Province comparison

Private Investigator Licensing by Province

Regulated in 4 of 13NOC 64410Updated

Licence status by province and territory

Where private investigators need a licence
Alberta: Licence requiredSaskatchewan: Licence requiredOntario: Licence requiredQuebec: Licence required

Boundaries simplified for display. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census boundary files.

  • Licence required
  • Not confirmed yet
  • British Columbia: Not confirmed yet
  • Alberta: Licence required
  • Saskatchewan: Licence required
  • Manitoba: Not confirmed yet
  • Ontario: Licence required
  • Quebec: Licence required
  • New Brunswick: Not confirmed yet
  • Nova Scotia: Not confirmed yet
  • Prince Edward Island: Not confirmed yet
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: Not confirmed yet
  • Yukon: Not confirmed yet
  • Northwest Territories: Not confirmed yet
  • Nunavut: Not confirmed yet
Private investigator: licence status, regulator and guide in each jurisdiction
WhereLicence statusRegulatorGuide
British Columbia Not confirmed yet — —
Alberta Licence required Government of Alberta Read the guide for Alberta
Saskatchewan Licence required Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice Read the guide for Saskatchewan
Manitoba Not confirmed yet — —
Ontario Licence required Ministry of the Solicitor General Read the guide for Ontario
Quebec Licence required Bureau de la sécurité privée Read the guide for Quebec
New Brunswick Not confirmed yet — —
Nova Scotia Not confirmed yet — —
Prince Edward Island Not confirmed yet — —
Newfoundland and Labrador Not confirmed yet — —
Yukon Not confirmed yet — —
Northwest Territories Not confirmed yet — —
Nunavut Not confirmed yet — —

Compare the provinces

2 of 13 provinces and territories have a full guide that lists the regulator's steps. Listed fees and time count only what the regulator states; steps without a listed fee or time are not included.

Listed one-time fees

No one-time fees are listed in the guides for Ontario and Quebec.

Listed time

Time not stated for every step: Ontario and Quebec.

Side by side

Routes, exams, language, listed fees and time, median wage and outlook in each province or territory with a full guide
WhereRoutesExamsLanguage Listed feesListed timeMedian wageOutlook
Ontario Trained in Canada, Licensed in another province mandatory testing — Not listed — $20.00 an hour Limited (2 of 5)
Quebec Licensed in another province — — Not listed — $21.56 an hour Limited (2 of 5)

Moving between provinces

What each regulator says about people already licensed in another province or territory. Each answer links to its details. Only the 4 provinces and territories with a guide are shown.

Private investigator: moving a licence between provinces and territories
  • Direct transfer (6)
  • Not stated (6)
All answers as a table
Private investigator: moving a licence between provinces and territories. Rows: licensed in; columns: moving to.
Licensed in / moving toAlbertaSaskatchewanOntarioQuebec
AlbertaSame placeNot stated, Alberta to SaskatchewanDirect transfer, Alberta to OntarioDirect transfer, Alberta to Quebec
SaskatchewanNot stated, Saskatchewan to AlbertaSame placeDirect transfer, Saskatchewan to OntarioDirect transfer, Saskatchewan to Quebec
OntarioNot stated, Ontario to AlbertaNot stated, Ontario to SaskatchewanSame placeDirect transfer, Ontario to Quebec
QuebecNot stated, Quebec to AlbertaNot stated, Quebec to SaskatchewanDirect transfer, Quebec to OntarioSame place

Check one move in the licence transfer checker

Demand and pay

Job Bank figures for NOC 64410, Security guards and related security service occupations. Wages for 2023-2024 in Canadian dollars an hour; outlook for 2025-2027.

