Cook Salary in Canada | Breakdown by Province

In Canada, the cook median salary is $18.00/hr.

Cooks in Canada: job prospects, employment requirements, licensing.

Cooks in Canada, classified under NOC 63200, prepare and cook complete meals, individual dishes, and specialized foods in restaurants, hotels, hospitals, cafeterias, and other food service establishments while following recipes and maintaining food safety standards. Approximately 190,000 people worked in this occupation in 2023. Job prospects are balanced nationally through 2033, with a high number of projected job openings driven largely by very high labour turnover and replacement demand in the food services sector.

Median hourly wages stand at about 18.00 Canadian dollars nationally, with typical ranges from 15.50 to 28.00 dollars per hour depending on experience, location, type of establishment, and whether the role is in a high-end restaurant or institutional setting. Most positions require completion of a college program in cooking or several years of on-the-job training and apprenticeship, with Red Seal certification available, and work conditions commonly involve full-time or part-time shifts including early mornings, evenings, weekends, and holidays, fast-paced and physically demanding environments with exposure to heat, standing for long periods, and strict food safety protocols.

Licensing

Occupations in the tourism/hospitality industry are not regulated in Canada. This means that you are not required to register with one of the provincial or territorial regulatory authorities to be authorized to practise occupations in the tourism industry anywhere in Canada.

COOK (NOC 63200)
2025	Wages/hr
Community/Area	Low	Median	High
Canada	15.00	18.00	25.00
Newfoundland and Labrador	16.35	17.00	27.54
Prince Edward Island	17.00	18.00	25.73
Nova Scotia	16.75	17.00	22.50
New Brunswick	15.90	16.40	22.00
Quebec	16.60	18.00	25.00
Ontario	17.60	18.00	24.00
Manitoba	16.00	16.50	21.00
Saskatchewan	15.35	17.00	23.08
Alberta	15.00	17.50	23.50
British Columbia	18.25	20.00	26.00
Yukon Territory	20.00	28.37	41.67
Northwest Territories	18.50	25.00	37.50
Nunavut	19.75	25.00	35.00
Source: Job Bank. 2026

In 2022, cooks reported higher wages in Nunavut.

COOK (NOC 63200)
2022	Wages ($/hour)
Province/Territory	Low	Median	High
Canada	13	15.6	21.18
Newfoundland and Labrador	14.5	15	25
Prince Edward Island	14.5	15	24.47
Nova Scotia	14.5	14.5	22
New Brunswick	14.75	14.75	20.21
Quebec	14.25	15	21.63
Ontario	15.5	15.5	20
Manitoba	14.15	14.15	18
Saskatchewan	13	15	22
Alberta	15	16	21
British Columbia	15.65	16.25	23
Yukon Territory	16.77	21	31.25
Northwest Territories	16	20	28
Nunavut	17	25	36.27
Source: Job Bank. 2023

In 2020, cooks in Nunavut reported higher wages.

COOKS (NOC 6322)
2020	Wages ($/hour)
Province/Territory	Low	Median	High
Canada	12	14.75	20
Newfoundland and Labrador	12.15	13.5	25.05
Prince Edward Island	12.85	14	21.5
Nova Scotia	12.55	13	17.5
New Brunswick	11.7	12.75	18
Quebec	13.1	14	20
Ontario	14.25	14.5	18.5
Manitoba	11.9	13	19.71
Saskatchewan	11.45	14.25	21.17
Alberta	15	15.5	20.51
British Columbia	14.6	14.75	20.5
Yukon Territory	15.5	21	32
Northwest Territories	16.15	22	29.17
Nunavut	16	18.63	48.72
Source: Job Bank. Dec 2020

Cook Job Prospects in Canada (2019-2021)

Labour demand and labour supply projections (2019-2021)
Newfoundland and Labrador	Limited
Prince Edward Island	Good
Nova Scotia	Good
New Brunswick	Limited
Québec	Fair
Ontario	Good
Manitoba	Limited
Saskatchewan	Fair
Alberta	Fair
British Columbia	Fair
Yukon	Good
Northwest Territories	Fair
Nunavut	Fair
Source: Job Bank. Dec 2020

In 2019, cooks reported higher wages in Nunavut.

COOKS (NOC 6322)
2019	Wages ($/hour)
Province/Territory	Low	Median	High
Canada	11.32	14.00	19.62
Newfoundland and Labrador	11.40	13.50	24.64
Prince Edward Island	12.25	12.50	21.50
Nova Scotia	11.55	12.65	17.00
New Brunswick	11.50	12.50	19.69
Quebec	12.50	13.50	19.57
Ontario	14.00	14.00	19.00
Manitoba	11.65	13.00	20.00
Saskatchewan	11.32	14.00	20.00
Alberta	15.00	15.00	20.50
British Columbia	13.85	14.00	20.00
Yukon Territory	14.00	20.00	30.00
Northwest Territories	15.00	20.00	28.00
Nunavut	13.00	18.63	48.72
Source: Job Bank. November, 2019

In 2017, cooks reported higher salaries in the Northwest Territories.

COOKS (NOC 6322-B)
2017	Wages ($/hr)
Province/Territory	Low	Median	High
Canada	10.85	13	19.38
Northwest Territories	15	18.75	29.17
Nunavut	15	19	28
Yukon	14.6	17.13	27.5
Newfoundland and Labrador	11	12.5	22
Saskatchewan	10.96	14	22
Prince Edward Island	11.25	12	21
Alberta	13.6	14	20
British Columbia	11.35	13.75	20
Québec	11.25	13	18.99
Ontario	14	14	18.75
Manitoba	11.15	12	18
Nova Scotia	10.85	12.25	17.5
New Brunswick	11	12	16
Source: Job Bank. September 2017

According to Canada’s Job Bank, in 2016, the median wage for cooks in Canada was $12.5/hr.

Cook salaries vary by province; in 2016, cooks in Newfoundland and Labrador had the lowest wage ($10.5/hr.).

COOKS (NOC 6322-B)
2016	Wages ($/hr)
Province/Territory	Low	Median	High
Canada	10.5	12.5	19.1
Nunavut	14	20	35
Yukon	14	17	27.5
Northwest Territories	13.98	18	27
Newfoundland and Labrador	10.5	12.5	22
Saskatchewan	10.72	13.5	21.79
Prince Edward Island	11	12	20.38
British Columbia	10.85	13	20
Alberta	12.2	14	19.87
Nova Scotia	10.7	12	19.65
New Brunswick	10.65	12	18.86
Ontario	11.4	12	18.75
Québec	10.75	12.82	18.7
Manitoba	11	12	17.29
Source: Job Bank. November 2016*

*Wages are reviewed and updated on the Job Bank Web site on an annual basis.

COOK SALARY IN CANADA (2017)

COOK SALARY IN CANADA (2016)