Pesticide licence in Manitoba: categories, exam and renewal

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The source is Manitoba Agriculture, which runs the Pesticide and Manure Licensing Program under The Pesticides and Fertilizers Control Act. The parent page, pesticide licences by country, has the national background.

At a glance

Item	What the province says
Agency	Manitoba Agriculture, Pesticide and Manure Licensing Program
Licence for work for hire	Pesticide applicator licence, CA$100, valid January 1 or date of issue to December 31
Category for trees and turf	Landscape/Golf Course: trees, lawns, boulevards and golf courses
Exam	Pesticide Core exam plus the category exam, from Assiniboine College, monitored online, CA$135 per exam; Landscape/Golf Course also needs the Integrated Pest Management exam
Recertification	Every five years for all categories; certification expires December 31 of the fifth year
Insurance or bond	General liability and property damage of at least CA$250,000, plus at least CA$25,000 for chemical misuse and spray drift
Reciprocity	Certification from another province is accepted if it meets the national standard and is under five years old, but a Manitoba reciprocity exam is required

Who needs a licence

The province's pesticide applicator licence page says commercial applicators of commercial and restricted class pesticides must hold a licence. A commercial applicator is anyone who applies for a fee, charge or other valuable consideration, which includes people paid a wage to apply. Landlords and maintenance staff paid a wage to apply are covered too, according to the FAQ. Farmers are exempt unless off-farm application passes 500 hectares or is done for more than three individuals a year. Home and garden products classed as domestic are outside the Act.

The category that covers trees and turf

The same page lists Landscape/Golf Course as pesticide application to trees, lawns, boulevards and golf courses, with a note that at least one person per landscape or golf course company must also hold integrated pest management certification. Forestry (forest areas), Industrial (rights-of-way and industrial sites), Rural municipal and Greenhouse are separate categories.

Exam

According to the program's licensing overview, an applicant must pass the Pesticide Core exam and the exam for the category needed before applying for the licence, and no licence is issued until every required exam is passed. Assiniboine College offers the self-study materials, tutorials and exams. The licensing FAQ says exams are written online with a monitor, need a computer with a webcam, photo identification and a private room, run about every two weeks starting in mid-November and cost CA$135 each.

Licence package and renewal

The application package holds the signed form, the Final Grade Report from Assiniboine College, a copy of the insurance policy and a CA$100 cheque payable to "Minister of Finance". The renewal page says licences expire December 31 every year and renewal packages are mailed toward the end of October with another CA$100 cheque. If certification has lapsed, the holder rewrites the courses, and continuing education credits are an option only for the aerial and integrated pest management categories. The FAQ puts recertification at every five years for all categories.

Insurance

The overview says an applicant needs general liability insurance of at least CA$250,000, not counting chemical misuse and spray drift damage, and separate chemical misuse and spray drift cover of at least CA$25,000. Individual or company policies are accepted. Dealers need no insurance under the Act.

Reciprocity

The FAQ says Manitoba accepts certification from other provinces that meets the national standard and was granted within five years, but since January 2019 anyone certified outside Manitoba writes the Manitoba Reciprocity Exam before a licence is issued. The steps are the licence form, a copy of the certification and any licence from the other province, the fee, then a test date scheduled through Assiniboine College.