NOC 2021 · 72402 · TEER 2
Heating, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics
Unit group 72402 of the National Occupational Classification, 2021 Version 1.0.
What this group covers
Heating, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics install, maintain, repair and overhaul residential central air conditioning systems, commercial and industrial refrigeration and air conditioning systems and combined heating, ventilation and cooling systems. They are employed by heating, refrigeration and air conditioning installation contractors, various industrial settings, food wholesalers, engineering firms and retail and servicing establishments. Transport refrigeration mechanics are included in this unit group. Apprentices are also included in this unit group.
Example job titles
As Statistics Canada publishes them. Yours may be worded differently and still belong here.
- air conditioning and heating mechanic
- air conditioning and refrigeration mechanic
- apprentice refrigeration and air conditioning mechanic
- central air conditioner installer
- central air conditioner repairer
- central air conditioning installer
- central air conditioning mechanic
- central air conditioning repairer
- central air conditioning servicer
- commercial air conditioning mechanic
- commercial refrigeration mechanic
- heating and air conditioning mechanic
- heating and cooling mechanic
- heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) mechanic
- hydronics technician
- journeyman/woman refrigeration and air conditioning mechanic
- refrigeration and air conditioning mechanic
- refrigeration and air conditioning mechanic (non-construction)
- refrigeration and air conditioning mechanic apprentice
- refrigeration and mechanical technician
- refrigeration mechanic
- refrigeration mechanic apprentice
- refrigeration system installer
- refrigeration technician
- transport refrigeration mechanic
- transport refrigeration technician
What it pays, and where it is hiring
Job Bank publishes a wage estimate and a three-year employment outlook for each occupation, region by region. Both are below as published — where an estimate is missing from the source it is missing here too, because the alternative is inventing one.
Across Canada
$37.50 an hour
Low $22.00, high $56.00
Where it pays most
- Estrie · Quebec$42.00
- Lower Mainland · British Columbia$42.00
- Lanaudière · Quebec$41.81
- Camrose--Drumheller · Alberta$41.80
- Saskatoon--Biggar · Saskatchewan$41.64
Economic regions only. A province’s figure is an average over the regions inside it, so including one would rank a province above its own best region and read as a finding.
By province and territory
| Where | Median hourly | Low to high | Outlook 2025–2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $36.00 | $20.00 – $46.00 | Good |
| Prince Edward Island | $31.21 | $21.02 – $34.02 | Good |
| Nova Scotia | $30.84 | $20.70 – $53.85 | Good |
| New Brunswick | $29.76 | $20.50 – $45.63 | Moderate |
| Quebec | $38.00 | $22.40 – $46.08 | Moderate |
| Ontario | $37.00 | $21.00 – $58.00 | Good |
| Manitoba | $36.07 | $18.00 – $45.00 | Moderate |
| Saskatchewan | $40.00 | $28.50 – $59.00 | Very good |
| Alberta | $40.00 | $25.00 – $54.00 | Good |
| British Columbia | $40.00 | $24.23 – $62.00 | Moderate |
| Yukon Territory | Not published | Not published | Undetermined |
| Northwest Territories | Not published | Not published | Undetermined |
| Nunavut | Not published | Not published | Undetermined |
By economic region
The 58 economic regions where Job Bank publishes a wage or a rated outlook, of 72.
| Where | Province | Median hourly | Low to high | Outlook 2025–2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avalon Peninsula | Newfoundland and Labrador | $36.00 | $20.00 – $43.83 | Good |
| Cape Breton | Nova Scotia | $33.98 | $24.94 – $45.08 | Good |
| North Shore | Nova Scotia | $32.76 | $21.43 – $50.78 | Good |
| Annapolis Valley | Nova Scotia | Not published | Not published | Good |
| Southern | Nova Scotia | $32.16 | $23.16 – $41.53 | Good |
| Halifax | Nova Scotia | $30.80 | $21.96 – $51.90 | Good |
| Campbellton--Miramichi | New Brunswick | $34.71 | $24.18 – $41.99 | Undetermined |
| Moncton--Richibucto | New Brunswick | $29.76 | $20.50 – $45.63 | Moderate |
| Saint John--St. Stephen | New Brunswick | Not published | Not published | Moderate |
| Fredericton--Oromocto | New Brunswick | $29.76 | $20.50 – $45.63 | Moderate |
| Gaspésie--Îles-de-la-Madeleine | Quebec | Not published | Not published | Moderate |
