The Voice for New Brunswick’s Open Shop Construction Contractors
Delivering Membership Value Since 2001

The New Brunswick Merit Contractors Association is part of the North American Association of Open Shop "Non-Union Contractors" who have been active in Canada since 1986.

The Canadian Association, also known as The Merit Contractors Association, began in Alberta. It has expanded across Canada and now boasts a total of approximately 3,500 open-shop member companies. These companies, which are spread from British Columbia to Newfoundland, employ over 50,000 construction trades-persons. In 2008, they performed over 100 million person-hours of work in the Canadian construction industry. The Canadian Association continues to grow daily. The Association exists to provide human resource services and programs for member companies and their employees.

All open-shop construction companies who participate in the Canadian construction sector can be eligible to join the Merit Contractors Association through one of the provincial bodies. The Association's emphasis is on training needs, placement of field workers, access to employment, advocacy and a comprehensive and very affordable benefit program for member companies and their employees to mention a few of the services provided.

In the New Brunswick construction industry, "Open Shop" contractors and their skilled trades-persons play a vital role. Our market includes all of construction from the industrial, commercial, institutional, residential and the road-building sectors. The industrial sector remains predominately union which amounts to approximately 85% of the work completed in this sector. Open Shop contractors and their employees however complete over 80% of the construction in rest of the sectors and as a matter of interest, in New Brunswick the open shop contractors employ over 85% of the apprentices who work in the Provinces Construction Industry.

Our present New Brunswick government has stated that they wish to make New Brunswick a self-sufficient Province by 2026. This is commendable and the challenge will be to achieve this goal.

Members of the Open Shop New Brunswick Merit Contractors Association and their employees, like government, have a vested interest in the future of our province. All present and future members of the NB Merit Contractors Association do look forward to a vibrant and profitable future in the construction sector of New Brunswick.

We do urge all participants of our construction industry to be aware and Work Safe so that they return home to loved ones and friends at the end of each working day.