Plant manager: pay in Quebec and Greater Montreal
A plant manager plans, directs and controls the operations of a manufacturing plant, under a general manager or another senior manager. In Greater Montreal, the job is found in plants across Montreal, Laval, the South Shore, Lanaudière and the Laurentians. This page gives wages region by region, what NOC 90010 really counts, the training, and the legal obligations that fall on the plant.
- Quebec median
- $51.08/h
- Range
- $31.32 – $96.15/h
- Montreal
- $52.26/h
Guichet-Emplois (Job Bank), edition 2025 · CNP 90010
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Plant manager pay, region by region
| Region | Low | Median | High | vs Quebec | Offered in postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All of Quebec | $31.32 | $51.08 | $96.15 | — | — |
| Montérégie | $35.41 | $51.78 | $79.80 | +1% | $34.62 (19) |
| Montréal | $29.81 | $52.26 | $88.94 | +2% | — (1) |
| Laval | $34.84 | $49.31 | $77.75 | −3% | — (0) |
| Lanaudière | $36.67 | $49.98 | $75.34 | −2% | $35.35 (14) |
| Laurentides | $42.31 | $48.08 | $96.15 | −6% | — (3) |
The table covers NOC 90010, “Manufacturing managers”. It also counts the plant assistant manager, the production planner, the manufacturing quality assurance director and the oenologist. It excludes senior managers (00015), utilities managers (90011), facility operation and maintenance managers (70012) and managers in transportation (70020).
Low, median and high wages published by Job Bank (NOC 90010), 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: $44.87/h · 2024: $49.23/h · 2025: $51.08/h.
What the job postings say
Of 79 postings on Job Bank in Greater Montreal (6 months, February to August 2026), 0% mention a night shift, 0% an evening shift and 0% weekends.
A plant manager does not work a shift: they answer for all of them. Job Bank says manufacturing managers usually work more than 40 hours a week. When the plant runs evenings and nights, they are not there, but they answer for what happens, from rejects to accidents. The “What the job postings say” block above points the same way: postings for this group in Greater Montreal almost never mention an evening, night or weekend shift. On pay, Quebec’s Act respecting labour standards (Loi sur les normes du travail), section 54, excludes a company’s managerial staff from the overtime premium. Long hours are not paid at time and a half: whatever makes up for them is settled in the contract, before hiring.
What a plant manager does
- Direct all plant operations, or a production department, under the general manager
- Prepare the plant budget and answer for it: labour, materials, maintenance, equipment replacement
- Set production targets and the plan to reach them with the materials, people and equipment on hand
- Approve production schedules and track the inventory of raw materials and finished goods
- Decide on changes to machinery, work methods and the production system, then follow them through
- Direct the quality control system and set how production is reported
- Set the equipment maintenance schedule and recommend when machines should be replaced
- Hire and lead the supervisors, and oversee staff training on new equipment
- Make sure the prevention program and the health and safety committee required by law exist and work
- Report on how the plant is running to senior management: output, costs, quality and safety
Requirements, cards and certifications
- A university or college program in engineering or business administration, which the National Occupational Classification says is “usually required”
- Five to ten years of supervisory experience in manufacturing, required by the same classification
- Running a plant or production department budget, one of the group’s main duties
- Working knowledge of Quebec’s Occupational Health and Safety Act: prevention program (section 58) and health and safety committee (section 68) from 20 workers
- French and English, spoken and written: the quebec.ca profile lists bilingualism among the occupation’s main qualities
- No licence to practise: according to Job Bank, the occupation is not regulated in Canada
- The engineer title, only for someone registered with the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (Professional Code, section 32)
Training
No single diploma leads to the job. The National Occupational Classification says a university or college program in engineering or business administration is usually required, and the quebec.ca profile adds that many programs lead to management positions. Job Bank shows the gap between the rule and the floor: in Quebec, 23% of manufacturing managers hold a bachelor’s degree and 13% a degree above the bachelor’s, but 40% hold neither a college nor a university diploma. The degree is the usual route, not the only one. In the Montreal area, the engineering route runs through the bachelor’s in industrial engineering at Polytechnique Montréal or the bachelor’s in operations and logistics engineering at ÉTS, which leads to a B.Eng. and includes three mandatory paid four-month internships. The management route runs through the B.A.A. at HEC Montréal, specialization in operations and logistics management. The technical route starts with the DEC Technologie du génie industriel (235.B0), a 2,595-hour college diploma in industrial engineering technology that Inforoute FPT lists at Collège Ahuntsic in Montreal and Collège Lionel-Groulx in Sainte-Thérèse.