| Bas-Saint-Laurent | Quebec | Not published | Not published | Moderate |
| Capitale-Nationale | Quebec | $41.00 | $22.40 – $47.00 | Moderate |
| Chaudière-Appalaches | Quebec | $35.00 | $22.40 – $45.16 | Moderate |
| Estrie | Quebec | $42.00 | $24.19 – $46.10 | Moderate |
| Centre-du-Québec | Quebec | $37.31 | $22.40 – $46.00 | Moderate |
| Montérégie | Quebec | $37.86 | $22.72 – $46.08 | Moderate |
| Montréal | Quebec | $32.00 | $21.95 – $46.08 | Moderate |
| Laval | Quebec | $38.82 | $21.95 – $46.00 | Moderate |
| Lanaudière | Quebec | $41.81 | $23.00 – $48.00 | Moderate |
| Laurentides | Quebec | $40.00 | $22.40 – $47.00 | Moderate |
| Outaouais | Quebec | Not published | Not published | Moderate |
| Abitibi-Témiscamingue | Quebec | Not published | Not published | Good |
| Mauricie | Quebec | $37.66 | $22.00 – $46.00 | Good |
| Saguenay--Lac-Saint-Jean | Quebec | $36.00 | $22.50 – $46.08 | Moderate |
| Ottawa | Ontario | $40.00 | $19.50 – $58.00 | Moderate |
| Kingston--Pembroke | Ontario | $30.00 | $20.00 – $40.00 | Good |
| Muskoka--Kawarthas | Ontario | Not published | Not published | Good |
| Toronto | Ontario | $37.00 | $21.00 – $58.00 | Good |
| Kitchener--Waterloo--Barrie | Ontario | $39.00 | $22.00 – $59.01 | Good |
| Hamilton--Niagara Peninsula | Ontario | $37.50 | $19.00 – $59.00 | Moderate |
| London | Ontario | $34.16 | $23.82 – $47.00 | Moderate |
| Windsor--Sarnia | Ontario | $33.64 | $23.65 – $48.68 | Good |
| Stratford--Bruce Peninsula | Ontario | $34.35 | $24.99 – $45.28 | Moderate |
| Northeast | Ontario | $35.44 | $22.00 – $55.00 | Moderate |
| Northwest | Ontario | $35.00 | $31.00 – $53.70 | Good |
| Southeast | Manitoba | $31.00 | $17.00 – $48.00 | Good |
| South Central | Manitoba | $33.87 | $24.16 – $42.61 | Very good |
| Southwest | Manitoba | $35.27 | $25.95 – $48.43 | Undetermined |
| North Central | Manitoba | Not published | Not published | Very good |
| Winnipeg | Manitoba | $36.50 | $24.00 – $45.00 | Moderate |
| Interlake | Manitoba | $32.76 | $24.03 – $39.89 | Good |
| Regina--Moose Mountain | Saskatchewan | $39.00 | $16.35 – $43.03 | Very good |
| Swift Current--Moose Jaw | Saskatchewan | $38.52 | $24.99 – $48.73 | Undetermined |
| Saskatoon--Biggar | Saskatchewan | $41.64 | $28.43 – $53.70 | Good |
| Lethbridge--Medicine Hat | Alberta | $37.83 | $27.42 – $48.90 | Good |
| Camrose--Drumheller | Alberta | $41.80 | $27.62 – $57.66 | Good |
| Calgary | Alberta | $38.00 | $25.00 – $52.00 | Good |
| Banff--Jasper--Rocky Mountain House | Alberta | $40.25 | $28.41 – $54.26 | Moderate |
| Red Deer | Alberta | $39.29 | $27.69 – $49.67 | Good |
| Edmonton | Alberta | $38.78 | $26.51 – $52.57 | Good |
| Athabasca--Grande Prairie--Peace River | Alberta | Not published | Not published | Moderate |
| Wood Buffalo--Cold Lake | Alberta | Not published | Not published | Moderate |
| Vancouver Island and Coast | British Columbia | $39.14 | $25.39 – $53.97 | Moderate |
| Lower Mainland | British Columbia | $42.00 | $23.50 – $62.00 | Moderate |
| Thompson--Okanagan | British Columbia | $40.00 | $30.00 – $75.00 | Moderate |
| Kootenay | British Columbia | $36.95 | $26.68 – $47.49 | Good |
| Cariboo | British Columbia | $37.85 | $28.51 – $51.17 | Limited |
Job Bank rates employment prospects for each occupation in each economic region from very good to very limited over 2025–2027, and says “undetermined” where it has not got enough to rate. It is an assessment of prospects, not a count of vacancies.
The estimates on this page come from Labour Force Survey (2023-2024) · Small Area Estimation (2024) · Employment Insurance Survey Data (2023-2024).
Job Bank publishes an estimate for 24,364 of the 44,376 occupation-and-place pairs in this release. The rest are suppressed rather than modelled, and appear here as not published.
Wage estimates from the 2025 Wages release, revised 19 November 2025; employment outlooks from 2025-2027 Employment Outlooks - NOC 2021, released 8 December 2025. Both are updated annually. Estimates for different regions come from different surveys, so comparing two regions is exactly as sound as Job Bank’s own regional comparison and no more.
Source: Statistics Canada — National Occupational Classification 2021 V1.0; Employment and Social Development Canada — Job Bank wages; Employment and Social Development Canada — Job Bank 3-year employment outlooks. Data current as of 13 August 2026. NOC 2021 Version 1.0. The classification is versioned rather than dated — IRCC moved to it in November 2022, and a new version would be a new classification rather than an update.