Canada's Building Trades Unions Information

Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CBTU) is the national voice of over half a million Canadian construction workers—members of 14 international unions who work in more than 60 different trades and occupations, and generate 14 percent of this country’s GDP. Officially CBTU is the Canadian Office of the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO (BCTD). We work closely with our American counterparts to coordinate and support the work of our affiliates. We are also active in the American Federation of Labor – Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), which works to ensure decent pay and benefits, safe jobs, respect and fair treatment for more than 12 million members of 56 unions throughout North America. OUR MISSION Our mission is to represent all workers in the building, construction, fabrication and maintenance industry and support their efforts to improve their working conditions and quality of life. In pursuit of our goals we continuously seek to build our workforce and strengthen our industry. We build our workforce by fostering pride, performance, and professionalism in the trades, and by supporting training that prepares our members for life-long career opportunities. We also strive to ensure that the construction industry offers the most financially satisfying and personally rewarding career path open to young Canadians. We strengthen our industry by providing solutions that meet the challenges of our changing, energy-conscious world, and by delivering unmatched value for contractors and owners—proving that developing a partnership with Canada’s Building Trades Unions is the best investment they will ever make.