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Excavation and Grading rates in Toronto and the GTA, 2026: what a bid should show

Published commercial rates are thin here, so these benchmarks come from real municipal estimates. Earth excavation runs $27.50 per cubic metre in the Region of Peel's Brampton arterial estimate against $120.00 in the City of Toronto's Broadview Avenue estimate, a gap driven by hauling distance and downtown access. Removing the pavement above it runs $6.60 to $40.80 per square metre.

Last updated: By The Pavement Desk

$27.50

per cubic metre (CAD), earth excavation, municipal arterial road unit price

2

named sources behind the table below

A commercial lot stripped back to bare compacted granular base, a flat expanse of pale grey crushed stone graded to a shallow even fall, with no asphalt anywhere and the cut edge of the removed pavement visible along one side.
A generated illustration of a lot at base grade, not a photograph of a specific property. The one thing it cannot show is whether the fall is right, which is the failure this page is about, and no figure on this page comes from it.

What do excavation, pavement removal and grading cost per unit?

The 4 rows below come from 2 named Canadian sources; where they disagreed, the range was widened rather than one picked. A row that shows a single figure is one published price rather than a researched band. A further 4 sources are cited elsewhere on this page. Read the table as a benchmark for checking a bid, not as a price for your site: scope, access, phasing and what is found under the surface all move the number.

Four rows, all of them single published municipal unit prices rather than researched bands, so each is marked at its position on its unit's axis rather than drawn as a span. The two per-square-metre marks sitting far apart is the whole finding on this page: the same words, full-depth removal, cover two scopes that price six times differently.

per cubic metre (CAD)

  • Earth excavation, municipal arterial road unit price

    $27.50

    Region of Peel (Arterial A2 and Coleraine Drive Functional Cost Estimate, City of Brampton, September 2022)

  • Earthworks removal and disposal, municipal road extension unit price

    $120.00

    City of Toronto (Broadview Avenue Extension, Municipal Class Environmental Assessment, preliminary cost estimate)

$0$120

All 2 figures here are single published prices rather than researched bands, so each is marked at its position rather than drawn as a span.

per square metre (CAD)

  • Full-depth asphalt removal, asphalt only, ahead of regrading

    $6.60

    Region of Peel (Arterial A2 and Coleraine Drive Functional Cost Estimate, City of Brampton, September 2022)

  • Full-depth removal of asphalt pavement and concrete road base together, ahead of regrading

    $40.80

    City of Toronto (Broadview Avenue Extension, Municipal Class Environmental Assessment, preliminary cost estimate)

$0$41

All 2 figures here are single published prices rather than researched bands, so each is marked at its position rather than drawn as a span.

  • Earth excavation, municipal arterial road unit price

    Price
    $27.50
    Unit
    per cubic metre (CAD)
    Source
    Region of Peel (Arterial A2 and Coleraine Drive Functional Cost Estimate, City of Brampton, September 2022)Region of Peel, Arterial A2 and Coleraine Drive Functional Cost Estimates, City of Brampton, last updated September 25, 2022. Line item: Earth Excavation, per cubic metre.
    Applies to
    A single line item in a functional cost estimate for one Brampton arterial road project. The same estimate adds a 30% contingency on top of its itemized unit prices.

  • Earthworks removal and disposal, municipal road extension unit price

    Price
    $120.00
    Unit
    per cubic metre (CAD)
    Source
    City of Toronto (Broadview Avenue Extension, Municipal Class Environmental Assessment, preliminary cost estimate)City of Toronto, Broadview Avenue Extension (North Segment) Municipal Class Environmental Assessment, preliminary cost estimate, published 2023. Line item: Earthworks Removal and Disposal, per cubic metre.
    Applies to
    A single line item in a preliminary cost estimate for one City of Toronto project. The same estimate adds 25% for minor items, then a 30% contingency and 15% engineering on the sub-total, on top of its itemized unit prices.

  • Full-depth asphalt removal, asphalt only, ahead of regrading

    Price
    $6.60
    Unit
    per square metre (CAD)
    Source
    Region of Peel (Arterial A2 and Coleraine Drive Functional Cost Estimate, City of Brampton, September 2022)Region of Peel, Arterial A2 and Coleraine Drive Functional Cost Estimates, City of Brampton, last updated September 25, 2022. Line item: Asphalt Removal Full Depth, per square metre.
    Applies to
    Asphalt only. The concrete road base is not part of this line item. A single line item in a functional cost estimate for one Brampton arterial road project. The same estimate adds a 30% contingency on top of its itemized unit prices.

