For the past 15 years, the Ontario Construction Secretariat's (OCS) Contractor Survey has captured the industry's business outlook for the coming year while monitoring critical issues affecting the industry. In addition to the annual business outlook, this year's Contractor Survey updates much of the data captured at regular intervals by the Ontario Construction Secretariat through the pandemic in the Coronavirus Contractor Survey Series.
This year, the study found that the outlook is more positive in the province's outer regions than the GTA, the opposite of last year, where contractors were most optimistic in the Toronto area. Alongside ongoing supply chain disruptions, the impact of the latest industry-wide shutdown and ensuring workers' and staff's health and safety were top of mind for contractors.
Regarding the status of construction activity and the financial impact of COVID-19, contractors reported that 35% of their work was stopped, the highest rate of stoppages reported since May. Overall, contractors forecasted that in 2021, revenue would decline by -2% compared to 2020.
You can download a full copy of the OCS 2021 Contractor Survey by clicking here.