✓ The Decision
- Shed or small outbuilding → exposed-fastener metal panels. Small areas flip the math: the metal premium is a few hundred dollars, and you'll never touch it again.
- Garage or shop → metal if you're keeping it 15+ years, asphalt if budget rules. On simple gable roofs, metal installs fast and sheds snow off your cars and doorways — plan for snow guards where it matters.
- House, staying under ~10 years → quality asphalt shingles. You won't recover a premium roof's cost at resale in most markets.
- House, staying 15+ years → standing-seam metal earns its 2–3× price across one asphalt replacement you'll never buy.
- Cedar → a look you pay for twice: at install and in maintenance forever. Choose it for love (or heritage requirements), not economics — composite fakes it convincingly at lower lifetime cost.
Head-to-Head (2026 Canadian Averages, Installed)
| Asphalt shingles | Metal (exposed fastener) | Metal (standing seam) | Cedar shakes | Composite/synthetic | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost/sq ft | $4.50–$8.50 | $13–$18 | $18–$25 | $15–$25 | $12–$20 |
| Lifespan | 15–30 yrs | 40–50 yrs | 50–70 yrs | 20–35 yrs (maintained) | 30–50 yrs |
| Maintenance | Low | Fastener checks ~15 yrs | Minimal | High — treat, clean, repair | Low |
| Snow | Holds it | Sheds it — plan snow guards over doors | Holds it | Holds it | |
| Fire | Good (Class A avail.) | Excellent | Poor unless treated | Good | |
| DIY-friendly | Most DIY-able | Yes, simple roofs | No — specialist | No — specialist | Varies |
Asphalt Shingles: The Default for a Reason
Cheapest installed cost, every roofer knows them, decent 25–30-year architectural grades, and easy repairs. The honest weaknesses: lifespan is real-world shorter on hot south faces and under ice damming, and in 15–25 years you're buying the whole roof again. If you choose asphalt, spend the small upgrade from 3-tab to architectural shingles — better wind ratings and longevity for little money — and put the savings into proper ice-and-water shield at the eaves, which is where Canadian asphalt roofs actually fail.
Metal: Buy Once, Mostly
Two different products share the name. Exposed-fastener panels ($13–$18/sq ft) are the farm-and-shop standard: fast, durable, DIY-able on simple roofs; the screws' gaskets are the eventual maintenance item. Standing seam ($18–$25/sq ft) hides the fasteners, moves with thermal cycling, and is the 50-year-plus roof — at a price and with a specialist installer. Both shed snow aggressively (snow guards over entrances and gas meters are not optional), both laugh at hail that bruises asphalt, and both are increasingly the insurance-friendly choice in wind and wildfire zones.
Cedar and the Composites That Imitate It
Cedar is beautiful, breathable, and the highest-maintenance roof you can buy in a Canadian climate — moss, splitting, treatment cycles, and fire-rating problems in some jurisdictions (and increasing insurer hostility). Real-world lifespan tracks maintenance more than material. Composite/synthetic shakes ($12–$20/sq ft) deliver 90% of the look with none of the upkeep and good fire ratings — if the cedar aesthetic is the goal rather than the material itself, composites win the lifetime math.
The Building-Type Lens
The same material answers differently by building. A shed's roof is small enough that material price barely matters — metal's durability wins outright. A garage sits in the middle: unheated and simple-roofed favours metal panels; matching the house favours asphalt. A house carries the full equation — resale horizon, neighbourhood aesthetics, insurance, and the structural note that heavy materials (some composites, slate-style products) may need an engineering check on older framing. And if you're building the structure too, roof material interacts with pitch and style — our roof framing guide and attic calculator cover that side.
✗ Deal-Breakers — Check Before You Commit
- For metal: doorways and walkways under the eaves with no snow-guard plan. A metal roof unloading onto an entrance is dangerous, not just inconvenient.
- For cedar: an insurer or municipality that penalizes it. Check both before falling for the look — some won't cover it, others require fire-treated product.
- For asphalt on low slopes: under ~4/12, shingles need special detailing; under 2/12 they're the wrong product entirely. Low-slope roofs want membrane or metal.
- For any re-roof: rotten decking discovered mid-job. Budget a contingency for sheathing replacement — the quote that ignores deck condition is the quote that grows.
The Safest Path Forward
- Match your honest horizon to the lifespan table — years you'll own it decides more than taste.
- Check slope, insurance, and local rules for your shortlisted material.
- Get three quotes itemizing tear-off, deck repair allowance, underlayment, and ice-and-water shield — the layers under the surface separate good roofs from warranty claims.
- For metal, settle the snow plan (guards, door placement) at quote time, not after the first winter.
- Verify warranty terms in writing — manufacturer vs installer, prorated vs full, and what voids them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a metal roof worth it in Canada?
If you'll own the building 15+ years, usually yes — at $13–$25/sq ft installed it costs 2–3× asphalt but lasts 40–70 years versus 15–30, spanning at least one full asphalt replacement. Under 10 years of ownership, quality asphalt is the better spend.
What does a new roof cost in Canada in 2026?
Asphalt shingles run $4.50–$8.50 per square foot installed; metal $13–$25 depending on profile; cedar $15–$25; composites $12–$20. A typical 1,800 sq ft roof: roughly $9,000–$15,000 asphalt or $24,000–$45,000 metal.
Can I put metal roofing over existing shingles?
Often yes, over one layer with strapping, where local code permits — it saves tear-off cost. But it hides deck condition and adds detailing considerations; many quality installers prefer tear-off. Get the case for your specific roof.
What's the best roof for a shed or garage?
Exposed-fastener metal panels, in most cases — on small simple roofs the cost premium over shingles is minor, installation is fast, and the roof outlives the building's other components.