  • Full-depth removal of asphalt pavement and concrete road base together, ahead of regrading

    Price
    $40.80
    Unit
    per square metre (CAD)
    Source
    City of Toronto (Broadview Avenue Extension, Municipal Class Environmental Assessment, preliminary cost estimate)City of Toronto, Broadview Avenue Extension (North Segment) Municipal Class Environmental Assessment, preliminary cost estimate, published 2023. Line item: Full depth asphalt pavement / concrete road base removal, per square metre.
    Applies to
    Asphalt pavement and concrete road base removed together, a wider scope than removing the asphalt surface alone. A single line item in a preliminary cost estimate for one City of Toronto project. The same estimate adds 25% for minor items, then a 30% contingency and 15% engineering on the sub-total, on top of its itemized unit prices.

How far down does full-depth removal go?

Full-depth removal is one phrase covering two very different scopes, and the difference is what is under the asphalt. Pavement-only removal runs $6.60 per square metre in the Region of Peel's estimate while removal of asphalt and concrete road base together runs $40.80 per square metre in the City of Toronto's estimate.

Asphalt only comes outWhatever is under the asphalt stays where it is.
Asphalt surface, removed
Concrete road base, left in place
Subgrade, unchanged

$6.60 per square metre (CAD), asphalt only, Region of Peel unit price

Asphalt surface, removed
Asphalt surface, removed. Asphalt only. The concrete road base is not part of this line item, in a functional cost estimate for one Brampton arterial road project.
Concrete road base, left in place
Concrete road base, left in place. Taking out the asphalt and, where present, the concrete base beneath it. The two scopes price very differently, asphalt only being a fraction of asphalt plus concrete, so a quote must say which it covers.
Subgrade, unchanged
Subgrade, unchanged. The native soil under the granular base. If it is soft or wet, everything built on it moves, which is why a bid carrying no allowance for subgrade correction is carrying the risk on your side of the contract.
Asphalt and the concrete base togetherThe full structure is broken out and the ground is reworked.
Asphalt surface, removed
Concrete road base, removed
Subgrade, regraded to fall

$40.80 per square metre (CAD), asphalt and concrete base together, City of Toronto unit price

Asphalt surface, removed
Asphalt surface, removed. A single line item covering asphalt pavement and concrete road base removed together, in a preliminary cost estimate for one City of Toronto project.
Concrete road base, removed
Concrete road base, removed. A wider scope than removing the asphalt surface alone. The same City estimate adds 25% for minor items, then a 30% contingency and 15% engineering on the sub-total, on top of its itemized unit prices.
Subgrade, regraded to fall
Subgrade, regraded to fall. A finished surface sloped so water runs to an inlet rather than standing. Usually about 1% to 2% across a lot; below that, ponding and the freeze-thaw damage that follows are a design outcome, not bad luck.

Not to scale. The drawing shows which layers each scope pays for, not how deep any of them is, and excavated volume is billed separately by the cubic metre. Two boundaries sit outside it: any excavation touching the boulevard beyond the property line adds a separate $227.26 City of Toronto permit fee plus restoration costs, and downtown utility congestion has no dollar figure in this guide because no accountable source publishes one, so require it as a separate line item on the bid.

What drives the price?

Scope, site access, phasing and what is found under the surface move excavation and grading pricing further than any other factor in the GTA. Two bids on one lot are rarely the same job, so read the list below as the things to check a bidder has priced rather than quietly excluded.

  • Disposal distance and site context: Region of Peel's Brampton arterial estimate prices earth excavation at $27.50 per cubic metre versus the City of Toronto's own $120.00 per cubic metre for the Broadview Avenue Extension, a difference likely driven by hauling distance and downtown site constraints (Region of Peel, City of Toronto)
  • Removal scope, surface only versus full depth: pavement-only removal runs $6.60 per square metre in Peel's estimate while removal of asphalt and concrete road base together runs $40.80 per square metre in Toronto's estimate (Region of Peel, City of Toronto)
  • Downtown utility congestion: PATH and TTC subway infrastructure make relocation work more likely on a downtown site, and this guide carries no dollar figure for it because no accountable source publishes one, so require it as a separate line item on the bid
  • Public right-of-way work: any excavation touching the boulevard beyond the property line adds a separate $227.26 City of Toronto permit fee plus restoration costs (City of Toronto)
  • Municipal site alteration permitting: under section 142(1) of the Municipal Act, 2001, the municipality can impose its own conditions on a fill, grading, or excavation permit before work starts, which can affect project timeline and cost (Canadian Bar Association)

What's specific to Ontario and Toronto?

