Physiotherapist salary in Canada by province and city

How much does a physiotherapist earn in Canada? The Government of Canada answers through Job Bank, which publishes wages for each occupation from Statistics Canada's surveys. For physiotherapists (occupation code NOC 31202), the national median is CA$46.15 an hour, and the usual range runs from CA$30.00 to CA$56.21. This guide sets out those wages by province and by city, turns them into yearly figures you can check, explains what the numbers leave out, and gives Job Bank's outlook for jobs. It ends with what stands between a physiotherapist educated abroad and that wage: a licence, and for most, the Canadian Physiotherapy Examination (CPTE).

The short answer

• The national median is CA$46.15 an hour, for the reference period 2023 to 2024; the low and high wages, roughly the 10th and 90th percentiles, are CA$30.00 and CA$56.21.
• By province, the median runs from CA$39.93 in Manitoba to CA$50.00 in British Columbia. Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan are all at CA$46.00.
• As a yearly figure, CA$46.15 an hour is about CA$90,000 for a 37.5-hour week over 52 weeks. Job Bank publishes hourly wages; the yearly figure is our arithmetic.
• The wages do not reflect experience. Job Bank suggests the low wage may say something about entry-level pay.
• Job prospects over the next three years are "Good" in five provinces and "Moderate" in the other five, and Job Bank's ten-year projection is a moderate risk of labour shortage.
• Every province and territory requires a licence, and for most physiotherapists educated abroad, that means passing the CPTE.

Each CPTE attempt costs CA$2,500, about 54 hours of work at the national median, and a failed attempt can delay the next one by months. Our CPTE study plan aims at a pass on the first attempt, and a free account opens the Communication domain in full, so you can try the app before you pay.

Where the numbers come from

Job Bank's wages page for physiotherapists gives three hourly figures for each place: low, median and high. Its questions and answers on wages define them:

• "The low wage, in most cases, corresponds to the 10th percentile."
• "The median wage is the indicator of the prevailing wage for each occupation."
• "The high wage, in most cases, corresponds to the 90th percentile."

In plain terms, about one physiotherapist in ten earns the low wage or less, half earn the median or less, and about one in ten earns more than the high wage. Job Bank prefers the median to the average "because it is less sensitive to extreme or anecdotal values."

Three more points shape how to read them:

• The source is a survey. "The primary source is Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey." For a few regions where its sample is too small, Job Bank uses Statistics Canada's Small Area Estimation instead; Montréal, the Capitale-Nationale and Regina are among them.
• They are wages paid, not wages offered. Job Bank publishes "the prevailing wages paid to employees and not the wages offered to employees," so job postings may show different figures.
• They are a little old. The physiotherapist wages "were updated on November 19, 2025," with a reference period of 2023 to 2024 for most places. Raises since then are not in them.

Physiotherapist salary by province

Job Bank's provincial wages for physiotherapists, in Canadian dollars an hour, with the median turned into a yearly figure at 37.5 hours a week for 52 weeks (1,950 hours):

For Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Job Bank publishes no figures: "Due to data limitations, wages for this occupation cannot be published. Please refer to the wage published for this occupation at the national level." Its methodology adds that "the Labour Force Survey's samples do not account for the three Territories and some remote regions".

The spread matters as much as the median. Ontario's median equals Alberta's, but its low wage is CA$25.64 against Alberta's CA$34.62. British Columbia has both the highest median and the highest high wage, CA$72.12. Prince Edward Island's low wage, CA$19.23, is the lowest in the table.

Physiotherapist salary in the main cities

Job Bank's wages for all regions break each province into economic regions. The regions around the largest cities, in Canadian dollars an hour:

The city medians sit closer together than the provinces: from CA$40.00 in Winnipeg to CA$47.00 in Toronto. The high wage of CA$90.00 on Vancouver Island and the Coast stands apart from every other region; it is the kind of value Job Bank means when it calls the median "less sensitive to extreme or anecdotal values."

From an hourly wage to a yearly salary

Job Bank shows physiotherapists' pay by the hour, so a yearly salary is arithmetic. Statistics Canada's survey works the same way in reverse: Job Bank explains that Statistics Canada converts reported earnings to an annual figure and divides it by "annual usual hours worked (52 weeks x usual weekly hours)." Multiplying back gives a yearly figure for your own hours:

The yearly figures are before tax, and they leave out what an employer pays beyond wages. On that, Job Bank reports that 89.7% of physiotherapists in Canada receive at least one non-wage benefit, such as a pension plan, insurance, or paid leave.

What the wage does not show

Experience. Job Bank says it directly: "Wages do not account for years of experience. However, published low wage estimates might offer some insight into salaries for some entry-level positions." So a newly licensed physiotherapist may start below the median, and the low wage in your province is the figure Job Bank points to for entry-level pay.

The kind of employer. Job Bank's wages are "intended to be representative of the earnings of a typical worker in a specific occupation, regardless of their industries." A hospital, a private clinic and a sports organization may pay differently, and the table does not separate them. Its wages are also those paid to employees, so they are not a measure of what a practice owner takes home.

The last two years. The reference period ends in 2024. If you are comparing offers in 2026, treat the table as a guide to the range, not a current price list, and ask employers what they pay now.

Job prospects for physiotherapists

Job Bank's outlook for physiotherapists rates the next three years province by province. Its ratings "were updated on December 10, 2025":

Over ten years, the same page draws on the Canadian Occupational Projections System. Its summary: "This occupation is expected to face a moderate risk of labour shortage over the period of 2024-2033 at the national level." It counts 38,300 physiotherapists employed in 2023, 22% of them aged 50 and over, with a median retirement age of 66.0.

Read together, prospects and pay do not move in step. The provinces rated "Good" include some with lower medians, such as Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and the provinces with the highest medians, British Columbia and Quebec, are rated "Moderate".

What stands between you and the wage

None of these wages is open without a licence. Job Bank's requirements for the occupation are short: "A master's degree in physiotherapy and a period of supervised practical training are required." "A licence or registration with a regulatory body is required in all provinces and territories." "Completion of a physiotherapist competency examination is required in all provinces and territories."

For a physiotherapist educated abroad, that usually means CAPR's credentialling and then the CPTE, which CAPR runs for the regulators outside Quebec. Our guide to how to become a physiotherapist in Canada sets out the route, and our guide to physiotherapy licence in Canada, by province covers each regulator's step after the exam. The exam has a cost in money and in time:

• The fee. CAPR's dates and fees page sets the fee for every 2027 sitting at CA$2,500. At the national median, that is about 54 hours of a physiotherapist's pay.
• The calendar. Each sitting's application deadline falls about ten weeks before it, and CAPR's FAQ says "Results are sent approximately 4-5 weeks after the exam." A candidate who fails the February 20, 2027 sitting learns the result after the March 6 deadline for May 15, so the next attempt is August 28. Our guide to how hard the CPTE is works through the dates.
• The weeks in between. At the national median, a 37.5-hour week of work is worth about CA$1,730, so if a failed attempt delays your licence by six months, the wages you could have earned in that time are worth far more than the fee.

Preparing to earn it

• Plan the attempt. Our CPTE study plan counts 16 weeks back from the February 20, 2027 sitting, on CAPR's own weights.
• Practise both sections. Our guide to CPTE practice questions shows the Written Section's format, and CPTE oral practice gives an Oral Section case and a way to score it.
• Know the route. If you were educated abroad and may want a program in Canada first, our guide to bridging programs for physiotherapists sets out the programs and where they stand in 2026.
• Try the app. The QualExam app covers the seven domains with lessons, questions and oral practice cases, and a free account opens Communication in full.