Page 6 - Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT
ONTARIO’S CONSTRUCTION

INDUSTRY AND THE PROVINCIAL

BUILDING TRADES COUNCIL’S
ROLE WITHIN IT?

Ontario’s construction industry is a major driver

of our economy. Construction accounts for 7%
of our province’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP),

which translates into $50.7 billion of economic

output every year. This represents a major social
and economic footprint that helps sustain middle

class prosperity. In Ontario, there are 40 recognized
construction trades, 12 of which are compulsory-

certified, requiring the attainment of a license to
“The principal driving force that guides the Building
perform work defined in the scopes of practice for
Trades’ approach to collective bargaining is a
those trades.
stalwart commitment to fairness for

The construction workforce in Ontario consists construction workers.”
of 465,000 workers, of whom 150,000 are

represented by the Provincial Building and
construction workers to have a collective voice at
Construction Trades Council of Ontario. There
the provincial level so as to strengthen the unity
are 12 affiliated construction craft unions that are
and organizational cohesion of the construction
members of the Council. Each of the unions has a
craft unions that came together on behalf of all
representative serving on the Council’s Executive
construction workers. Article III, Section IV of the
Board which meets on a regular basis to conduct
Council’s Constitution and By-Laws lays out a
Council business.
very important aspect of its mandate which is “to

promote the development of health and safety
The Council itself was Chartered on January 10, 1958
practices and procedures to the end of protecting
under the umbrella of the Building and Construction
the health and safety of tradespersons in the
Trades Department - American Federation of
building and construction industry.” Moreover, this
Labour-Congress of Industrial Organizations
mandate is intimately tied to the goal outlined in
(BCTD AFL-CIO), now known as North America’s
Section III of the Constitution and By-Laws, which
Building Trades Unions (NABTU). The primary
is “to foster, develop and advance apprenticeship
reason for the Council’s establishment was for

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