Ontario hub · updated October 16, 2026

Electrical estimating software for Ontario contractors

VOLTA is electrical estimating software Ontario contractors can use on the next bid: it reads your PDF drawings in the browser, drafts the takeoff and turns it into a quote with Ontario's 13% HST on the price, for $9.99 CAD a month after a 30-day trial. This hub collects what an Ontario estimate has to account for: the Ontario Electrical Safety Code edition in force, the Electrical Safety Authority's 2026 notification fees, the licences behind the work and published wage data, with permit-cost guides for Toronto and Ottawa.

Disclosure: this hub is published by VOLTA, which makes one of the products discussed. Code, fee, licence and wage facts link to the regulator or agency that publishes them, checked on October 16, 2026. VOLTA does not check an installation against the code; that stays with your licensed designated Master Electrician and ESA's inspector.

Key takeaways

The 2024 Ontario Electrical Safety Code (29th edition) has been in effect since May 1, 2025. It is the Canadian Electrical Code with Ontario amendments.
Electrical permits in Ontario are notifications filed with the Electrical Safety Authority, not with the city, and a building permit does not cover electrical work.
ESA's 2026 fees rose 1.9% on April 1, 2026. The minimum fee for a notification is $92.
Job Bank puts the median electrician wage in Ontario at $34.00 an hour. A billed rate adds burden, overhead and margin on top.

On this page: Software and price · The code · ESA permits · Licences · Labour rates · Toronto and Ottawa · What VOLTA does · FAQ · Sources

One CAD price, with Ontario's HST on the quote

There is one plan: a 30-day trial, then $9.99 CAD a month plus applicable tax, month to month, with no tiers and no per-seat charges. Set the province to Ontario in VOLTA's settings and the quote carries the HST that the Canada Revenue Agency lists for Ontario, 13%, on the contract price, with no separate provincial tax on materials as in British Columbia.¹ Your labour rates, markup, waste allowance and overhead are settings you change, so the defaults never decide your price.

VOLTA reads the drawings you upload, sheet by sheet: the legend, luminaire schedules, fixture and device tags, and on renovation sets the remove, relocate and existing-to-remain marks on the demolition plans. Every quantity it drafts is a line you can open, check against the drawing and change before it prices.

The code edition Ontario enforces, and what it adds to a takeoff

Ontario enforces its own edition of the code: the 2024 Ontario Electrical Safety Code, the 29th edition, in effect since May 1, 2025, and sold through CSA Group as CSA C22.1 ON:24.² It is the Canadian Electrical Code, Part I, with ESA's Ontario amendments, which many people simply call the Ontario electrical code or the OESC. Three amended rules show up directly in an estimate:³

Rule 26-744 4): a receptacle of CSA configuration 14-50R is installed in every single dwelling and in each dwelling unit of an apartment or similar building, to supply an electric range, unless Subrule 14) exempts the unit, for example where a built-in cooktop or oven is installed. On a multi-unit job that is one device line times the unit count.
Rule 8-202 3): the electrical load calculation Ontario uses for a service or feeder supplying two or more dwelling units follows the amended rule, and that calculation sets the service size you price.
Rule 2-004: the contractor files a notification with ESA before the work starts, or within 48 hours after it starts where filing first is not practicable. The notification fee belongs on the estimate as its own line.

How editions and amendments change a takeoff in every province is covered in the CEC for electrical estimators.

ESA permit cost: the 2026 notification fees

In Ontario, almost all electrical work has to be reported to the Electrical Safety Authority. ESA calls the filing a notification of work, or permit; a licensed electrical contractor hired to do the work files it, before the work starts, and the installation must be inspected before it is concealed or buried.⁴ When the work passes, ESA issues the ESA Certificate of Acceptance to the person who filed. A building permit is a separate thing: in ESA's words, "Having a building permit isn't the same as filing an electrical notification. You may need both."

The fees come from one province-wide schedule. ESA raised its wiring and licensing fees by 1.9% on April 1, 2026,⁵ and its 2026 Wiring Fee Guide sets them line by line (the guide's own cover reads "Effective July 6, 2026").⁶ A few figures every Ontario estimator meets, contractor rates:

Item (2026 Wiring Fee Guide)	Fee
Minimum fee for a notification	$92
Residential renovation, 11–30 outlets, no service work	$92
Residential renovation, 41 outlets and up, with service work	$256
New single-family dwelling up to 7,000 sq ft, service up to 200 A	$253
Each service	$86, subject to the minimum fee
Plan review	$350 for the first 2 hours, then $175 an hour
Work started without a notification (not filed within 48 hours)	the inspection fees, plus $354 for the first 2 hours and $177 an hour after

Commercial and industrial work is priced item by item in ESA's commercial reference guide, by amperage, unit or group of outlets, never as a percentage of the contract.⁷ The whole residential table, and what the city adds when a job also needs a building permit, are in the Toronto and Ottawa guides.

ESA homeowner permit or contractor notification?

