EllisDon is an employee-owned construction services company that was founded and incorporated in 1951 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada, by brothers Don and David Ellis Smith. The company is headquartered in

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

, Ontario, Canada.

History

YorkUniversitySubwayConstruction4-DLighting

Founding

In 1951, EllisDon was launched by brothers Don and David Ellis Smith as a local contractor in

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

1951–1989

Between 1956 and 1968, EllisDon computerized its accounting and cost control systems, and operated a purchased tower crane – the first construction company in Canada to do both. In 1971, EllisDon launched a Corporate Safety Strategy to improve job site safety. Between 1974 and 1976, the company expanded, establishing operations in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

and in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. Since then EllisDon has expanded its current operations to its offices around the world. Once EllisDon was awarded the Construction Management Contract for the

Metro Toronto Convention Centre Metro Toronto Convention Centre (originally and still colloquially Metro Convention Centre, and sometimes MTCC), is a convention complex located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada along Front Street (Toronto), Front Street West in the former Railway Lan ...

project in 1982, it moved on to build the

SkyDome Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a retractable roof stadium in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it is home to ...

(renamed Rogers Centre in 2005). This project was completed in 1989, and was the world's first retractable rooftop stadium.

1990–2003

In 1990, EllisDon established the construction industry's first freestanding Research and Development Department. Following that, EllisDon in 1993 became the first Canadian company to build in

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

and

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

following the removal of the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...

in the USSR. In 1997, EllisDon completed its first project in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. In 1996, Don Smith's son, Geoff Smith – who joined the company as a full-time employee in 1982 – became EllisDon's president and CEO.

2004–present

In 2004, EllisDon participated in a new hospital funding model, a public-private partnership (PPP) with the $450 million William Osler Health Centre in Brampton, Ontario. EllisDon delivered Toronto's MaRS (Medical and Related Services) Convergence Centre (Building B) in 2005. In 2008, EllisDon completed construction and installation work in the

Dubai Waterfront The Dubai Waterfront (now known as ''Waterfront''; ) was expected to become the largest waterfront and largest man-made development in the world. The project was a conglomeration of canals and artificial archipelago; it would occupy the last ...

, the largest waterfront development of its kind in the world. In 2010, EllisDon completed Winnipeg International Airport Terminal Building, Canada's first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified airport terminal. In June 2016, EllisDon launched The Carbon Impact Initiative Action Plan in support of Canada's international climate change commitments. Industry executives, in collaboration with government leaders, established the initiative outlining strategies to transform the market toward a

low-carbon economy A low-carbon economy (LCE) is an economy which absorbs as much greenhouse gas as it emits. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to human activity are the dominant cause of observed climate change since the mid-20th century. There are many proven ...

. Mohawk College's Joyce Centre for Partnership and Innovation Building is Ontario's first net-zero institutional building as well as the first pilot project under the Carbon Impact Initiative. In March 2018, EllisDon acquired the interests of joint venture partner Carillion (in liquidation in the UK) in four Ontario hospital projects, becoming the sole service provider at Royal Ottawa Hospital,

Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital The Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital is a full-service acute care community hospital located at 3001 Hospital Gate in Oakville, Ontario, Oakville, Ontario. It offers a comprehensive range of primary and secondary care services in addition to s ...

, Brampton Civic Hospital and Sault Area Hospital. In June 2023, Geoff Smith was succeeded as President and CEO by Kieran Hawe, previously COO. Geoff Smith remains Executive Chair of the Board of Directors. EllisDon began the demolition and revitalization of

Ontario Place Ontario Place was an entertainment venue, event venue, and park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The venue is located on three artificial landscaped islands just off-shore in Lake Ontario, south of Exhibition Place, and southwest of Downtown Toron ...

in 2024.

Selected projects

Alternative energy *

Alberta Children's Hospital Alberta Children's Hospital (ACH) is a children's hospital located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and operated by the Calgary Health Region of Alberta Health Services. It originally opened on May 19, 1922 as the Junior Red Cross Children's Hospital ...

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

, Alberta * Toronto South Detention Centre - Toronto, Ontario Civil and transportation * Highway 7 East Rapidway (H3) - Vivanext - York Region, Ontario * Ottawa Light Rail Transit (LRT) Confederation Line -

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Ontario *

Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

improvements -

Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the primary public transport agency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operating the majority of the city's transit bus, bus and rail services. It is the oldest and largest of the urban transit service providers ...

(TTC) - Toronto, Ontario Commercial office/retail * Brentwood Town Centre redevelopment - Burnaby, B.C. *

Yorkdale Shopping Centre Yorkdale Shopping Centre is a shopping mall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at the southwest corner of the Ontario Highway 401, Highway 401 and Allen Road interchange. It spans of selling space and has sales of per square foot ( per square metre ...

- Toronto, Ontario Culture and recreation * Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport - Toronto, Ontario * Halifax Central Library - Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

Rogers Centre Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a retractable roof stadium in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it is home to t ...

(formerly Skydome) - Toronto, Ontario * Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan -

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

Education * Nova Scotia Community College, Centre for the Built Environment - Dartmouth, Nova Scotia * Western University, Richard Ivey School of Business - London, Ontario Healthcare and research *

- Calgary, Alberta *

Surrey Memorial Hospital Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH) is a publicly funded hospital owned and operated by Fraser Health in the city of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, adjacent to King George Boulevard. Overview Surrey Memorial Hospital began operations in early 1959 ...

- Surrey, B.C. Industrial and automotive *

American Motors American Motors Corporation (AMC; commonly referred to as American Motors) was an American automobile manufacturing company formed by the mergers and acquisitions, merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company on May 1, 19 ...

Brampton Assembly Plant - Brampton, Ontario (1987) Public and government * Hamilton City Hall renovations -

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, Ontario *

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (), colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern bank of the Ottawa River that houses the Parliament of Canada in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. It accommodates a suite of Gothic revival buildings whose ...

, West Block demolition and abatement - Ottawa, Ontario Residential and hospitality * Hyatt Regency Toronto

Recognition

* 2018 Renew Canada's Top 100 Infrastructure Projects. Achieved Platinum Status. * 2018 Mediacorp's Top 100 Employers (8th consecutive year). * 2017 Mediacorp Canada's Greenest Employers * 2017 Deloitte 50 Best Managed Companies * 2016 Canada's Safest Employer * 2016 ''Financial Post''s Ten Best Companies To Work For

References

External links

*{{official, https://www.ellisdon.com/
''Building on a foundation of entrepreneurship''
at the

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

Companies based in Mississauga Construction and civil engineering companies of Canada Privately held companies of Canada Employee-owned companies of Canada 1951 establishments in Ontario Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1951 Canadian companies established in 1951