Panel beater

Panel beater in Canada: pay, licences and how to hire

Updated 4 November 2026

In Ontario, a full-time panel beater is paid about CA$22–CA$25 an hour, approximately, according to job listings, November 2026. The quickest way to see what shops pay in your city now is to post a request on BlaBlaPrice.

Pay depends on:

• the duties: dent pulling, filler work, panel replacement and paint prep
• work experience and the machines you can run
• the schedule: full-time or part-time, and which shifts
• the workplace and the equipment it provides
• the city: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary or Ottawa

Pay is quoted per hour, so state an hourly range in your request rather than a figure for the whole job.

Licences in Ontario and Alberta

Toronto licenses body shops. The application fee is CA$233.02 and the licence fee is CA$288.31, due when the application is approved. Ontario's garage licence renewal costs CA$25 and can be paid by mail, which takes four to six weeks, so check the renewal date before a shop takes you on. In Alberta, the motor vehicle industry regulator requires a repair licence, and the technician a shop needs depends on the type of work performed. Ask which technician will do your job and see the licence before the first shift.

Season and what to put in the request

Winter in Canada runs December–February. A job posted in November can start before the coldest months, so put a start date in the request and ask whether the role runs through winter. Name the city, the duties, the hourly pay in CA$, the schedule, the machine types and the experience you need. Write distances in kilometres, because Canadian roads and job addresses use metric units, and say how far the workplace is from the nearest transit stop.

BlaBlaPrice is free for buyers. Describe the role in your own words in the chat, add a photo if you like, and the AI asks for missing details, then looks through sellers' websites and price lists in Canada before showing what it found. Registered sellers reply in the chat with their own offer, and your contact details stay hidden until you decide to exchange them. For related work, see car service and car wash or start from the home page.