21203 – Land surveyors
TEER 1Occupations usually requiring a university degree
Lead statement
Land surveyors plan, direct and conduct legal surveys to establish the location of real property boundaries, contours and other natural or human-made features, and prepare and maintain cross-sectional drawings, official plans, records and documents pertaining to these surveys.
Main duties
- Develop survey plans, methods and procedures for conducting legal surveys
- Plan, direct and supervise or conduct surveys to establish and mark legal boundaries of properties, parcels of lands, provincial and Canada Lands, Aboriginal land claims, wellsites, mining claims, utility rights-of-way, roadways and highways
- Survey and lay out subdivisions for rural and urban development
- Determine precise locations using electronic distance measuring equipment, global positioning systems (GPS), and unmanned aerial vehicules (UAV)/drones
- Analyze, manage and display data using geographic information systems (GIS) and computer-aided design and drafting (CAD)
- Record all measurements and other information obtained during survey activities
- Prepare or supervise the preparation and compilation of all data, plans, charts, records and documents related to surveys of real property boundaries
- Certify and assume liability for surveys made to establish real property boundaries
- Advise, provide consultation and testify as an expert witness on matters related to legal surveys
- May supervise other land surveyors, and land survey technologists and technicians.
Employment requirements
- A bachelor's degree in geomatics engineering or survey engineering is usually required.
- A college diploma in survey science or geomatics technology with additional academic credits and successful completion of equivalent examinations set by a regional board of examiners for land surveyors is required.
- A one- to three-year articling period is required.
- Successful completion of professional land surveyor examinations is required.
- A federal or provincial land surveyor's licence is required.
Example job titles
cadastral surveyor · Canada lands surveyor · city surveyor · commissioned land surveyor · country surveyor · land surveyor · legal surveyor · land surveying party chief · pipeline surveyor · port surveyor · professional land surveyor · property surveyor · provincial land surveyor · railway surveyor · land survey supervisor
Wages (per hour)
| Province / territory | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | $29.00 | $42.20 | $60.51 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $22.60 | $39.88 | $51.16 |
| Nova Scotia | $30.00 | $36.06 | $63.94 |
| New Brunswick | $25.73 | $39.92 | $67.47 |
| Quebec | $30.00 | $40.06 | $51.00 |
| Ontario | $26.54 | $39.36 | $62.08 |
| Manitoba | $26.81 | $41.23 | $65.31 |
| Alberta | $26.00 | $48.53 | $61.00 |
| British Columbia | $35.00 | $40.87 | $60.00 |
Source: Job Bank wages, 2025 release (ESDC). Low and high are the 10th and 90th percentiles.
Occupation details: ESDC OaSIS 2025, based on NOC 2021.