PLC programmer salary in Canada is not captured by one clean government job title. Some employers call the work controls technician, automation specialist, industrial electrician, instrumentation and control technician, automation engineer, or controls engineer. The right pay range depends on whether the person is troubleshooting equipment, writing new logic, commissioning machines, supporting a plant, or owning controls design.
For hands-on PLC work, current Job Bank wage anchors sit from the mid-$30s per hour for controls technician and automation specialist titles to the mid-$40s and low-$50s per hour for instrumentation/control and automation engineering titles. Senior PLC programmers who can own commissioning, safety, HMI/SCADA, drives, and production downtime usually price above generic maintenance technician ranges.
| Job Bank wage anchor | Low hourly | Median hourly | High hourly | Approx. annual median | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controls technician – electrical and electronics NOC 22310 |
$24.04 | $35.58 | $55.34 | $74,006 | Nov. 19, 2025 |
| Automation specialist NOC 22301 |
$23.08 | $35.00 | $51.28 | $72,800 | Nov. 19, 2025 |
| Instrumentation and control technician NOC 22312 |
$31.00 | $46.00 | $65.78 | $95,680 | Nov. 19, 2025 |
| Industrial electrician NOC 72201 |
$28.00 | $42.00 | $54.00 | $87,360 | Nov. 19, 2025 |
| Automation engineer – electrical and electronic systems NOC 21310 |
$33.65 | $50.67 | $79.23 | $105,394 | Nov. 19, 2025 |
Data note: Job Bank wage pages report hourly low, median, and high wages by occupation. Annual equivalents here are rough full-time estimates using 2,080 hours and should be treated as comparison anchors, not guaranteed offers.
Why PLC Programmer Pay Is Hard To Compare
A PLC programmer in a Canadian plant may spend the day inside Studio 5000 troubleshooting a packaging line, while an integrator may use the same title for someone writing new machine logic, building HMI screens, proving safety behavior, and traveling for startup. Those jobs should not pay the same even if the title looks similar.
The official Job Bank data is most useful when treated as a set of nearby anchors. Controls technician and automation specialist wages help frame hands-on plant support. Instrumentation and control technician and industrial electrician wages help frame electrical troubleshooting, drives, sensors, and field devices. Automation engineer wages help frame higher-ownership PLC/HMI/SCADA design and commissioning roles.
What Moves A Canadian PLC Programmer Higher
The biggest pay driver is independent troubleshooting under production pressure. Employers pay more for someone who can connect to a live controller, understand the sequence, identify why the machine is stopped, and communicate the fix to maintenance, operators, and engineering.
Platform depth matters. Allen-Bradley, Siemens, Omron, Beckhoff, Schneider, Ignition, FactoryTalk, Wonderware, Profinet, EtherNet/IP, servo and motion work, VFDs, safety relays, and machine vision can all move a candidate up the range. So can travel, customer-site startup, regulated environments, and high-speed production.
Regional And Market Notes
Ontario remains the clearest high-volume market for PLC work because of automotive, food, packaging, machine builders, and integrators around the GTA, Windsor, Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, and London. Alberta often rewards instrumentation, process, energy, and field-service exposure. British Columbia can be strong for automation technicians, robotics-adjacent manufacturers, and equipment companies, while Quebec has meaningful controls demand around manufacturing, packaging, aerospace, and robotics.
A national salary number can hide those differences. A local plant role with stable hours in one province may compete against travel-heavy integrator roles in another. Candidates should compare the total package, and employers should understand that strong PLC people often look across provincial markets when they are willing to relocate or travel.
Advice For Job Seekers
Do not rely on the words PLC programming by themselves. In your resume, name the PLC families, HMI platforms, networks, drives, robots, machine types, and problems you have solved. A hiring manager should be able to see whether you have only edited known code or whether you can diagnose unfamiliar equipment.
When comparing offers, ask about shift, overtime, on-call support, shutdown work, commissioning travel, and who owns electrical troubleshooting. A higher hourly rate with constant nights and weekend calls is not the same as a stable day-shift plant role.
Advice For Employers
If you want serious PLC applicants, put the controls stack in the posting. Mention the PLC/HMI platforms, equipment type, expected troubleshooting depth, travel, shift, and whether the role writes new logic or supports existing machines.
A vague automation technician ad may attract general maintenance applicants. A clear PLC programmer ad that names the actual work attracts candidates who can solve controls problems faster and gives them a reason to apply instead of skipping the posting.
Compare current PLC programmer jobs in Canada
Use the live board to see how Canadian employers describe PLC platforms, shift, travel, commissioning, and plant support.
Use this guide
Turn this into a live PLC programmer job search
Compare current openings near Toronto, then save an alert so new reviewed PLC, controls, robotics, industrial electrical, commissioning, and field service roles come to you.