Unfortunately, Security Guards in Canada do not make much of a salary. Furthermore, security companies in Canada have revenue issues as well: low profit margins. So, how much is a Security Guard salary in Canada? The private security salary for a new Security Guard with no experience will be around $30,000. This can go up to around $34,000 for an experienced Canadian Security Guard. However, a salary is not commonly used for Canadian Security Guards, an hourly rate is.
Hourly Rate For a Canadian Security Guard
An hourly rate for a rookie Canadian Security Guard is usually the provincial minimum wage rate: around $15 per hour.
This would equal a salary of approximately $30,000 per year. The hourly rate for an experienced Canadian Security Guard will just be a few dollars more, around $18 per hour. This would slightly increase the salary from $30k for a new Guard to around $34,000 for an experienced Guard. It's unfortunate that it is not that much of a jump in pay.
Security Guard Salary Canada Summary
New Security Guard $30,000CAD per year
Experienced Security Guard $34,000CAD per year
Executive Protection Salary Canada Summary
New Body Guard $55,000CAD per year
Experienced Body Guard $95,000CAD per year
The low pay is generally due to the low rate security companies charge their clients. This leaves a small profit margin for the security company and not much left over for the Security Guard. To run a very profitable security company in Canada, the security provider must have an enormous client base. So, a Canadian Security Guard might be able to increase their salary by working for a larger security company.
The low pay issues are also due to the fact that Canada does not have the specialized security fields other countries do. A Canadian Security Guard's job will just usually involve patrolling and site security, this does not pay that much. However, Canada does have a little bit of an executive protection (Body Guard) industry. This will require specialized training in "close protection." The rate for an experienced and capable Body Guard will be around $50 per hour which is roughly a salary of $95,000. The only issue with executive protection is that it's a small industry and very difficult to get into.
About the Author
Peter Sandru is an Instructor & Co-Founder of NDIL with over 16 years working in Canadian security and as a Vancouver Private Investigator. Peter has spent more than a decade conducting security operations throughout the world, primarily for corporations, law firms, and government agencies. Peter has assisted in the creation of numerous security training programs in various capacities. Peter has personally trained many Canadian Security Guards.