NOC 31120: Pharmacists
What pharmacists do
Community pharmacists and hospital pharmacists compound and dispense prescribed pharmaceuticals and provide consultative services to both clients and health care providers. They are employed in retail pharmacies and health center pharmacies, or they may be self-employed. Industrial pharmacists participate in the research, development, promotion and manufacture of pharmaceutical products. They are employed in pharmaceutical companies and government departments and agencies.
Main duties
This group performs some or all of the following duties:
- Community pharmacists and hospital pharmacists
- Check prescriptions for proper dosage
- Compound prescribed pharmaceutical products by calculating, measuring and mixing the quantities of drugs and other ingredients required and filling appropriate containers with correct quantity
- Dispense prescribed pharmaceuticals to customers or to other health care professionals and advise them on indications, contra-indications, adverse effects, drug interactions and dosage
- Maintain medication profiles of customers including registry of poisons and narcotic and controlled drugs
- Ensure proper preparation, packaging, distribution and storage of vaccines, serums, biologicals and other drugs and pharmaceuticals
- Order and maintain stock of pharmaceutical supplies
- Advise customers on selection and use of non-prescription medication
- Renew existing prescriptions in limited circumstances
- May adapt the formulation, regimen, duration or route of administration of medication
- May supervise and coordinate the activities of other pharmacists, pharmacy assistants, pharmacy technicians and other staff.
- Industrial pharmacists
- Participate in research for the development of new drugs
- Formulate new drug products developed by medical researchers
- Test new drug products for stability and to determine absorption and elimination patterns
- Coordinate clinical investigations of new drugs
- Control the quality of drug products during production to ensure that they meet standards of potency, purity, uniformity, stability and safety
- Develop information materials concerning the uses, properties and risks of particular drugs
- Evaluate labelling, packaging and advertising of drug products
- Promote pharmaceutical products to health professionals.
Job titles under NOC 31120
15 job titles are classified here, including clinical pharmacist, community pharmacist, hospital pharmacist.
- clinical pharmacist
- community pharmacist
- dispensary department supervisor - hospital
- drug information pharmacist
- druggist
- health care institution pharmacist
- hospital druggist
- hospital pharmacist
- industrial pharmacist
- intern pharmacist
- pharmacist
- pharmacist consultant
- pharmacy officer - Canadian Armed Forces
- registered pharmacist
- retail pharmacist
Employment requirements
- A university degree in pharmacy and a period of supervised practical training are required.
- Licensure is required in all provinces and territories for community and hospital pharmacists.
Pharmacists wages in Canada
Low, median and high hourly wages from Job Bank’s 2025 wage data. Annual figures assume full-time work (1,950 hours a year).
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Canada | $40.00/hr | $55.49/hr | $67.00/hr |
Toronto ON | $27.50/hr | $52.54/hr | $64.10/hr |
Montréal QC | $19.00/hr | $61.00/hr | $70.00/hr |
Vancouver Lower Mainland region, BC | $40.00/hr | $50.00/hr | $64.00/hr |
Calgary AB | $34.99/hr | $52.55/hr | $63.58/hr |
Edmonton AB | $25.00/hr | $53.50/hr | $60.00/hr |
Ottawa ON | $41.92/hr | $55.00/hr | $70.00/hr |
Winnipeg MB | $47.20/hr | $56.00/hr | $74.36/hr |
Québec City Quebec region, QC | $41.03/hr | $63.00/hr | $75.00/hr |
Hamilton Hamilton–Niagara Peninsula region, ON | $40.00/hr | $50.48/hr | $60.10/hr |
Kitchener-Waterloo Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie region, ON | $32.00/hr | $55.00/hr | $64.00/hr |
London ON | $50.00/hr | $57.69/hr | $79.00/hr |
Halifax NS | $41.25/hr | $50.00/hr | $54.00/hr |
Victoria Vancouver Island and Coast region, BC | $39.73/hr | $54.49/hr | $67.16/hr |
Saskatoon Saskatoon–Biggar region, SK | $35.18/hr | $52.82/hr | $62.00/hr |
Regina Regina–Moose Mountain region, SK | $53.00/hr | $57.69/hr | $72.12/hr |
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Newfoundland and Labrador | $33.00/hr | $51.00/hr | $59.00/hr |
Nova Scotia | $41.25/hr | $51.00/hr | $58.97/hr |
New Brunswick | $46.15/hr | $52.00/hr | $65.00/hr |
Quebec | $41.03/hr | $63.00/hr | $75.00/hr |
Ontario | $37.00/hr | $53.85/hr | $65.00/hr |
Manitoba | $50.00/hr | $56.00/hr | $69.23/hr |
Saskatchewan | $35.18/hr | $55.33/hr | $62.00/hr |
Alberta | $41.24/hr | $55.00/hr | $62.00/hr |
British Columbia | $40.87/hr | $52.00/hr | $64.00/hr |
Using NOC 31120 for your resume or Express Entry profile
- IRCC asks you to make sure the main duties listed for your NOC match what you actually did at your job. If they don’t, look for another unit group whose duties do.
- Describe your own work in your own words. Recruiters and ATS software look for concrete tools, results and scope, not text copied from the NOC.
- Applying from outside Canada? Run your resume through the Canadian resume format checker to catch things Canadian employers don’t expect, like a photo or date of birth.
- Use the job title the employer’s posting uses. The 15 titles above are how the same work is named across employers.
Not in this group
Similar jobs classified under a different NOC code:
- Chemists (NOC 21101)
- Chief of pharmacy (NOC 30010)
- Drugstore manager (NOC 60020)
- Pharmaceutical sales representative (NOC 62100)
- Pharmacologist (NOC 21110)
- Pharmacy director (NOC 30010)
- Pharmacy manager - retail (NOC 60020)
- Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants (NOC 33103)
- Pharmacy technicians (NOC 32124)
Frequently asked questions
What is the NOC code for pharmacists?
Pharmacists are NOC 2021 unit group 31120. Example job titles in this group include clinical pharmacist, community pharmacist, hospital pharmacist, industrial pharmacist.
What TEER is NOC 31120?
NOC 31120 is TEER 1 (University degree). Usually requires a university degree (bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate), or experience from a related TEER 2 occupation. TEER 0, 1, 2 and 3 work counts as skilled work experience for Express Entry’s Federal Skilled Worker and Canadian Experience Class programs.
How much do pharmacists earn in Canada?
Job Bank's 2025 wage data puts the median at $55.49/hr, about $108,000 a year full-time, with a range of $40.00/hr to $67.00/hr.
Related occupations
Sources: Statistics Canada, National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 Version 1.0; Employment and Social Development Canada, Job Bank wages (2025). Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. OfferJetAI is not affiliated with the Government of Canada. Check IRCC’s NOC guidance before you apply.