NAV CANADA Air Traffic Controller Recruitment

4 October 2026 · by Michal Zembol

Who can apply

NAV CANADA says applicants do not need aviation experience. It provides the training. On its controller page the eligibility rules are:

• Aged 18 or over at the time of applying.
• A high school diploma, or an equivalency, at the time of applying.
• Canadian citizenship or permanent residence.
• Fluent English and French for the Montreal Flight Information Region, including the National Capital Region. English for every other region.
• Willing to relocate to the place of training, or to the place of work.
• Available to start full-time training within 18 months of applying.

The selection and training page says an application that misses a requirement is screened out immediately. Before employment, the controller page also requires a medical to the standard set by Transport Canada, a security check with background checks that continue after hiring, and an initial drug screening that includes cannabis. Candidates then have to keep meeting NAV CANADA's drug and alcohol policy. The selection page says an offer is also subject to licensing requirements.

Two jobs, seven centres

The controller page recruits for two jobs: area control centre controller and tower controller. It describes terminal control as the instructions that line an aircraft up with the runway. Those services are the split in Tower, Approach and Area Control.

Area controllers work at one of seven area control centres: Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Montreal, Toronto, Moncton, and Gander. Each works a sector inside a flight information region. The same page says controllers oversee 18 million square kilometres of Canadian and oceanic airspace. That is NAV CANADA's figure.

Tower controllers do their first training at the regional area control centre. Toward the end of that training, NAV CANADA assigns the tower for on-the-job training and for the job, according to operational needs. It says the tower is typically in the same flight information region. It counts 42 airport control towers.

On 4 October 2026 the careers page said it was accepting air traffic controller applications until 31 October 2026 for six flight information regions:

• Vancouver, covering British Columbia.
• Edmonton, covering Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.
• Winnipeg, covering Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Northwestern Ontario.
• Toronto, covering Ontario.
• Montreal, covering Quebec.
• Gander, covering Newfoundland and Labrador.

Moncton is one of the seven area control centres. It was not on that list. The same careers page also hires flight service specialists. That is a different job, with its own pay. This article is about controllers.

From the form to an offer

Applications go through Workday, from the careers page. The form asks for academic and work history, and for a preference between the streams. The careers page says an application stays active for 36 months and then expires. The candidate can apply again after that.

The selection page says a pass at one stage does not guarantee an invitation to the next. The careers page says invitations follow the scores, and follow operational need at the time. The wait can be short or long. The stages on the selection page are:

• An online test of about 30 minutes, taken anywhere, after an email invitation. NAV CANADA asks for a desktop or a laptop. A candidate who does not pass can reapply one year after the test date.
• An in-person day of about six hours, usually at an area control centre, with a practice link sent beforehand. The tests cover memory, working speed, spatial visualization, thinking and reasoning, attention, information processing, and simple math. A pass leads to a 15-minute interview the same day. A candidate who does not pass can reapply two years after the test date.
• A half-day assessment centre, usually at an area control centre, with group exercises, individual exercises, and an interview. Bilingual jobs in the Montreal flight information region use a bilingual session. A candidate who does not pass can reapply three years after the assessment date.
• Language testing, if NAV CANADA requires it. The selection page says this is a phone test with another company. It requires English in every region, and English and French for work in Quebec or in Ottawa.

A selected candidate gets an offer before the course starts. Medical, licensing, security clearance, and the drug test, including cannabis, come before employment. NAV CANADA sends those steps through Workday and to the candidate's own email.

Training, then a unit

The selection page splits area training into three phases, all paid. It says the times can vary with the course and the location.

• Generic training at an area control centre: classroom and simulator work on the basic rules and on phraseology. The week is 37.5 hours, Monday to Friday, for 6 to 8 months.
• Specialty training at the area control centre, on a simulator built around the airspace the trainee will work. The week is 37.5 hours, for 6 to 7 months.
• On-the-job training at the area control centre, beside a licensed controller. The week is 34 hours, for 8 to 12 months.

The same page states the total for that area path as 20 to 27 months.

Tower training starts with six months of basic classroom and simulator work at an area control centre, 37.5 hours a week, Monday to Friday. A trainee assigned to a complex tower may then take a further course of about six months, at the centre or at that tower, on a simulator of that tower. On-the-job training is at the assigned tower, 34 hours a week, for 6 to 18 months, beside a licensed tower controller. The page states the total for the tower path as 12 to 18 months, and says some of those times may vary.

The careers page describes the same weekly hours: 37.5 during basic training, with attendance required, then shift work and a 34-hour week on the job. It also says controllers typically need one to two years. That is a shorter summary than the totals on the selection page. How those stretches sit next to other employers is in How Long Does It Take to Become an Air Traffic Controller? The two parts of training, rating work and then the unit, are covered in How Air Traffic Controller Training Works.

Pay marked as the 2026 range

The controller page and the selection page give the same training salary for area and for tower. It starts at $58,606. After one year of training it rises to $61,337. The careers page says that salary is paid from the first day, every two weeks. It also says a trainee may qualify for a relocation allowance during basic training, paid every two weeks, and for further relocation help when the unit is assigned.

For a licensed controller, both pages give these ranges and mark them as the 2026 union pay range under the current collective agreement. Premiums for location, holidays, and shifts sit on top of the base. They are not the pay at another employer, and they are not a promise about a later agreement.

• Area control centre controller: $143,513 to $207,450.
• Tower controller: $104,258 to $207,450.

The FAQ on the careers page prints the same two licensed ranges and labels them the 2025 union pay range.

The controller page says assistance programmes are available from the first day, that all employees are in a non-contributory pension, and that annual leave starts at three weeks once training is finished. The careers page says the operation runs every day, on shifts. One pattern it gives is six days on and three days off, with morning, evening, and night shifts. It says the hours are set by the collective agreement with the Canadian Air Traffic Control Association, or with the Air Traffic Specialists Association of Canada.

Which recruitment this describes

The careers page said, as read on 4 October 2026, that air traffic controller applications were being accepted until 31 October 2026 for the six regions listed above. Whether the form is still open is on that page.