formation Estimer votre paie