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Security guard in Ontario: licence, salary and jobs

Compare the Ontario licensing route with official wage and employment evidence before paying for training. Then use free, original practice alongside the ministry study guide.

· Sources checked:

Start free practice →Official application ↗How to read these numbers

Official data at a glance

Gross hourly median

CAD 20.00

2023-2024 data · published 19 Nov 2025 · NOC 64410

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Licensing records

136,611

security-guard-only licensees

Reference date:

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The year-end CSV excludes expired, suspended and revoked licences. Another 2,377 individuals are in the separate dual guard/investigator category. These are licensing records, not employed guards or vacancies.

The work and the licence

Look at the duties in the vacancy: guarding property, controlling access or patrolling a site may involve different shifts and site instructions. This guide covers the ordinary individual security guard route, not a private-investigator or agency licence.

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What the employment evidence means

Job Bank rates Ontario Limited for 2025-2027. It expects some employment losses and replacement openings from retirements. Toronto is Limited while Ottawa and Hamilton-Niagara are Moderate. Compare the actual region, hours and duties; a large licence pool does not measure how many applicants compete for one opening.

  • Toronto: Limited
  • Ottawa: Moderate
  • Hamilton-Niagara: Moderate
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Ontario guard-only licensees at year-end

2023
152,756
2024
160,353
2025
136,611

The year-end CSV excludes expired, suspended and revoked licences. Another 2,377 individuals are in the separate dual guard/investigator category. These are licensing records, not employed guards or vacancies.

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Your licensing checklist

Steps checked: 0/4

  1. Be at least 18, entitled to work in Canada and meet the prescribed criminal-record conditions. A valid Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Check is required.

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  2. The standard course is at least 40 hours including emergency first aid and CPR. An accepted valid first-aid/CPR certificate can exempt that portion. Obtain the training completion number.

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  3. Use the official testing service with your training completion number. Our quizzes help revision but do not issue a completion number or replace this test.

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  4. After meeting training and testing requirements, submit the required record check, identification, photo, completion number and fee. A passed test alone does not issue a licence.

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Checks are only a personal reminder on this page. They are not saved, sent or proof of eligibility.

Already licensed elsewhere in Canada?

An active equivalent provincial or territorial licence in good standing can exempt Ontario basic training and testing. Apply with its details. Ontario now describes a 10-business-day complete-application route and a six-month deemed certification only when the required notice is issued after no decision; do not assume merely submitting an application authorizes work.

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Questions before you apply

Does the licence count show how many guards have jobs?

No. The 136,611 figure counts the guard-only licensing category at the end of 2025. Dual licensees are separate, and neither count tells us who is currently working or looking for a job.

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Is CA$20 an entry-level wage guarantee?

No. It is the provincial gross hourly median reported by Job Bank for NOC 64410 using 2023-2024 data. It is not take-home pay or a promised starting wage.

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Can I work as soon as I pass free practice?

No. Free practice is independent revision. Follow the official training, testing and licensing route, or the applicable out-of-province process.

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Definitions, dates and limits

  • Licensing records measure authorization, not whether a holder works or is seeking work. Ontario counts individuals in separate licence categories; Québec counts permits including temporary permits. Do not rank provinces by these totals.
  • Wages refer to the broad occupational group NOC 64410, security guards and related security service occupations, not exclusively newly licensed guards. The median is gross CAD per hour, using the 2023-2024 reference period; the release date is 19 November 2025. It is not a current offer, minimum wage or take-home salary.
  • Employment outlooks are Job Bank assessments for 2025-2027, released 10 December 2025. Limited does not mean no jobs; regional assessments can differ. We do not turn them into a personal hiring probability.
  • No live posting total or provincial vacancy estimate is stored here. External Job Bank listings cover that service, not every opening. Statistics Canada vacancy estimates are a separate quarterly survey measure. Missing or suppressed data are unavailable, not zero.
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Official references

The reference period describes the data; the checked date describes our editorial review. A page update is not a new statistical observation.