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The Best Shingles for Ontario: Six Brands Compared on the Things That Matter Here (Wind, Ice, Heat and the Attic)
Roofing
The Best Shingles for an Ontario Roof, Which Is a Shorter List Than the Showroom Suggests
Six manufacturers sell nearly every architectural shingle that goes on an Ontario house, and they have spent thirty years making them more alike. The honest ranking is close. What separates a good roof from a bad one is mostly the installer, the ventilation and the nailing, with the brand a distant fourth. So here is the brand comparison, honestly, and then the three things that matter more.
The six, side by side
| Brand and line | Made | Wind rating | Nailing zone | Class 4 option | Installed per sq ft | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IKO Cambridge / Dynasty | Canada (Ontario plants) | 110 mph; Dynasty 130 with ArmourZone | Standard; Dynasty has a reinforced wide zone | Nordic | $6.25 to $7.25 | The most common shingle in Ontario. Heavy for the grade. Cambridge is the builder standard; Dynasty is the one to ask for. |
| BP Mystique 42 / Vangard | Canada (Quebec) | 110 mph; Vangard 130 | Standard | Vangard 42 IR | $6.25 to $7.25 | Formulated for Canadian cold; stays workable in shoulder-season installs. Fewer colours. |
| GAF Timberline HDZ | USA | 130 mph with LayerLock, unlimited wind with the system warranty | Wide (StrikeZone), forgiving | Timberline AS II | $6.50 to $7.75 | Biggest seller in North America. The wide nailing strip is a real advantage on a fast crew. |
| Owens Corning Duration | USA | 130 mph with SureNail | Woven fabric strip, the best in the business | Duration Flex | $6.50 to $7.75 | The SureNail strip resists nail pull-through better than any other; good on windy sites. |
| CertainTeed Landmark | USA | 110 mph; Landmark Pro 130 | Standard, wide on Pro | Landmark IR / ClimateFlex | $6.75 to $8.00 | Heavy, well regarded, slightly more. Landmark Pro is the one to buy. |
| Malarkey Vista / Legacy | USA (polymer-modified) | 130 mph; Legacy 130 | Wide (Zone) | Vista is Class 3, Legacy Class 4 by design | $7.25 to $8.75 | Rubberized (SBS) asphalt stays flexible in cold and resists hail and granule loss. The quiet favourite of roofers who have used it. |
What matters in Ontario specifically
- Cold-weather handling. Shoulder-season installs in April and October are the best value, and some shingles crack when bent cold. The Canadian-made lines and the polymer-modified ones (Malarkey, and the SBS lines from IKO and Owens Corning) handle it best.
- Wind. Georgian Bay, Lake Erie and Lake Huron shorelines, and the open country between, see 100 km/h gusts most years. Buy a 130 mph-rated shingle with the nailing it needs (usually six nails) and ask the roofer to hand-seal the rakes.
- Ice. No shingle stops an ice dam; the underlayment and the attic do. But a heavier shingle with a good seal strip resists water being pushed up under it. See ice dams.
- Heat. A sealed, under-vented attic reaches 60 C in July and cooks every brand equally. Vent it and all six last; do not, and none of them do.
- Algae. North slopes under trees streak black. Every brand sells an algae-resistant version with copper granules for a few dollars a square; ask for it on the shaded side.
The honest ranking
For a typical Ontario house with a vented attic and a competent roofer: any of the six, mid-grade architectural, will give 22 to 30 years, and the difference between them is a few years and a few hundred dollars. If the house is on a windy shore, Owens Corning Duration or GAF HDZ for the nailing strips. If the roof goes on in April or October, a Canadian line or Malarkey for the cold handling. If hail is a thing where you live, Malarkey Legacy or any Class 4 and a phone call to your insurer about the discount. If the roofer has installed IKO Dynasty every week for ten years, let them install IKO Dynasty.
The one rule: name the brand and the line on the quote. “25-year shingles” is not a product. “IKO Dynasty, Granite Black, with IKO starter and ridge cap” is. The quote checklist has it as line two.
The three things that outrank the brand
- The installer. Nails in the strip, four or six as the wind rating requires, flush not overdriven. Starter strip at eaves and rakes. Shingles staggered right. Valleys done the way the manufacturer says. A roofer who does this will get 30 years from a cheap shingle; one who does not will get 15 from the best. The installation checklist is how you look.
- The attic. Intake at the soffits, exhaust at the ridge, the bathroom fan outside, insulation not blocking the soffits. Ten years of shingle life is in that sentence.
- The underlayment and ice shield. Synthetic underlayment over the deck, ice and water at the eaves to code and in the valleys, drip edge under it at the eaves and over it at the rakes. Shingles keep rain off; the underlayment is what keeps the deck dry when wind drives rain uphill. That page.
Questions people ask
Which shingle brand is best?
The six majors are close enough that the installer and the ventilation decide the outcome. Owens Corning and GAF for wind, Malarkey for cold and hail, IKO and BP as the Canadian standards. Any of them, installed well over a vented attic.
Are IKO shingles good?
Yes. The Cambridge line is the Ontario builder standard; Dynasty, with the reinforced nailing zone, is the one to specify. The older organic IKO shingles that had problems were discontinued over a decade ago.
What wind rating do I need?
110 mph for most inland houses; 130 mph with six nails on lakeshore, hilltop and open-field sites. The rating only applies with the nailing pattern the manufacturer specifies.
Should I pay for the premium line?
If you are staying 20 years or more, or the house takes hail or hard wind, yes. If you are selling in 10, the mid-grade architectural is the money.
Does shingle colour matter in Ontario?
Almost not at all for attic temperature on a vented attic. Dark hides algae streaks worse; light shows them sooner. Pick for the house.
Name it on the paper
Brand, line, colour, wind rating, nails per shingle, starter, ridge cap, underlayment. Then the roofer who has put that shingle on a hundred roofs. That is the best shingle for Ontario.
Sources and further reading
- IKO: Canadian-made shingles; the warranty and the technical data sheets are on the site.
- BP Canada: shingles made in Quebec; warranty registration is on the site.
- GAF: Timberline shingles and the certified-installer program.
- Owens Corning: Duration shingles and the SureNail strip the wind rating depends on.
- CertainTeed: Landmark shingles and the SureStart warranty terms.
- Malarkey: the polymer-modified shingles with the Class 4 impact rating.
