Industrial mechanic: pay in Quebec and Greater Montreal
An industrial mechanic installs, maintains, troubleshoots and repairs a plant’s stationary machinery: pumps, conveyors, compressors, presses, power transmissions. This page covers the industrial mechanic in Greater Montreal plants, not the construction-site millwright. It gives pay by region, duties, shifts, training and what the wage table really measures.
- Quebec median
- $33.33/h
- Range
- $24 – $49/h
- Montreal
- $30/h
Guichet-Emplois (Job Bank), edition 2025 · CNP 72400
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Industrial mechanic pay, region by region
| Region | Low | Median | High | vs Quebec | Offered in postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All of Quebec | $24 | $33.33 | $49 | — | — |
| Montérégie | $24 | $35 | $47.75 | +5% | $31.18 (48) |
| Montréal | $17 | $30 | $57.69 | −10% | $30 (15) |
| Laval | $22 | $32 | $45.67 | −4% | — (6) |
| Lanaudière | $25.13 | $35.50 | $47.47 | +7% | $29.50 (15) |
| Laurentides | $25.50 | $35 | $47.64 | +5% | — (9) |
NOC 72400 groups two trades: the construction millwright, who works for a construction contractor, and the plant industrial mechanic. It also covers textile machine mechanics and loom fitters, and apprentices. It excludes heavy-duty equipment mechanics (72401), industrial instrument mechanics (22312) and foremen and supervisors (72020).
Low, median and high wages published by Job Bank (NOC 72400), and pay offered in Greater Montreal job postings (6 months, February to August 2026); in brackets, the number of hourly postings — under ten, no median is shown.
Quebec median by file edition: 2023: $29.32/h · 2024: $32/h · 2025: $33.33/h.
What the job postings say
Of 99 postings on Job Bank in Greater Montreal (6 months, February to August 2026), 1% mention a night shift, 7% an evening shift and 1% weekends.
The “What the job postings say” block above shows the share of Greater Montreal postings that mention evenings, nights or weekends: read it before you apply. Job Bank counts 95% full-time work in NOC 72400, a figure that mixes plants and construction sites. In a plant, maintenance follows production. A plant running several shifts keeps a mechanic on site or on call, and planned shutdowns happen when the line is not producing. Ask three things at the interview: the rotation, the on-call schedule and how call-backs are paid.
What an industrial mechanic does
- Carry out planned preventive maintenance: lubrication, inspection and replacement of wear parts according to each machine’s maintenance sheet.
- Diagnose a mechanical breakdown on the line from noise, vibration, heat or play, and find the cause before replacing the part.
- Remove, replace and adjust shafts, bearings, plain bearings and bushings, gears, chains and belts.
- Align shafts and couplings, balance rotating parts and read a vibration analyser report.
- Maintain and repair pumps, compressors, vacuum pumps and hydraulic and pneumatic motors, along with their circuits.
- Make or rework a replacement part on the lathe, milling machine or grinder, and do cutting and welding work.
- Install, move and level a machine using lifting equipment, then take part in the start-up.
- Lock out the equipment and apply the energy control procedure before opening a machine.
- Check a machine’s electrical components to locate the fault, and hand over when the electrical installation itself is at fault.
- Fill out work orders and recommend to management the changes that would prevent the next breakdown.
Requirements, cards and certifications
- DEP en mécanique industrielle de construction et d’entretien (Quebec vocational diploma), or industrial maintenance experience the employer accepts as equivalent.
- Lockout training and application of the energy control rules in Quebec’s Regulation respecting occupational health and safety.
- WHMIS training for the oils, greases, solvents and other hazardous products in the plant.
- Reading drawings and hydraulic and pneumatic schematics, and using measuring instruments: micrometer, dial indicator, alignment tool.
- Command of rigging and lifting techniques for heavy parts.
- Forklift training that meets the CSA B335 standard if the job has you move parts yourself.
- Industrial mechanic certificate of qualification: optional in Quebec outside construction, but it attests the trade’s competencies.
