What's the labour to wire under-cabinet LEDs across an NB kitchen?

Plug-in LED strip lights under cabinets are a DIY-friendly project with no electrical permit required — but hardwired under-cabinet lighting is a different story, and in New Brunswick, any new circuit or wiring changes require a licensed electrician and inspection.

The distinction matters a lot for your budget. If you're running plug-in LED strips that connect to existing outlets, you can do this yourself for the cost of the strips ($50-$200 depending on length and quality) with zero labour cost. If you want a clean, professional hardwired look with no visible cords or plugs, you're looking at an electrician's time — typically $300-$700 in labour for a standard NB kitchen, depending on how many cabinet runs you have and how accessible the wiring path is.

That hardwired cost assumes you already have adequate outlets or a junction point nearby. If the electrician needs to run a new dedicated circuit from your panel, add another $200-$500 to that estimate. In older NB homes — particularly those built before 1990 — the kitchen may only have one or two countertop circuits, and those are already required to be 20-amp small appliance circuits under NB Building Code. Adding lighting to an overloaded circuit isn't something a good electrician will do, so a new circuit run is often the right call.

NB-specific consideration: Many homes in Fredericton, Moncton, and Saint John's older neighbourhoods still have 60-amp panels. If yours is one of them, under-cabinet lighting is the least of your electrical concerns — a full panel upgrade to 100 or 200-amp ($1,500-$4,000) should be on your radar before or during any kitchen renovation.

For most homeowners doing a kitchen refresh without a full reno, plug-in LED strips are the practical choice. Modern options with warm white colour temperatures (2700K-3000K) look excellent, and the drivers (power supplies) tuck neatly inside cabinet doors. You lose nothing in light quality and gain the ability to install them yourself in an afternoon.

If you're mid-renovation and walls are already open, that's the ideal time to have an electrician rough in hardwired lighting — the labour drops significantly when there's no drywall to fish wire through. A rough-in during a larger reno might only add $150-$300 to your electrician's existing visit.

Practical steps: Get at least two quotes from licensed NB electricians if you're going hardwired — pricing varies. Confirm they'll pull the required permit for any new circuit work, and make sure the rough-in inspection happens before any walls are closed. Skipping that inspection is a code violation that can require tearing out finished work.

If you're planning a broader kitchen renovation, New Brunswick Kitchens can match you with local contractors who coordinate trades like electrical as part of the overall project — often more cost-effective than hiring separately.