Career path
The National Occupational Classification puts it plainly: with experience, progression to senior management positions is possible. Above the plant manager sits the senior manager in production, classed separately under NOC 00015. Within group 90010 itself, the ladder has several rungs, from plant assistant manager to senior plant manager, then to assistant vice-president of goods production. The same group also counts the business manager in manufacturing: according to Job Bank, 12% of Quebec’s manufacturing managers are self-employed.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a plant manager make?
The table above gives the low, median and high hourly wage published by Job Bank for NOC 90010, for Quebec and for each of the five Greater Montreal regions. The postings column only counts offers that show an hourly rate: the number in brackets says how many, and under ten, no median is shown.
What is the plant manager salary in Quebec?
The Quebec row in the table above gives it for all of NOC 90010. It blends very different plants: according to Job Bank, food, beverage and tobacco manufacturing employs 16% of Quebec’s manufacturing managers, ahead of transportation equipment, miscellaneous manufacturing and fabricated metal products. The row does not say which of these sectors pays the most.
Does plant size change a plant manager’s pay?
No official source breaks this wage down by plant size. The table covers the whole group, from plant assistant manager to senior plant manager. Size mostly changes the obligations: from 20 workers in the establishment, Quebec’s Occupational Health and Safety Act requires a prevention program and a health and safety committee, and workers hired out or lent to the employer, agency workers included, count toward that number.
What is the average salary of a manager?
“Manager” on its own covers several occupations the classification keeps apart: managers in transportation (70020), utilities managers (90011) and senior managers (00015) each have their own scale. The table on this page covers manufacturing only, and it gives a median, not an average: half of the people earn more, the other half less.
What does a plant manager do?
A plant manager runs the whole plant, or a production department, on behalf of senior management. The National Occupational Classification assigns them the budget, production targets, equipment and method changes, the quality control system, the maintenance schedule and hiring. They do not run a line: they decide what the supervisors will have to keep it running.
What education do you need to become a plant manager?
Usually a university or college program in engineering or business administration, according to the National Occupational Classification, plus five to ten years of supervisory experience in manufacturing. The degree is not an absolute barrier: Job Bank reports that 40% of Quebec’s manufacturing managers hold neither a college nor a university diploma.
Do you have to be an engineer to run a plant?
No. Job Bank says the occupation of manufacturing manager is not regulated in Canada: no licence is needed to run a plant. The engineer title, however, is protected. Quebec’s Professional Code, section 32, bars anyone from using it without being registered with the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec, even a plant manager who holds an engineering degree.
What is the difference between a plant manager and a production supervisor?
A supervisor answers for a crew during one shift; a plant manager answers for the establishment, its budget and every shift. The classification puts them in separate groups: 90010 for management, and a series of supervisor codes by type of manufacturing. The five to ten years of supervisory experience that 90010 requires are usually earned in that very job.
Is a plant manager the same as an operations manager?
In a plant, often yes: the classification places the manufacturing operations manager, the director of operations in manufacturing and the factory superintendent in the same NOC 90010 as the plant manager. Outside manufacturing, no: the manager of a transportation company falls under NOC 70020, “Managers in transportation”, which this table does not measure.
What is the job outlook for plant managers in Quebec?
Job Bank rates it Moderate for NOC 90010 in Quebec, and in Montreal, Laval, Montérégie, Lanaudière and the Laurentians. It points to stable employment, several retirements and a few experienced workers looking for work in the occupation. The quebec.ca profile, which uses its own scale and a different period, rates it excellent (« Excellentes »).
Do plant managers get paid overtime?
Not at a premium rate. Quebec’s Act respecting labour standards, section 54, excludes a company’s managerial staff from the overtime premium, and section 3 takes senior managers out of most of the Act, except a few standards, including those on psychological harassment. Job Bank puts this group’s work week at more than 40 hours.
What is a plant manager called in French?
« Directeur d’usine » or « directrice d’usine ». The National Occupational Classification names group 90010 « Directeurs/directrices de la fabrication » in French and also lists « surintendant d’usine » and « directeur adjoint d’usine » for the assistant manager. The director of operations in manufacturing, « directeur de l’exploitation - fabrication », is classed in the same group.
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