Homeowners may do electrical work in their own home, but they must file their own notification with ESA, at the non-contractor rates; anyone hired to do the work must be a Licensed Electrical Contractor.⁴ For the same 41-outlet renovation with service work, ESA's guide lists $256 at the contractor rate and $399 for a non-contractor.⁶

The licences behind an Ontario electrical bid

Obtaining a licence is mandatory for every electrical contractor and Master Electrician in Ontario. ESA's requirements for the contractor licence include being, or employing at all times, a Master Electrician, an address for service in Ontario, at least $2,000,000 of public liability and property damage insurance, and registration with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board where the law requires it.⁸ The annual fees for 2026 are $448 for the contractor licence and $91 for the Master Electrician licence, and the Master Electrician exam costs $164.⁹ The exam itself is 80 multiple-choice questions, open book, in three hours, with at least 70% overall and 60% in each section to pass.¹⁰

The trade itself is regulated separately. Electrician – Construction and Maintenance (309A) is a compulsory trade with Skilled Trades Ontario: to practise it legally, a person holds a Registered Training Agreement, a Provisional Certificate of Qualification or a Certificate of Qualification.¹¹ Licence fees are overhead, not job cost, so they belong in your overhead rate rather than on a line. The electrical contractor license Ontario requirements and fees are worked through in this week's post.

Ontario labour rates: wage is not billed rate

Published wage data is the floor. On the Government of Canada's Job Bank, the median wage for electricians (NOC 72200) in Ontario is $34.00 an hour, with a low of $20.00 and a high of $50.50; the wages were updated on November 19, 2025.¹² An electrician hourly rate Ontario clients see on a quote sits well above that, because burden (WSIB, CPP, EI, vacation), tools, the truck, supervision, overhead and margin all ride on each hour. VOLTA ships billed-rate defaults as its own estimates and every rate is a setting you change; the arithmetic is in how to estimate electrical work in Canada.

Toronto and Ottawa: what the city adds

Neither city issues electrical permits. The City of Toronto says it plainly: "In Ontario, almost all electrical work requires an electrical permit from the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA)."¹³ What a city does add is a building permit when the job needs one, priced on its own schedule: Toronto charges by floor area, Ottawa by the value of the work.

Toronto electrical permit cost: ESA's fees, and Toronto's 2026 building permit fees for alterations.
Ottawa electrical permit cost: ESA's fees, and Ottawa's fee for alterations, per $1,000 of construction value.

What VOLTA does for an Ontario estimate, and what it does not

Does: drafts the takeoff from your PDF drawings, prices it with your rates, carries Ontario's 13% HST on the quote, and puts the ESA notification fee on its own line when you enter it in Settings under Permits + mobilization.
Does: on a renovation set, counts the demolition marks, so removals and relocations are priced as their own lines and work marked to remain is listed.
Does not: check an installation against the OESC, calculate a service size under Rule 8-202, or file anything with ESA. Those stay with your designated Master Electrician.

Frequently asked

Who makes AI takeoff software in Ottawa or Ontario?

VOLTA is one option for Ottawa and the rest of Ontario: a Canadian estimator, built in British Columbia, whose AI takeoff draft reads the text, legends, schedules and tags in electrical PDF drawings in your browser. It costs $9.99 CAD a month after a 30-day trial, and every quantity it drafts is yours to check before it prices.

Do I need an ESA permit for electrical work in Ontario?

Almost always: the Ontario Electrical Safety Code requires almost all electrical work to be reported to the Electrical Safety Authority, and ESA calls that notification a permit. A licensed electrical contractor files it before the work starts, and a homeowner doing their own work files their own.

How much does an ESA permit cost in 2026?

It depends on the work, with a minimum of $92 for a notification under ESA's 2026 Wiring Fee Guide. A residential renovation of 11 to 30 outlets with no service work is $92 at the contractor rate, and a new house up to 7,000 sq ft with a service up to 200 A is $253.

Which edition of the electrical code applies in Ontario?

The 2024 Ontario Electrical Safety Code, the 29th edition, in effect since May 1, 2025. It is the Canadian Electrical Code, Part I with Ontario amendments, sold through CSA Group as CSA C22.1 ON:24.

How much does an electrician charge per hour in Ontario?

No agency publishes billed rates; what is published is the wage, and Job Bank's median for electricians in Ontario is $34.00 an hour. The rate on a quote adds burden, tools, vehicle, overhead and margin to that wage, so set your own and check it against your costs. In VOLTA it is a setting you change.

What is the ESA Certificate of Acceptance?

It is the document ESA issues to the person who filed the notification once the work passes, and the electrical safety certificate Ontario owners keep for insurance, resale and peace of mind, as ESA puts it.

Is HST charged on electrical work in Ontario?

Yes: the Canada Revenue Agency lists Ontario's HST at 13%, and it goes on the contract price. VOLTA adds it to the quote when the province is set to Ontario, and the rate stays editable.

Sources

Each source was opened and checked on October 16, 2026.

Price Ontario work with HST on the quote and the ESA fee on its own line. Try VOLTA free for 30 days.

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