Ontario rules and municipal bylaws change the math in ways a national price guide misses, and several of them decide whether a bid is even complete. Here is what applies locally, from HST to permits to licensing.

  • Ontario's HST rate is 13%, confirmed on the province's own HST page. Confirm whether an excavation and grading quote is HST-included or HST-extra before comparing bids.
  • Ontario municipalities can prohibit and regulate site alteration, meaning filling, grading, or excavation, through their own by-laws under section 142(1) of the Municipal Act, 2001, according to the Canadian Bar Association's summary of site alteration by-laws in Ontario. The City of Burlington's own Site Alteration Bylaw (By-law 064-2014) is a concrete GTA example, stating it regulates how land can be altered by filling, grading or excavation and that a Site Alteration Permit is required for any activity that alters the topography of land through the movement, removal, or placement of fill.
  • In Toronto specifically, excavation, removal, or disturbance of soil, pavement, curbing, or sidewalks within the public right-of-way requires a City of Toronto construction permit, carrying a $227.26 fee (no HST) plus restoration costs, according to the City's own Landscape Construction Permit page. This is separate from whatever site alteration or building permit applies to the private commercial property itself, and property owners are responsible for restoring the boulevard to the City's satisfaction after construction.

How can I pay less?

You can bring excavation and grading costs down without cutting the parts that decide how long the work lasts. These are the levers that hold up on a commercial site, each tied to a real number in the table above.

  • Ask whether an excavation quote is priced against the $27.50 per cubic metre Region of Peel benchmark or closer to the $120.00 per cubic metre Toronto benchmark, and ask the contractor to explain which site factors (hauling distance, downtown access) justify their number.
  • Confirm pavement removal scope in writing. The gap between $6.60 per square metre for asphalt-only removal and $40.80 per square metre for asphalt-plus-concrete-base removal is one of the largest levers on an excavation and grading bid.
  • If the site is downtown, make utility relocation its own line item on every bid rather than assuming it is baked into the per-cubic-metre excavation rate. Getting each bidder to price it separately is also the only way to compare two bids that made different assumptions about it.
  • Factor in the City of Toronto's $227.26 right-of-way excavation permit plus restoration costs if any part of the job touches the boulevard, since this is a fixed municipal cost separate from the contractor's own quote.
  • Get written confirmation of which site alteration or municipal permits the contractor is pulling versus which ones the property owner must obtain directly, since Ontario municipalities can impose their own conditions under the Municipal Act that affect scheduling.

How did we research these numbers?

Every figure on this page comes from a named Canadian source, and where sources disagreed the range was widened rather than one picked. Where public commercial pricing for a scope is genuinely thin, that is said plainly rather than papered over with an estimate. Here is how the numbers were reconciled.

  • Two real Ontario municipal cost estimates give conflicting excavation unit prices. The Region of Peel's 2022 functional cost estimate for the Arterial A2 and Coleraine Drive project in Brampton prices earth excavation at $27.50 per cubic metre, while the City of Toronto's own preliminary cost estimate for the Broadview Avenue Extension prices earthworks removal and disposal at $120.00 per cubic metre. The gap likely reflects disposal and hauling distance assumptions and site context (a greenfield arterial widening versus a dense downtown Toronto extension), so treat $27.50 to $120.00 per cubic metre as the realistic planning range rather than a single number.
  • Pavement removal ahead of regrading shows the same pattern. Region of Peel's Brampton estimate prices asphalt removal at $6.60 per square metre for a straightforward asphalt-only surface, while the City of Toronto's Broadview Avenue Extension estimate prices full-depth removal of asphalt pavement and concrete road base together at $40.80 per square metre. Ask any bid whether removal scope includes the base course, not just the surface asphalt, since that is most of the price difference.
  • This guide's unit prices come from exactly two sources, both real municipal cost estimates: the Region of Peel's Brampton arterial estimate and the City of Toronto's Broadview Avenue Extension estimate. Downtown sites are widely said to carry a utility-relocation premium from PATH and TTC infrastructure, and it is real, but no source with a named author and a stated method publishes a dollar figure for it, so this guide does not print one. Ask the bidder to price utility relocation as its own line item rather than assuming it sits inside the per-cubic-metre rate.
  • Excavation work that touches the public right-of-way in Toronto, meaning any part of the boulevard beyond the property line, requires its own City of Toronto permit at $227.26 per permit plus restoration costs, separate from any building or site alteration permit for the private property itself.

