Boom truck hoists in Manitoba

R 03 mWho may operate a boom truck here

Manitoba draws the line at rated load. Under s.23.3(1) of the Workplace Safety and Health Regulation, only a person authorized to practise the crane and hoist operator trade may operate a boom truck hoist or mobile crane with a rated load of 7,300 kg or more, or any tower crane¹.

The trades regulation defines the machine: a telescoping or articulating boom on a truck chassis that can load on and off the truck, with a manufacturer-rated lifting capacity over 7.3 tonnes (8 tons) and not over 40.8 tonnes (45 tons)². Boom truck hoist operator, mobile crane operator and tower crane operator are each compulsory certification trades².

The texts word the lower line differently: "or more" in s.23.3(1), "over" in the definition. For a truck rated at exactly 7,300 kg, plan for a certified operator and confirm with Apprenticeship Manitoba.

Example. A Brandon contractor's knuckle boom rated 8 tonnes, set to place trusses, is over 7,300 kg and loads on and off the truck, so it is a boom truck hoist and the operator must be authorized¹. A 6-tonne unit falls below the line.

Training. The apprenticeship has two levels, each at least 12 months with 1,250 hours of technical training and practical experience². It is a provincial certification, not Red Seal; technical training is 7 weeks in level 1 and 5 in level 2³. Do not assume a Manitoba certificate is recognized next door; see operator certification by province.

R 06 mStandards and inspection

Section 23.4 requires commercially made cranes to follow the manufacturer's specifications and the applicable standards, including CAN/CSA Z150-16 for mobile cranes. CSA Z150.3, the articulating boom standard, is not on the list¹. Two consequences:

• The edition is 2016. CSA has since published a 2026 edition, Z150:26, the sixth edition⁴, but Manitoba's 2026 consolidation still names Z150-16. Do not read the newer edition as Manitoba law.
• Knuckle booms lean on the manufacturer. The mobile crane code excludes articulating boom cranes, which CSA covers in Z150.3⁴. With Z150.3 unlisted, the manufacturer's specifications are the reference s.23.4 names.

The truck must carry a load chart showing rated load at every permitted boom angle and radius (s.23.9(2)), and the operator inspects the crane before each shift (s.23.7)¹. Periodic inspection intervals were not part of our research, so we give none.

Ask the supplier for the chart for your configuration (boom length, outrigger spread, any jib), the chart capacity at your radius, the latest inspection report and the logbook. More in load charts and boom truck inspection.

R 09 mPower lines

Part 25 applies to work or equipment that can come within 3 m of an overhead electrical line. The employer must notify the electrical authority, get written confirmation or instructions and, when instructed, assign a signal person with an unobstructed view of the operator¹.

The 3 m brings Part 25 into play; it is not a safe working distance. Our research holds no Manitoba table of limits of approach by voltage, so this site gives no Manitoba number for how close a boom may work. The authority's written instructions set the terms.

1. Measure the reach, not the parking spot. Swing, extension and load swing all count. If any part of the truck, boom or load could come within 3 m, Part 25 applies¹.
2. Notify before setup, with the location, the machine and the work; get it in writing, keep it on site and brief the crew.
3. Assign the signal person when the instructions call for one.
4. Tell the supplier. A line can change the truck, the setup position and the quote.

The power-line lookup shows no Manitoba distance; the national picture is in power lines and boom trucks.

R 12 mDriving and carrier rules

The licence depends on the truck, not the crane. Manitoba Public Insurance puts a truck with more than two axles in Class 3 (with combinations, except those with a semi-trailer), and a driver of an air-braked vehicle in that class needs an air brake endorsement⁵.

Neither credential covers the other: a Class 3 licence does not authorize anyone to run a boom truck hoist rated 7,300 kg or more¹, and a trade certificate does not license anyone to drive a three-axle truck.

Not researched for Manitoba, and not borrowed from neighbours: the licence class for a two-axle boom truck, National Safety Code carrier rules, annual commercial vehicle inspection, oversize permits and seasonal load restrictions. Ask MPI and the province before a long move. Thaw limits can keep a loaded three-axle truck off rural roads; CivilConstruction.ca explains how spring road bans work. Licence classes elsewhere are in licences and the NSC.

R 15 mNo public rate table: what exists

We found no Manitoba government rate schedule for boom trucks. The provincial association's equipment rate guide is sold, not published; we did not buy it. This page prints no Manitoba hourly rate.

Official schedules exist in Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador; see boom truck rental rates. Published rates are benchmarks for public works, not quotes, and are not Manitoba prices.

A supplier quotes the job; this page explains what goes into the quote. Ask every supplier the same questions:

• Operated (operator included) or bare (operator not included)?
• Hourly, daily or monthly, and what minimum charge?
• Is travel from the yard billed, and from where?
• Are rigging, a signal person, permits and fuel extra?
• What is the chart capacity at your radius for the truck they will send?

The rental rate converter puts hourly, daily and monthly prices on one basis.

R 18 mThe market here

Statistics Canada counted 51 Manitoba locations with employees in NAICS 532410 in June 2026⁶, out of 1,748 in Canada⁶: about 2.9% of the national count (computed). That industry rents and leases construction, transportation, mining and forestry machinery, so it includes excavators and loaders as well as boom trucks. No official statistic isolates boom trucks; read the count as context.

Job Bank's Manitoba wage for boom truck crane operators is not in our research. The national median under NOC 72500 is $42.77 an hour⁷. Watch the job title: Job Bank files "operator, picker truck" under NOC 83110, logging machinery operators⁸, so a picker truck wage may describe a log loader.

R 21 mGST and RST on rentals and leases

Manitoba charges the 5% GST⁹. CRA treats renting or leasing a truck as a supply of tangible personal property¹⁰, so where the truck goes decides the rate:

• Three months or less: the province where the supplier delivers the truck or makes it available, fixed at first delivery¹⁰.
• Longer than three months: the province where the truck is ordinarily located; for a "specified motor vehicle", the province where it must be registered¹⁰. Ask your accountant whether that term covers your truck.

Example. A Winnipeg supplier rents out a bare boom truck for two weeks. Delivered to Steinbach, the GST is 5%; delivered to Kenora, the place of supply is Ontario, where the HST is 13%⁹.

Registrants recover GST paid on business inputs through input tax credits¹¹.

Manitoba's retail sales tax (RST) is 7%¹². Under Bulletin No. 048, equipment supplied without an operator is a rental, with RST on the total charge. With an operator it is a service, not a rental, when the supplier accompanies the equipment and controls its functions during the task; the supplier then pays RST on equipment it buys or leases and charges none on the service unless the service itself is taxable¹². An out-of-province business bringing equipment in temporarily to provide a service must self-remit RST for each day, though none is payable unless it is in Manitoba six or more days in a calendar year¹². Summaries, not tax advice; ask the supplier how the invoice will be taxed. Ownership is in CCA and tax.

R 24 mRequesting a quote here

Request a quote; it only goes to a company with your consent. With your consent, your request goes to one company that rents, sells or finances boom trucks in your area. That company may pay BoomTrucks.ca for the referral. We do not rent, sell or lease equipment, and every request is saved before anything is sent.

A Manitoba request is easier to price with:

• The load's weight plus rigging, and the radius and height of the heaviest pick.
• Operated or bare and, if bare, whether your operator is authorized for a unit rated 7,300 kg or more¹.
• Whether anything could come within 3 m of an overhead line, and whether the electrical authority has been notified¹.
• Ground at the outriggers, the town, access, dates and duration.

Start with the size estimator, then request a quote. Buying or leasing? See buying a boom truck and leasing one.