The annual Ontario Construction Secretariat (OCS) Contractor Survey has found that Ontario non-residential building contractors remain confident in continued business growth through 2025, despite an uncertain political landscape to start the year.
The survey, which was released at the OCS’s 25th Annual State of the Industry & Outlook Conference in Toronto, found that two-thirds of Ontario contractors, or 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, or 28 per cent, are expected to increase the number of employees on their team. That positivity rises outside of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), with 73 per cent feeling good in comparison to only 56 per cent of GTA contractors feeling the same.
The OCS survey was conducted in January before the trade war beginning with the United States. The OCS noted that the tariffs and counter-tariffs being implemented will present significant risk to the sector. As a result, 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,” said Brian Barron, chief executive officer 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.”
The positivity is tempered with over a quarter of contractors, or 27 per cent, expecting less work in 2025, with more than a third, or 35 per cent, remaining concerned about rising material costs and ongoing concerns in the industry around labour shortages. The number of contractors worried about that dropped to 41 per cent in 2025, which is down seven percentage points from a year ago.
The use of apprentices is on the rise, with almost two-thirds of contractors, or 64 per cent, which is 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, in comparison to 56 per cent in non-union companies.
The growing use of technology also 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 (AI) is still low, its use is spreading quickly at 18 per cent, an increase of seven percentage points from last year. One in five contractors also anticipate using AI in the next five years.
While AI is predominantly used for predictive analysis, it 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,” said 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.