What makes a job one of Canada’s Best? Healthy demand for talent, a growing workforce, and a generous salary with room to move up.
By Canadian Business Staff – May 29, 2017 www.canadianbusiness.com
This is our definitive ranking of Canada’s Best Jobs for 2017. Using our proprietary formula, we use publicly available data from Statistics Canada and Employment & Social Development Canada to rank the jobs with the highest salaries, strongest job growth, and best long-term hiring momentum.
No ranking can determine the perfect job for you, however. We don’t account for job satisfaction, for instance, or how long it takes (and how much it costs) to get qualified for a given career. But this ranking does provide a useful snapshot of current job market opportunities: the fields that are in need of fresh talent, and are therefore likely to pay you well for your work.
#25: Construction Manager
Construction managers oversee the building teams, ensuring projects are organized and on track for completion. They also do budget estimates, establish schedules, and mark out construction milestones.
Median Salary: $79,999
Salary Growth (2010–2016): +12%
Total Employees in Canada: 49,000
Change in No. of Employees (2010–2016): +31%
#24: Mining & Quarrying Supervisor
A mining and quarry supervisor oversees the workers extracting the coal, minerals or ore out of the ground. They may operate heavy machinery, keep an eye on workers’ safety, and do administrative work like ordering materials and supplies.
Median Salary: $72,800
Salary Growth (2010–2016): +12%
Total Employees in Canada: 8,300
Change in No. of Employees (2010–2016): +31%
#23: Pilot or Flying Instructor
Pilots may be involved in air transport, or crop spraying, or aerial surveying, while flight engineers do pre-flight inspections and maintain systems and equipment. Flying instructors do what you’d expect: train new pilots or prepare them for license examinations.
Median Salary: $76,960
Salary Growth (2010–2016): +17%
Total Employees in Canada: 15,500
Change in No. of Employees (2010–2016): +14%
#20: Software Engineer
Software engineers write the computer code that allows you to read this job description, and develop the processes behind tons of other products and services. If you’ve got a thing for math and logic, you’ll love this field.
Median Salary: $90,001
Salary Growth (2010–2016): +12%
Total Employees in Canada: 43,500
Change in No. of Employees (2010–2016): +45%
#20: Police Officer
Hopefully you’re not too familiar with the responsibilities of a police officer—namely, enforcing the law. They patrol asssigned areas, investigate crimes, search premises, apprehend suspects, and provide testimony in court.
Median Salary: $83,990
Salary Growth (2010–2016): +15%
Total Employees in Canada: 78,400
Change in No. of Employees (2010–2016): -1%
#20: Firefighter
Firefighters perform everything you’ve come to expect: operating equipment to control and extinguish fires, rescue victims from burning buildings, and applying first aid. But they also maintain their equipment, educate the public, work with other first responders, and of course, do paperwork.
Median Salary: $78,936
Salary Growth (2010–2016): +15%
Total Employees in Canada: 33,200
Change in No. of Employees (2010–2016): -15%
#19: Urban Planner
Urban planners find themselves doing a ton of research: analyzing data on factors affecting land use, speaking with authorities and stakeholders, and evaluating proposals. Then, of course, there’s also the development planning, taking into account everything from zoning to transportation to environmental protection.
Median Salary: $86,320
Salary Growth (2010–2016): +15%
Total Employees in Canada: 10,200
Change in No. of Employees (2010–2016): +27%
#18: Petroleum & Chemical Process Engineer
Petroleum engineers conduct studies for new oil and gas fields, oversee drilling operations, and sometimes develop production equipment. They’ll see employment by not just energy companies, but also research institutes and the government. Chemical engineers are included in this category, and develop processes that turns raw material into product. They may work in energy, the food industry and more.
Median Salary: $104,000
Salary Growth (2010–2016): +14%
Total Employees in Canada: 11,000
Change in No. of Employees (2010–2016): -16%
#17: Business Services Manager
This broad field encompasses managing a range of firms: accounting, legal, payroll or market research. Essentially, the business manager is charge in the overall running of, well, the business. This means directing staff, developing plans, hiring, communicating and everything else you can think of to ensure the business runs smoothly.
Median Salary: $85,508
Salary Growth (2010–2016): +31%
Total Employees in Canada: 13,400
Change in No. of Employees (2010–2016): -16%
#16: Deck Officer
A deck officer is responsible for overseeing important duties on a vessel, be it handling cargo, ensuring passenger’s safety, or plan navigation. They may also command or operate ships.
Median Salary: $72,800
Salary Growth (2010–2016): +16%
Total Employees in Canada: 5,200
Change in No. of Employees (2010–2016): +18%
#15: Specialized Engineer
These specialized engineers work in fields that wouldn’t be the first to come to mind—agriculture, textile, biomedicine, and so on. But the work is still typical of an engineer: managing processes, building equipment, supervising installation.
Median Salary: $85,009
Salary Growth (2010–2016): +15%
Total Employees in Canada: 23,100
Change in No. of Employees (2010–2016): +79%
#14: Aerospace Engineer
The aerospace industry plays an important and high-profile role in Canada’s economy. It’s also vulnerable to disturbances both domestic and foreign, such as government policy, foreign affairs and currency fluctuations. While few of the big manufacturers are Canadian, the extensive supply chain means there’s plenty of small companies to work for. It’s also an engineering field where further specialization is commonplace.
