The 5 Questions Every Ontario Homeowner Should Ask Before Hiring

Every year, thousands of Ontario homeowners hire a contractor and regret it. Not because good contractors are hard to find, but because most homeowners skip the questions that would have revealed the problems before the contract was signed.

These five questions take less than ten minutes to ask. They cover the gaps that star ratings miss, that sales pitches gloss over, and that you will wish you had checked when things go wrong. Ask all five, every time, no exceptions.

1. Are You Registered with WSIB?

This is the most important question on this list, and the one homeowners skip most often. The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board provides workers' compensation coverage in Ontario. If someone working on your home is injured and isn't covered by WSIB, they may look to you, as the property owner, for compensation. When the contractor has WSIB coverage, an injured worker receives WSIB benefits.

What to ask: "Can you provide a current WSIB clearance certificate?"

What to look for: A clearance certificate is valid for up to 90 days. It confirms the contractor's account is in good standing. Do not accept a verbal confirmation — ask for the document.

Why it matters: A star rating says nothing about WSIB coverage. The clearance certificate does.

What ProScore shows. ProScore checks WSIB registration against WSIB records, and where it has matched a business, the profile says so. A registration a business only declares is labelled self-declared. A registration is not a clearance certificate, so still ask for the certificate.

2. Do You Carry General Liability Insurance?

General liability insurance protects your property if the contractor damages your home during the work. A plumber who accidentally floods your basement. An electrician whose work causes a fire. A roofer who damages your siding during installation. Without liability insurance, you are on the hook for the repair costs.

What to ask: "Can I see your certificate of insurance, including the coverage amount and expiry date?"

What to look for: A minimum of $2 million in general liability coverage is standard for residential work in Ontario. The certificate should list your address as the job site. Confirm it has not expired.

Why it matters: Liability claims can easily reach six figures. A contractor without insurance shifts that risk entirely to you. No amount of good reviews offsets the absence of insurance.

ProScore does not verify insurance. There is no public insurance register to check it against. A business can declare its coverage on its ProScore profile, where it is labelled self-declared, so ask for the certificate either way.

3. What Is Your Standing with the Better Business Bureau?

The BBB is not a review site. It is a complaint resolution system, and its value lies in what it reveals about how a contractor handles problems. Every contractor will have occasional issues. What matters is whether they resolve them.

What to ask: "Are you BBB accredited, and what is your current rating?"

What to look for: BBB ratings range from A+ to F. The rating is based primarily on complaint history, response to complaints, and business practices — not customer reviews. A contractor with an A+ and a history of resolved complaints is a stronger bet than one with no BBB profile at all.

Why it matters: A contractor who refuses to engage with the BBB complaint process is signalling that they do not prioritize dispute resolution. That is a red flag.

ProScore includes BBB standing in the score where it has matched a business's BBB profile (BBB data as of March 2026), so you can see it without visiting a separate site.

4. Can I See Your Google Reviews — All of Them?

Google reviews are the most widely used source of contractor feedback in Ontario. But most homeowners only look at the star rating and skim the first few reviews. That is not enough.

What to ask: This is not a question you ask the contractor — it is research you do yourself. Search the contractor's business name on Google and read beyond the first page of reviews.

What to look for:

ProScore analyzes review text using AI to detect patterns that human scanning misses — including sentiment trends, review authenticity signals, and consistency across platforms.

5. Do You Have the Required Government Licenses?

Ontario requires specific licenses for specific trades. This is not optional — it is the law. Working without the required license puts your safety and your home's insurance coverage at risk.

What to ask: "What government licenses or certifications do you hold?"

What to look for by trade:

Why it matters: Unlicensed work can void your home insurance. If an unlicensed electrician does work that causes a fire, your insurer may deny the claim. The financial consequences extend far beyond the cost of the renovation.

What ProScore checks. ProScore checks ESA licences, TSSA registrations and HCRA builder licences against the regulators' registers, and WSIB registration against WSIB records. A credential a business only declares is labelled self-declared, never verified, and a register that shows a licence is not current overrides it.

The Pattern: What These Five Questions Reveal

Notice what these five questions have in common: none of them are answered by star ratings. You can have a 5.0-star contractor with no WSIB, no insurance, no BBB profile, purchased reviews, and no government license. The star rating tells you nothing about any of these critical factors.

These questions protect you at the level that matters — legal liability, financial risk, and regulatory compliance. They are the foundation of an informed hiring decision.

Let ProScore Do the First Pass

ProScore scores Ontario contractors at proscore.ca on the records it holds (licence and WSIB registers, BBB standing, and reviews across platforms) and on the credentials a business declares, which are labelled self-declared, combined into a single trust score. Not every business has every record, and insurance is something a business declares, not something ProScore can check.

So ask these questions yourself. You should. ProScore gives you a head start before you pick up the phone, so you know which contractors are worth calling in the first place.