Sources

Who bids this work in the GTA?

AsphaltPavingIndex tracks 66 excavation and grading contractors across the Greater Toronto Area, rated 4.46★ on average. The three below sit highest on the published score across those 66 firms, August 2026. Call any of them, or open a profile and add it to the bid list.

Photographs the top-ranked excavation and grading firms on this site published themselves. Grading is the trade whose result is hardest to see in any photograph, because a lot that drains and a lot that ponds look the same in dry weather, so read these as a look at the firms and their equipment rather than as a check on the work.

See all 66 ranked excavation and grading contractors

What do the terms in a bid mean?

Three words decide most of what a excavation and grading bid is actually offering, and a quote uses them without explaining them. Here is what each one means on the line items priced above.

Subgrade
The native soil under the granular base. If it is soft or wet, everything built on it moves, which is why a bid carrying no allowance for subgrade correction is carrying the risk on your side of the contract.
Full-depth removal
Taking out the asphalt and, where present, the concrete base beneath it. The two scopes price very differently - asphalt only is a fraction of asphalt plus concrete - so a quote must say which it covers.
Positive drainage
A finished surface sloped so water runs to an inlet rather than standing. Usually about 1% to 2% across a lot; below that, ponding and the freeze-thaw damage that follows are a design outcome, not bad luck.

Where should I look next?

Most lots need more than one of these at a time, and the cheapest mistake to avoid is pricing this work without seeing what it sits next to. These are the guides, comparisons and calculators on this site that carry on from here.

Frequently asked questions

How much does commercial excavation cost in Toronto?

Real Ontario municipal cost estimates show a wide range: the Region of Peel's 2022 Brampton arterial road estimate prices earth excavation at $27.50 per cubic metre, while the City of Toronto's own Broadview Avenue Extension cost estimate prices earthworks removal and disposal at $120.00 per cubic metre. Site access, hauling distance, and downtown constraints explain most of that gap, so treat $27.50 to $120.00 per cubic metre as the realistic planning range rather than one number.

What does it cost to remove old pavement before regrading a commercial site in Toronto?

It depends on scope. Region of Peel's Brampton estimate prices simple asphalt-only removal at $6.60 per square metre, while the City of Toronto's Broadview Avenue Extension estimate prices full-depth removal of asphalt pavement and concrete road base together at $40.80 per square metre. Confirm with your contractor whether their number includes base course removal.

Is there an extra cost for excavation in downtown Toronto?

Often yes, and the municipal estimates behind this guide show it: the City of Toronto's own downtown road-extension estimate prices earthworks removal at $120.00 per cubic metre against $27.50 in the Region of Peel's Brampton estimate. Underground utility congestion from the PATH system and TTC infrastructure is a further downtown cost, but no source with a named author and a stated method publishes a dollar figure for it, so this guide does not print one. Require utility relocation as a separate line item on every bid.

Do I need a permit for grading or excavation work in Toronto?

Any excavation that touches the public right-of-way in Toronto needs its own City of Toronto construction permit, which costs $227.26 plus restoration costs if any, according to the City's Landscape Construction Permit page. Separately, Ontario municipalities can require a site alteration permit for filling, grading, or excavation under section 142(1) of the Municipal Act, 2001, so confirm both requirements before work starts.

Questions to ask your contractor

  • Who requests the Ontario One Call locates, and when?
  • What granular depth and compaction are you pricing, and who tests it? Compare the two approaches
  • Is haulage and disposal of excavated material in the price, and at what rate per load?
  • What subgrade correction allowance is carried if soft material is found?
  • What finished grades are you working to, and are they surveyed?