PC Rates of Pay – Physical Sciences (Government of Canada)

PC rates of pay for all PC (Physical Sciences) levels in the Canadian federal public service, 2026. Salaries range from $73,901 to $150,988 across 5 levels. Category: Science & Policy. Source: Treasury Board collective agreements.

PC – Physical Sciences

$73,901 – $150,988

$2,842 – $5,807 biweekly (before deductions)

5 levels · Salary data from Treasury Board collective agreements

Rates effective from 2025-10-01 · Last verified 2026-04-16 · methodology

All PC Levels

Level	Steps	Step 1	Max Step
PC-01	5	$73,901	$86,119
PC-02	6	$84,382	$101,162
PC-03	6	$101,672	$120,986
PC-04	6	$117,799	$138,404
PC-05	5	$132,710	$150,988

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About the PC Classification

The PC (Physical Sciences) group covers physicists, meteorologists, hydrologists, geologists, and other physical scientists working in the federal government. PC employees are the scientists behind Canada's weather forecasts, climate monitoring, geological surveys, and environmental physics research. The largest employer is Environment and Climate Change Canada's Meteorological Service, where PC meteorologists produce the weather forecasts and warnings that Canadians rely on daily.

PC-01 covers junior scientists and meteorologists in training. PC-02 is the working-level operational meteorologist or research scientist. PC-03 covers senior scientists, chief meteorologists, and regional program leads. PC-04 and PC-05 are director-level science managers. Operational meteorologists often work rotating shifts to provide 24/7 weather forecasting coverage, and their compensation includes shift premiums on top of base salary.

The PC group is represented by PIPSC under the Applied Science and Patent Examination (SP) collective agreement. PC scientists play a critical role in Canadian public safety — severe weather warnings, flood forecasting, earthquake monitoring, and climate change research all depend on PC expertise. The classification offers unique career opportunities: few other employers offer the chance to work with Canada's supercomputer-powered weather prediction models, national seismic monitoring networks, or Arctic climate observatories.

Want to know your take-home pay after taxes and deductions? Use the take-home pay calculator or compare PC with other classifications.