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Ontario non-residential building contractors remain confident in continued business growth through 2025, despite an uncertain and sometimes tumultuous political landscape to start the year, the annual Ontario Construction Secretariat Contractor Survey found. The survey, which was released at the OCS’s 25th Annual State of the Industry & Outlook Conference in Toronto, found two-thirds of Ontario contractors (67 per cent) say they are feeling positive about the future of Ontario’s construction industry, eight in 10 predict stable or rising revenues in 2025 and more than a quarter (28 per cent) are expected to increase the number of employees on their team. That positivity rises outside of the Greater Toronto Area, with 73 per cent feeling good compared to only 56 per cent of GTA contractors feeling the same. The OCS survey was conducted in January prior to the trade war erupting with the United States, and the tariffs and counter-tariffs being implemented will certainly present significant risk to the sector. The OCS is planning to go back out to the industry to learn more about the tariffs and how they are impacting the sector, how contractors are feeling, what strategies are working and which are not. “There is a lot of uncertainty in the market because of the current political and economic environment,” says Brian Barron, CEO of the OCS. “But despite all that is happening, Ontario is still building. There is a big project pipeline of roads, transit, schools and hospitals that is driving optimism in construction across all regions of the province.” However, the positivity is tempered with more than a quarter of contractors (27 per cent) expecting less work in 2025, with more than a third (35 per cent) remaining concerned about rising material costs and ongoing concerns in the industry around labour shortages — although the number of contractors worried about that dropped to 41 per cent in 2025, down seven percentage points from a year ago. But the use of apprentices is on the rise, with nearly two-thirds of contractors (64 per cent, up from 58 per cent in 2024) employing at least one apprentice. This is more pronounced among unionized contractors, with 80 per cent hiring apprentices, compared to 56 per cent in non-union companies. The growing use of technology continues to play an important role in the industry, with 85 per cent of contractors saying the adoption of new tech is important for the future of their business. The number of contractors using advanced building materials increased to 41 per cent (from 35 per cent in 2024) and while the use of Artificial Intelligence is still relatively low, its use is spreading rapidly — at 18 per cent, an increase of seven percentage points from last year — and one in five contractors anticipate using AI in the next five years. AI is predominantly used for predictive analysis, but is also being used for generative design, safety monitoring and robotics and automation. “The use of AI has exploded over the past couple of years, and construction cannot expect to be excluded from that,” says Mr. Barron. “As is typical, we are seeing many of the larger firms lead the way, but this is a number we expect will continue to grow over the years.” The OCS Contractor Survey polls the province’s institutional, commercial and industrial construction sector to gauge business expectations and present views on salient issues impacting the industry. The survey was conducted via phone interview with 400 contractors in January 2025, including union and non-union companies. |
