SMART members and union construction workers across Canada have their sights set on a bright future: Thanks to partnership with the federal government, huge investments are being made in Canadian infrastructure and the building trades. From nuclear energy to ongoing work on hospitals, data centers and beyond, enormous workforce demands are coming down the pipe.
That’s why it’s more important than ever for SMART local unions to continue growing their signatory contractor base, providing more work opportunities for members in every province. And that’s why the Education Department held its Top-Down Organizing class the week of July 20-24, 2026, in Ottawa, Ontario — the first class that SMART has held in Canada. (The department plans to return again in October and twice annually moving forward.)
The July class focused on the “top-down” organizing strategy — where the local union approaches a contractor directly — with a specific focus on developing organizing campaigns targeting non-union contractors. The main focus of the class was on how to understand the needs of non-union contractors and how to communicate with them to translate our principles into information they find valuable.
“Participants roleplayed interactions with the gatekeeper, delivered a custom-built elevator pitch, first meetings, and subsequent meetings with the contractors,” said SMART International Instructor Richard Mangelsdorf. “There was an emphasis on making sure you are always asking for the next meeting and getting it on the books before finishing the current one.”
There were around 20 exercises throughout the week, many of them involving peer evaluations/ranking and group evaluations/rankings. After mock exercises, participants debriefed with critical feedback to their peers, and class participants voted to determine the class winners. “Local 9,” consisting of Brent James (Local 47), Constance Pagnello (Local 269) and Michael Beaudoin (Local 285), came in third place; “Local 4,” consisting of Jimmy Jones (Local 30), Donald Phillipo and Jake Jordan (Local 276) came in second place; “Local 2,” consisting of Shannon Kilgar (Local 30), Tim Last and David Harrison (Local 537) came in first place. The overall individual winner was Tim Last.
“We hope participants took away valuable skills for approaching contractors using the top-down strategy, and that they all enjoyed the class,” said Mangelsdorf. “We look forward to returning to Canada in the fall!”
