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How to Hire an Electrician in Ontario: The ESA Licence Check, WSIB and Insurance, Hourly vs Fixed Price, Deposits and the Walkthrough
Electrical & Lighting
Hiring an Electrician: Check the Seven Digits First, Talk About the Price Second
In Ontario there is exactly one kind of business you may hire to do electrical work: an ESA Licensed Electrical Contractor. Not a general contractor, not a handyman, not the fellow your neighbour swears by who “used to be an electrician”. That narrows the field before you start. This page covers how to check the licence, the other paper to ask for, what a good electrician asks you, what they charge, and how to pay them so the work and the inspections stay in step.
Who You May Hire
| Who | May do electrical work for you? | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| ESA Licensed Electrical Contractor (LEC) | Yes | Has a 7-digit ECRA/ESA licence number and files the ESA notification under it |
| General contractor or builder | No | May hire an LEC; may not do the wiring. That includes me. |
| Handyman | No | A light fixture is electrical work. So is “just moving one outlet”. |
| You, in your own home or rental building | Your own work only | You file the notification yourself, before starting, and pass inspection |
That second row surprises people. A general contractor is not licensed to do electrical work in Ontario, so on the houses I build and renovate in Simcoe, Muskoka and Georgian Bay, the electrical is done by licensed electrical contractors we hire, under their licence and their ESA notification. A builder who tells you his carpenter “does the wiring” is telling you something you should not ignore.
Check the Licence, Then the Paper
An LEC has a 7-digit ECRA/ESA licence number, and it belongs on the truck, the business card and the estimate. Look it up on ESA’s contractor locator on esasafe.com. Then check that the name on the locator is the name on the quote and the name you are writing the cheque to. A licence number borrowed from somebody’s brother-in-law’s company is not your contractor’s licence.
Two more pieces of paper, and a contractor who has them sends them the same day:
- A WSIB clearance certificate, current, which you can check yourself on WSIB’s clearance page. If a worker is hurt in your basement and nobody is covered, you do not want to find out how that conversation goes.
- A certificate of liability insurance, with a date that runs past the end of your job.
Put the licence number on the contract. The ESA permit page explains who files what and why you never file it for him.
What Electricians Charge in 2026
| Item | Range, before HST | Default or note |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly rate, Ontario | $80 to $160 | Toronto $95 to $160, Ottawa $80 to $150 |
| Service call or trip charge | $75 to $200 | before any work is done |
| Electrical safety inspection, written report | $250 to $450 | for insurance or a purchase |
| Panel replacement, same amperage | $1,500 to $3,000 | $2,200 |
| 100 A to 200 A upgrade, overhead | $2,500 to $5,000 | $3,800 |
| Level 2 EV charger, charger supplied, simple run | $1,500 to $2,800 | $2,000 |
| New house wiring, per finished sq ft | $8 to $12 | $10 |
October 2026 prices. ESA’s own fee is a separate, small line; the permit page has the table. HST is 13 percent on top.
Why Ontario prices are all over the map: the contractors and price guides we checked for this page did not agree on much. For a same-size panel swap, one Toronto contractor said $800 to $2,500 and another Toronto contractor said $1,800 to $3,000. For a 100 to 200 A upgrade, one GTA company printed $3,500 to $4,500 on one page of its website and $1,400 to $1,800 on another. Some prices include the meter base, the permit and the utility booking; some assume overhead service, a short run and a panel that is easy to get at. Budget $2,200 for a panel swap and $3,800 for an overhead upgrade, and get two or three quotes on the same written scope.
A Good Electrician Asks You Questions
You learn a lot from what they ask. A good one wants to know what heats the house, what the panel is and how old, and whether a heat pump, an induction range, a hot tub or an EV is coming in the next ten years. They ask for photos of the panel and the meter, and who your utility is. On a service upgrade they want to see the house before they price it. Somebody who prices a 200 A upgrade over the phone without seeing the meter is pricing a different house.
On a new house, they want the plans, the appliance list and the lighting plan before quoting, and they want to walk the house with you at framing. On an ICF house they walk it before the concrete pour, because every wire that goes through the wall needs a sleeve set in the form first. The ICF wiring page has that list; it is how we build the houses on ICFhome.ca.
Hourly, Fixed Price, Deposits and Payments
Small jobs and troubleshooting are hourly, because nobody knows what is behind the plate until it is open. A defined job, a new house, a panel, a charger, should be a fixed price on a written scope. An old house full of surprises is often time and materials with a cap; get the cap in writing.
A deposit that covers material ordered for your job is normal. A large deposit before anything is ordered is not. Pay the rest by stage, and tie the stages to ESA, because an inspection is the one independent check you get. On a new house the work splits about like this: underground and service 10 to 15 percent, rough-in 55 to 65 percent, finish 25 to 30 percent. On a $20,000 job that is about $2,500 for the service, $12,000 when the rough-in passes, and $5,500 at final with the Certificate of Acceptance in hand. That adds to $20,000.
On contracts the Construction Act covers, the owner also keeps a 10 percent holdback until the lien period runs out. A good contractor expects it; ask your lawyer about the timing.
Red Flags
- No licence number on the quote. Ask once. If it does not appear, neither should you.
- “You don’t need a permit for that.” Almost all electrical work needs one, and a cash price “without the permit” is a price without an inspection.
- “Just pull the homeowner permit and I’ll do it.” You may only file for work you do yourself.
- Full payment up front. Stage it to the inspections.
- Scope that will not go in writing. The quote comparison grid lists the lines it needs.
One honest note about us. We do not run a network of electricians and we take no referral fees. Outside our own area we tell people straight whether we know anyone.
Questions people ask
Can a general contractor do electrical work in Ontario?
No. General contractors are not licensed to do electrical work. A general contractor may hire a Licensed Electrical Contractor, who files the ESA notification and does the wiring.
How do I check if an electrician is licensed in Ontario?
Get the 7-digit ECRA/ESA licence number from the estimate or the truck and look it up on ESA’s contractor locator on esasafe.com. Check that the company name matches the name on the quote.
How much does an electrician cost per hour in Ontario?
About $80 to $160 an hour in 2026, before HST: $95 to $160 in Toronto and $80 to $150 in Ottawa, with a service call or trip charge of $75 to $200.
Can a handyman change a light fixture for me?
Not for hire. Anyone you pay to do electrical work must be a Licensed Electrical Contractor. You may do it yourself in your own home if you file the notification first.
How much deposit should I give an electrician?
Enough to cover material ordered for your job, then payments tied to stages: the service, the rough-in after it passes inspection, and the finish after final. Never the whole job up front.
Know the number before the first visit
The whole-house electrical cost calculator gives you the price range for your house before anyone walks through it, which makes the first conversation shorter. If the quotes are already in, the $99 review reads up to three of them, checks the licence, the permit and the scope, and tells you which lines are missing.
Sources and further reading
- ESA contractor locator: where you check the 7-digit licence number on an electrician’s estimate before you sign.
- WSIB clearances: where you check that the electrical contractor has a valid clearance certificate before work starts.
- Construction Act, R.S.O. 1990: the 10 percent holdback, the lien period and the prompt-payment timelines that apply to an electrical contract.
