// COMPANY DOSSIER
Atlantic Masonry Institute
Atlantic Canada industry association of masonry contractors, manufacturers and suppliers that promotes quality masonry construction through training, technical support and workforce development. It partners with the Canada Masonry Design Centre (CMDC), which staffs a shared CMDC Atlantic / AMI office in Dartmouth, NS to give designers and contractor members local masonry-engineering support.
📍 Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, CanadaEst. 2016✓ 100% first-party verified
// CLIPS FROM Atlantic Masonry Institute
“queen's marque which is a wall of sandstone product on the exterior there”
“how many teenagers have worked with a two by four how many of them have held a brick”
“showing up and taking pride in your work because masonry's that trade”
“when I got into this trade I never planned to be a bricklayer I was going to school”
“we've been in business for 35 years my father started this company from the ground up”
“you mentioned earlier you guys worked on the shipyard”
// LESSONS FROM Atlantic Masonry Institute
Contractors funded an industry institute because uneducated design teams produce unconstructable drawings, and the resulting extras slow every job — fixing education upstream is cheaper than fighting downstream.
Challenge over-specified materials: hollow block grouted solid hits the same fire, sound and structural ratings as full solid block while being cheaper and easier on labour.
Invest in staging and lift technology (hydro mobiles, heavy-duty swing-stage) — it directly raises productivity, cuts labour cost, and unlocks tight urban sites with no scaffold footprint.
When bidding scope you've never built (Darim's Queen's Marque sandstone ceiling), price in the uncertainty — take 'a strong number' so you can absorb the learning curve and still stand behind the product.
Push trust and problem-solving down to foremen — the people in the work every day are the experts, and they're the glue that holds a labour-intensive trade together.
An association is stronger as an 'industry voice' than a factional one: AMI includes union and non-union members, and the union backs it because a healthier industry lifts everyone.
// ALSO DISCUSSED ACROSS THE SHOW
// ON THE RECORD WITH
Canada Masonry Design Centre (CMDC)
Works with
AMI funding opened the CMDC Atlantic office in Dartmouth; Andrew Smith staffs both ('different hats on different days').
Darim Masonry Limited
Member of
Founding-era contractor member; Darrell Jerrett sits on the NSCC trade advisory committee through AMI.
Shaw Brick
Member of
One of three main manufacturer members; also one of only 2-3 active clay brick plants in Canada.
Casey Concrete
Member of
Local block manufacturer member supplying the Halifax market.
VJ Rice Concrete
Member of
Newfoundland-based manufacturer member (referenced as VJ concrete products / VJ Rice).
Canadian Concrete Masonry Producers Association
Backed by
CCMPA co-funded the Moncton load-bearing masonry comparative design study.
Spitfire Design
Works with
Moncton-market designer who produced the four-storey footprint for the comparative study.
Acadian Construction
Works with
Moncton GC that ran the project timelines for the study (load-bearing masonry 16 weeks faster).
Acadia Bricklayers
Member of
Ron Cormier of Acadia Bricklayers co-initiated the Moncton load-bearing push with Andrew Smith in early 2019.
NSCC (Nova Scotia Community College)
Works with
Trade advisory committee (with Darim and the union) redesigned the pre-apprenticeship program: 22 to 35 weeks, tuition ~$9k to ~$3k.
// SELECTED PROJECTS
Building Structure Cost Comparison Study in Atlantic Canada: Multi-Residential Structures (Loadbearing Masonry Cost Study)
CompletedCommissioned by AMI; written by the Canada Masonry Design Centre (CMDC) and funded by the Canadian Concrete Masonry Producers Association (CCMPA); structural design by Valron Engineers Inc. and construction estimates by Acadian Construction
Lead writers Andrew H. Smith (M.A.Sc., E.I.T.) and Bennett R. Banting (Ph.D., P.Eng.). Headline findings: a completed loadbearing masonry multi-residential building carries only a 4-8% premium vs wood frame and comes in ~11% less than cast-in-place concrete; with underground parking it can be erected and enclosed in 28 weeks (50% faster than wood frame, 64% faster than cast-in-place concrete). Copyright 2020 per the published PDF.
Inter-provincial high-school masonry education program
In progressFounding / operating organization (program began as an AMI pilot in 2019 and expanded inter-provincially)
In 2019 AMI expanded its purpose to include workforce development; a pilot at Hants East High School introducing students to masonry grew into an inter-provincial masonry education program. Described as ongoing/growing on the AMI About page; no single completion date (treated as in_progress).
Engineered Masonry Design Course (EMDC) — Atlantic 2025
CompletedSponsor (course delivered by CMDC, sponsored by AMI; AMI sponsorship subsidized tuition by $500)
First time the EMDC was offered in Atlantic Canada. Four in-person Saturday sessions: Jan 25, Feb 8, Mar 1, Mar 22, 2025 (8:30am-3:00pm), plus virtual components and a hands-on bricklaying practical. Tuition $1,250 after a $500 AMI sponsorship subsidy (from $1,750). Dated sessions are in the past, so marked completed.
// KEY PEOPLE
AH
Andrew H. Smithpartner
Masonry Design Engineer, M.A.Sc., P.Eng. (CMDC Atlantic Office, which staffs the shared CMDC Atlantic / AMI office in Dartmouth)
profile ▸// NOTABLE
AMI was founded in 2016 as an industry organization of masonry contractors, manufacturers and suppliers and was a driving force behind opening the CMDC Atlantic office in Dartmouth, NS.
SOURCE ▸AMI's membership spans Atlantic Canada and includes contractor members, manufacturer/supplier members, and labour members (Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers locals in NL, NS, PEI and NB).
SOURCE ▸AMI is listed as an industry-affiliate member of the Canadian Concrete Masonry Producers Association (CCMPA).
SOURCE ▸Building like this in Atlantic Canada?
Be a guest ▸