Median Salary: $89,003
Salary Growth (2010–2016): +32%
Total Employees in Canada: 8,400
Change in No. of Employees (2010–2016): +9%
#13: Locomotive Engineer
This job is split between two complementary roles: railway locomotive engineers are expected to operate the trains carrying passengers or freight, while communicating properly with their crew and traffic controllers; while yard locomotive engineers specifically operate trains at the yard, uncoupling and switching cars, and inspecting and refuelling the locomotives.
Median Salary: $73,340
Salary Growth (2010–2016): +23%
Total Employees in Canada: 6,200
Change in No. of Employees (2010–2016): +14%
#12: Corporate Sales Manager
Corporate Sales Managers bring in the cash for commercial, industrial, or wholesale enterprises. They’re on top of sales operations, which means everything hiring salespeople, defining policies and procedures, building relationships with clients, and working with marketing to boost those numbers.
Median Salary: $85,009
Salary Growth (2010–2016): +27%
Total Employees in Canada: 22,900
Change in No. of Employees (2010–2016): -6%
#11: Pharmacist
Being a pharmacist isn’t so simple as just filling doctors’ prescriptions, it also means meticulously updating medical records, advising customers on how to take their medicine, hiring staff, and managing inventory.
Median Salary: $102,398
Salary Growth (2010–2016): +9%
Total Employees in Canada: 35,000
Change in No. of Employees (2010–2016): 56%
#10: Elevator Mechanic
Elevator mechanics inspect and repair the electronic, mechanical and safety components of the elevators we use every day.
Median Salary: $83,844
Salary Growth (2010–2016): +16%
Total Employees in Canada: 7,000
Change in No. of Employees (2010–2016): +94%
#9: Lawyer
It’s not just attorneys present at court who appear in this category; it also included everything from articling students to senior partners.
Median Salary: $88,524
Salary Growth (2010–2016): +10%
Total Employees in Canada: 56,000
Change in No. of Employees (2010–2016): +12%
#8: Economic Development Director
These government workers are focused on how to make cities, towns and economic regions prosper. This mainly involves evaluating, planning and implementing economic policy, but it also means collecting data and creating polices and programs. The category includes jobs like border services managers, analysts and tourism development managers.
Median Salary: $114,400
Salary Growth (2010–2016): +12%
Total Employees in Canada: 6,600
Change in No. of Employees (2010–2016): -10%
#7: Real Estate & Financial Manager
These managers of real estate and finance firms are often involved in insurance, commodities trading, and brokering mortgages. They’re in charge of the day-to-day operations of the firms, directing and evaluating their operations.
Median Salary: $103,376
Salary Growth (2010–2016): +29%
Total Employees in Canada: 21,600
Change in No. of Employees (2010–2016): +8.5%
#6: Telecommunications Manager
Telecommunications carriers employ managers to maintain their facilities and oversee their operations. A telecommunication manager may oversee network installation, direct switching systems, and ensure their systems comply with regulations.
Median Salary: $86,528
Salary Growth (2010–2016): +15%
Total Employees in Canada: 12,000
Change in No. of Employees (2010–2016): +5%
#5: Utilities Manager
Water, electrical power, natural gas—if it’s a utility, this category of managers are taking care of it. Whether it’s in the public sector or the private sector, utility managers are in charge of the facilities, plants, and distribution systems that bring the power to the people.
Median Salary: $112,320
Salary Growth (2010–2016): +20%
Total Employees in Canada: 7,100
Change in No. of Employees (2010–2016): +6%
#4: Pipefitting Supervisor
A pipefitting supervisor coordinates the heat, oil and water systems that run not just in your home, but in large industrial or commercial facilities, too. They order materials, schedule work activities and make sure everything’s working safely.
Median Salary: $89,398
Salary Growth (2010–2016): +11%
Total Employees in Canada: 5,100
Change in No. of Employees (2010–2016): +39%
#3: Mining & Forestry Manager
You’ll find these managers overseeing operations in the mines, lumber mills and fisheries that make up Canada’s enormous natural resources sector. Much of the time they’ll be outdoors, inspecting field operations, but often they’ll be hiring and training personnel, and reporting progress to senior management. For these managers, their primary focus is making sure their teams meet production quotas, while being adequately staffed and equipped.
Median Salary: $100,006
Salary Growth (2010–2016): +11%
Total Employees in Canada: 12,000
Change in No. of Employees (2010–2016): +39%
#2: Nurse Practitioner
The responsibilities of a nurse practitioner are greater than a registered nurse, but less than a doctor. They’ve got advanced training and the additional responsibility to diagnose and treat illnesses, and as of 2017, can prescribe certain types of medicine if they’ve completed further education.
Median Salary: $84,510
Salary Growth (2010–2016): +19%
Total Employees in Canada: 5,500
Change in No. of Employees (2010–2016): +0%
#1: Public Administration Director
Public administration directors oversee large branches of government services, ensuring that policies and programs are implemented. This means overseeing the development of said programs, monitoring and planning budgets, and hiring and training staff.
Median Salary: $106,662
Salary Growth (2010–2016): +17%
Total Employees in Canada: 21,300
Change in No. of Employees (2010–2016): +39%