Median wage

Median hourly wage for private investigators by province and territoryCanada: $21.00 (low $16.55, high $31.45). British Columbia: $22.75 (low $18.00, high $32.00). Alberta: $21.00 (low $17.25, high $38.00). Saskatchewan: $20.00 (low $15.35, high $31.24). Manitoba: $18.50 (low $16.00, high $29.00). Ontario: $20.00 (low $17.60, high $34.87). Quebec: $21.56 (low $18.99, high $30.00). New Brunswick: $18.00 (low $15.65, high $26.00). Nova Scotia: $17.00 (low $16.50, high $24.00). Prince Edward Island: $18.00 (low $16.50, high $25.85). Newfoundland and Labrador: $20.00 (low $16.00, high $29.00). Yukon: $26.68 (low $20.00, high $38.00). Northwest Territories: $26.33 (low $17.82, high $46.06). Nunavut: $25.00 (low $20.00, high $33.00).$0$20$40$60Canada: $21.00 (low $16.55, high $31.45)Canada$21.00British Columbia: $22.75 (low $18.00, high $32.00)British Columbia$22.75Alberta: $21.00 (low $17.25, high $38.00)Alberta$21.00Saskatchewan: $20.00 (low $15.35, high $31.24)Saskatchewan$20.00Manitoba: $18.50 (low $16.00, high $29.00)Manitoba$18.50Ontario: $20.00 (low $17.60, high $34.87)Ontario$20.00Quebec: $21.56 (low $18.99, high $30.00)Quebec$21.56New Brunswick: $18.00 (low $15.65, high $26.00)New Brunswick$18.00Nova Scotia: $17.00 (low $16.50, high $24.00)Nova Scotia$17.00Prince Edward Island: $18.00 (low $16.50, high $25.85)Prince Edward Island$18.00Newfoundland and Labrador: $20.00 (low $16.00, high $29.00)Newfoundland and Labrador$20.00Yukon: $26.68 (low $20.00, high $38.00)Yukon$26.68Northwest Territories: $26.33 (low $17.82, high $46.06)Northwest Territories$26.33Nunavut: $25.00 (low $20.00, high $33.00)Nunavut$25.00
Bars show the median wage. Lines run from the low to the high wage, which are Job Bank’s 10th and 90th percentiles. Grey is all of Canada.
Median hourly wage for private investigators by province and territory (table)
WhereLowMedianHigh
Canada$16.55$21.00$31.45
British Columbia$18.00$22.75$32.00
Alberta$17.25$21.00$38.00
Saskatchewan$15.35$20.00$31.24
Manitoba$16.00$18.50$29.00
Ontario$17.60$20.00$34.87
Quebec$18.99$21.56$30.00
New Brunswick$15.65$18.00$26.00
Nova Scotia$16.50$17.00$24.00
Prince Edward Island$16.50$18.00$25.85
Newfoundland and Labrador$16.00$20.00$29.00
Yukon$20.00$26.68$38.00
Northwest Territories$17.82$26.33$46.06
Nunavut$20.00$25.00$33.00

Job outlook

Job outlook for private investigators by province and territory, 1 to 5British Columbia: Limited (2 of 5). Alberta: Limited (2 of 5). Saskatchewan: Moderate (3 of 5). Manitoba: Limited (2 of 5). Ontario: Limited (2 of 5). Quebec: Limited (2 of 5). New Brunswick: Moderate (3 of 5). Nova Scotia: Good (4 of 5). Prince Edward Island: Moderate (3 of 5). Newfoundland and Labrador: Moderate (3 of 5). Yukon: Good (4 of 5). Northwest Territories: Limited (2 of 5). Nunavut: Limited (2 of 5).12345British Columbia: Limited (2 of 5)British ColumbiaLimitedAlberta: Limited (2 of 5)AlbertaLimitedSaskatchewan: Moderate (3 of 5)SaskatchewanModerateManitoba: Limited (2 of 5)ManitobaLimitedOntario: Limited (2 of 5)OntarioLimitedQuebec: Limited (2 of 5)QuebecLimitedNew Brunswick: Moderate (3 of 5)New BrunswickModerateNova Scotia: Good (4 of 5)Nova ScotiaGoodPrince Edward Island: Moderate (3 of 5)Prince Edward IslandModerateNewfoundland and Labrador: Moderate (3 of 5)Newfoundland and LabradorModerateYukon: Good (4 of 5)YukonGoodNorthwest Territories: Limited (2 of 5)Northwest TerritoriesLimitedNunavut: Limited (2 of 5)NunavutLimited
1 is a very limited outlook and 5 a very good one.
Job outlook for private investigators by province and territory, 1 to 5 (table)
WhereOutlook
British ColumbiaLimited (2 of 5)
AlbertaLimited (2 of 5)
SaskatchewanModerate (3 of 5)
ManitobaLimited (2 of 5)
OntarioLimited (2 of 5)
QuebecLimited (2 of 5)
New BrunswickModerate (3 of 5)
Nova ScotiaGood (4 of 5)
Prince Edward IslandModerate (3 of 5)
Newfoundland and LabradorModerate (3 of 5)
YukonGood (4 of 5)
Northwest TerritoriesLimited (2 of 5)
NunavutLimited (2 of 5)

Wages in every province and territory

Tools and tables

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