Training
The direct route is the DEP en mécanique industrielle de construction et d’entretien, in the Maintenance Mechanics sector: 1,800 hours, 120 credits, roughly nineteen months according to Inforoute FPT. The new version (program 5399) replaces version 5260; in English the program is called Industrial Construction and Maintenance Mechanics (5899). It covers shafts, bearings and bushings, alignment, proportional hydraulics, vibration analysis and balancing, planned preventive maintenance, machining, welding and electrical troubleshooting, followed by 90 hours of workplace integration. The program also includes 30 hours of health and safety on construction sites. In Greater Montreal it is offered at, among others, École des métiers du Sud-Ouest-de-Montréal, École Polymécanique de Laval, C.F.P. des Moulins in Lanaudière and Centre Performance Plus in the Laurentides. Admission requires a secondary school diploma, or Secondary IV credits in language of instruction, second language and mathematics. After the DEP, the ASP Mécanique d’entretien en commandes industrielles (450 hours) adds advanced proportional hydraulics and programmable controllers.
Career path
The certificate of qualification is earned on the job, under a journeyperson, and opens the interprovincial Red Seal exam. With four years of experience after that certificate, or five years after the DEP, you can in turn be designated a journeyperson and supervise up to two apprentices. Next come maintenance team lead, maintenance planner, then supervision: the NOC classifies supervisors of industrial mechanics separately, under code 72020. The DEC in industrial maintenance technology opens technician positions.
Frequently asked questions
What does an industrial mechanic do?
An industrial mechanic is the skilled tradesperson who installs, troubleshoots, overhauls, repairs and modifies industrial equipment: production machines, machine tools, material handling equipment. Quebec adds welding, machining and part fabrication to the job. In a plant, most of the work is the maintenance and repair that follows installation.
How much does an industrial mechanic make in Quebec?
The table above gives the Quebec median published by Job Bank and the median for each Greater Montreal region, along with the rate offered in postings. Read it with the note: NOC 72400 mixes plant mechanics and construction-site millwrights, whose pay follows different rules.
What does an industrial mechanic earn under the CCQ?
The CCQ only covers construction sites: its trade is called mécanicien industriel de chantier, and rates there are set by the construction industry’s collective agreements. They do not apply to a mechanic employed by a plant. For a plant job, rely on the table on this page and on the postings.
How do you become an industrial mechanic in Quebec?
There are two routes. The most direct is the DEP en mécanique industrielle de construction et d’entretien, 1,800 hours at a vocational training centre. The other is on-the-job apprenticeship: Quebec opens it from age 16, with no experience required, as long as you have a job and a journeyperson to supervise you.
Which DEP do you need to be an industrial mechanic?
The DEP en mécanique industrielle de construction et d’entretien, program 5399 in its new version, which replaces 5260. Inforoute FPT puts it at roughly nineteen months for 1,800 hours and 120 credits. The English-language version is Industrial Construction and Maintenance Mechanics, program 5899.
Can you become an industrial mechanic without the DEP?
Yes. Outside construction, the trade does not require a diploma: Quebec sets out a two-year workplace apprenticeship for the three essential competencies, three years for all five. Some centres also offer recognition of prior learning and competencies (RAC) to validate experience you already have.
Is industrial mechanic a regulated trade in Quebec?
Not in a plant. Quebec lists it among non-regulated trades: the certificate of qualification is optional. Job Bank nevertheless flags it as regulated by the CCQ: that applies to construction sites, where you need a competency certificate to work.
What is the difference between an industrial mechanic and a millwright?
NOC 72400 puts it plainly: the construction millwright works for a contractor and mostly does the initial installation of machinery, while the industrial mechanic does the maintenance and repairs that follow. The first falls under the CCQ, the second under the plant that employs them. Both often come out of the same DEP.
Industrial mechanic or electromechanical technician: which should you choose?
It depends on how much electrical work you want. The industrial mechanics DEP spends most of its hours on power transmissions, alignment, vibration, welding and machining. The electromechanical technician adds control circuits and programmable controllers. Some centres offer both diplomas as a double DEP.
What training does Hydro-Québec require for its mechanics?
For its power system mechanic trade, which checks, repairs and maintains equipment in generating stations and substations, Hydro-Québec requires the DEP in industrial construction and maintenance mechanics, a Class 5 driver’s licence and the ability to work at heights and in confined spaces.
What is the job outlook for industrial mechanics in Greater Montreal?
Job Bank rates it Moderate for the next three years, in Quebec and in every Greater Montreal region: Montréal, Laval, Montérégie, Lanaudière and Laurentides. It cites retirements, but also experienced workers already looking for work in the occupation.
What is “mécanicien industriel” in English?
Industrial mechanic. Job Bank titles NOC 72400 Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics, with millwright mostly meaning the construction-site mechanic. The Red Seal trade is Industrial Mechanic (Millwright), and the English-language DEP is called Industrial Construction and Maintenance Mechanics.
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