Jobs

Paramedic jobs in Quebec: where to apply

Urgences-santé in Montreal and Laval, permit-holding companies and co-operatives elsewhere: who hires paramedics and on what conditions.

October 10, 2026 · Lire en français

Jobs

Paramedic jobs in Quebec come from two kinds of employers. In Montreal and Laval, it is Urgences-santé. Everywhere else, they are companies and co-operatives that hold an operating permit for ambulance services. The official title is primary care paramedic. This text applies to women and men alike.

Montreal and Laval: Urgences-santé

Section 87 of the Act respecting pre-hospital emergency services (chapter S-6.2), up to date as of August 12, 2026, continues the Corporation d'urgences-santé de la région de Montréal Métropolitain under the name Urgences-santé (the ambulance service for Montreal and Laval). It carries on its activities for the Montreal and Laval health regions. Its head office is in Montreal, under section 88. Section 90 gives it, under the responsibility of Santé Québec, the functions of an ambulance service and of a health communication centre in that territory.

Applications go through the Paramédic page in the Urgences-santé Careers section, which leads to the portal of available jobs.

Elsewhere: permit holders

Section 46 of the Act sets two conditions to operate an ambulance service: hold an operating permit issued by Santé Québec or by a regional body, and have entered into the service contract under section 9 with it. This contract lasts five years.

Under section 47, the permit may be issued to a natural person or a legal person. It states the region or zone where the permit holder is authorized to operate its service, and the number of ambulances it may use. Section 51 issues it for a maximum period of 48 months ending on a March 31.

The Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS), Quebec's health ministry, writes in its Planification de la main-d'œuvre des techniciens ambulanciers paramédics 2024-2033 that 16 of the 18 health regions are served by one or more of the 72 operating permit holders. The same document describes public, co-operative or private ambulance services. It counts 6,112 active paramedics in the national workforce registry at the end of the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

Where to find the official list

On September 14, 2026, in response to access request 26-SQ-0001-412, Santé Québec released a table of ambulance companies and co-operatives with their service zones, region by region. The document is published in its list of access requests. You look up your region, then the zone where you want to work. The employer's name is on the same line.

Here are three employers from this table, in alphabetical order, with the careers page of their own website. This is neither a ranking nor a recommendation.

Employer	Zones listed in the Santé Québec table	Careers page
Coopérative des techniciens ambulanciers de la Montérégie (CETAM)	Châteauguay, Valleyfield, Ormstown, La Prairie, Rigaud-Dorion, Longueuil	cetam.ca/postuler/carriere
Coopérative des techniciens ambulanciers du Québec (CTAQ)	Québec, Saint-Marc-des-Carrières, L'Étape, La Malbaie and Baie-Saint-Paul, Saint-Siméon, L'Isle-aux-Coudres, Saguenay	ctaq.com/emplois
Dessercom inc.	Zones in nine regions, including twelve zones in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Lévis, Drummondville, Granby and Saint-Hyacinthe	dessercom.com/carriere

Source: Santé Québec, document released on September 14, 2026. A single zone may have more than one employer.

The table also names, among others, La Corporation ambulancière de Beauce inc. for eight zones in Chaudière-Appalaches and the Weedon zone, the Coopérative de travailleurs d'ambulance de l'Estrie, the Coopérative des Ambulanciers de la Mauricie, the Coopérative des Paramédics de l'Outaouais and Les services préhospitaliers Paraxion inc. One municipality appears in it: the Ville de Fermont.

Conditions to be hired

Section 63 of the Act sets two conditions to act as a paramedic, whatever the employer:

have completed the recognized initial college training and passed the related exam, or hold training recognized as equivalent by the national medical director
be registered in the national workforce registry kept by Santé Québec and have obtained a paramedic status card

Québec.ca states, on its page updated on December 19, 2025, that the application for registration is made during the national clinical integration program and that registration is renewed every four years. Our article Become a paramedic follows this path step by step.

The employer adds its own requirements. Urgences-santé requires registration in the registry, an AEC (attestation of college studies) in ambulance techniques or a DEC in Pre-Hospital Emergency Care, and a Class 4A licence with a SAAQ (Quebec's driver licensing and auto insurance board) driving record showing no more than six demerit points. It also requires a certificate of good conduct issued by a police service within the last three months and full availability during a six-month integration and evaluation period.

This text summarizes the Act and official pages. It is neither legal advice nor union advice.

Job prospects

The Government of Canada's Job Bank rates the prospects as "moderate" for paramedical occupations in Quebec (NOC 32102) for the 2025 to 2027 period. This assessment dates from December 10, 2025. They are "good" in three regions: Côte-Nord, Centre-du-Québec and Nord-du-Québec. They are "moderate" in the fourteen others.

Job Bank counts about 6,400 people in this occupation in Quebec. Full-time work accounts for 95% and part-time work for 5%. It notes that on-call schedules are being replaced by hourly schedules in several regions.

Did you like this article?

Share this article

Facebook LinkedIn Reddit X Email

Frequently asked questions

Where can I find paramedic jobs in Quebec?

Paramedics work for Urgences-santé in Montreal and Laval. In the other regions, they work for the companies and co-operatives that hold an operating permit for ambulance services. The table released by Santé Québec on September 14, 2026 gives the employer's name for each zone.

What is the average salary of a paramedic in Quebec?

Job Bank publishes a median wage, not an average: $35.00 an hour in Quebec, with a low wage of $25.56 and a high wage of $40.00. The reference period is 2023-2024 and the update dates from November 19, 2025. Urgences-santé, for its part, posts an hourly wage of $26.34 to $39.40 as of April 1, 2023. Our article on paramedic salary gives the details.

Do you need a Class 4A licence to be hired as a paramedic?

The Act does not name it in section 63, but Class 4A is the class that allows driving an emergency vehicle, including an ambulance, according to the SAAQ. Urgences-santé lists it in its hiring conditions, and Job Bank includes it among the requirements to enter the occupation in Quebec. See our article on the Class 4A licence.

How do you become a paramedic in Quebec?

You need a DEC in Pre-Hospital Emergency Care, a pass in the national clinical integration program and registration in the national registry. The employer comes in early on the path: registration in the integration program requires a signed job offer dated less than six months earlier. Our article Become a paramedic details each step.

What are the ambulance companies in Quebec?

The Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux counts 72 operating permit holders in 16 of the 18 health regions, in addition to Urgences-santé in Montreal and Laval. They are private companies, co-operatives and public services. We have a profile of four of them: CETAM, CTAQ, Dessercom and Paraxion.

What is a paramedic's salary in Quebec in 2026?

The 2026 rates were public in no official source on October 10, 2026. On July 26, 2026, the Government of Quebec announced an agreement in principle for 3,500 primary care paramedics, and its press release states that the details remain confidential until the members vote. The latest rate posted by an employer remains that of Urgences-santé as of April 1, 2023.

What law governs pre-hospital emergency services in Quebec?

It is the Act respecting pre-hospital emergency services, chapter S-6.2 of the laws of Quebec, up to date as of August 12, 2026 on LégisQuébec. Its section 1 says that it governs the organization of these services and sets out the rights, roles and responsibilities of their various stakeholders. For employment, three passages matter: section 46 on the operating permit, section 63 on the conditions to act as a paramedic and sections 87 to 90 on Urgences-santé.