// ON THE RECORD
Ontario General Contractors Association
Trade association representing general contractors in Ontario's Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (ICI) sector, providing advocacy and government relations, Construction Act / contract and tender guidance, health and safety programs (including a COR certification program), and member education and workforce development.
📍 Toronto, Ontario, CanadaEst. 1939✓ 83% first-party verified
// CLIPS FROM Ontario General Contractors Association
“contractors price risk and if you make it riskier the higher the price”
“can they say that they're going to pay us in eight months as opposed to 28 days”
“I remember when I grew up with my dad he's a stone Mason from Italy”
“there was a municipality which will remain nameless I'm not gonna throw them under the bus”
“some of our contractors are into 8D for Bim 8D is thinking about safety on scaffolding”
“construction was always seen as you know if you can't make it in University then you go to construction”
“I remember when blueprints were actually blue and I'd be sitting on my dad's lap”
“the step to construction cohort this year coming in 50% female 50% male”
“most students unfortunately only know the compulsory trades electrical Plumbing carpentry”
// LESSONS FROM Ontario General Contractors Association
Competitors gain more by sharing pain points and solutions through an association than by staying isolated in their geography.
Recruit youth to construction by showcasing tech (robots, drones, tablets) and real earning power, not just money alone.
Fight the 'Plan B' stereotype of construction by exposing kids to the trades as early as kindergarten, before they choose a path.
Build a talent pipeline by tying school programs to guaranteed placement so students know there's a job at the end.
Place students on real job sites rotating through trades so they discover the 144 trades they didn't know existed.
Push back on contract terms at the tender phase, because once signed the provisions are locked in.
// ON THE RECORD WITH
Giovanni Cautillo
Member of
President of the Ontario General Contractors Association since 2020.
Toronto District School Board
Works with
Co-runs the 'Step to ICI Construction' job-site placement program.
OGCA Skills Development Fund Supervision Bridging Program
Backed by
Ministry of Labour grant funds the supervision bridging/train-the-trainer program, now in year two.
Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development
Regulated by
Worked with the minister (Monte McNaughton) on the skilled-trades campaign and grant funding.
Canadian Construction Association
Works with
Works with all associations across Canada; nothing done in isolation.
Ontario General Contractors Association
Competes with
Members are fierce competitors on tenders yet collaborate through the association on shared issues.
// KEY PEOPLE
// NOTABLE
Founded in 1939; one of Ontario's longest-standing construction trade associations (over 80 years).
SOURCE ▸Members account for approximately 70% of all of Ontario's Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (ICI) projects and the majority of Alternative Finance Projects (AFPs).
SOURCE ▸Giovanni Cautillo became OGCA President on June 30, 2020, succeeding Clive Thurston, who had led the association since 2001 (~19 years); Cautillo remains President as of the Spring 2026 issue of the association's publication, The Generals.
SOURCE ▸Building like this in Atlantic Canada?
Be a guest ▸