After almost three decades at the helm of the Ottawa Construction Association, president and general manager John DeVries will retire after the organization’s annual general meeting in March 2026.
DeVries joined the OCA in the summer of 1998, arguably one of the most challenging periods in the association’s history.
Coming out of the recession of the mid-1990s, OCA was in a fragile state. Membership had dipped below 700 firms, the association’s finances were turning in the wrong direction, and its value proposition to members was unclear. Also, a political dispute between Ontario and Quebec over companies’ and workers’ access to construction opportunities had OCA in the glare of the media spotlight.
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“That was the environment I was thrown into,” DeVries said in a recent interview with OBJ. “I recall we had then-premier Mike Harris speak at one of the first annual general meetings I hosted. It was one of the best-attended meetings OCA had ever held.”
Although the dispute was acrimonious at times, DeVries said constructive change followed: contractors and workers on both sides of the border got freer access to working opportunities.
Constructive change is perhaps one of the ways to characterize DeVries’ legacy at OCA. During his tenure, OCA reorganized its corporate structure, managed its finances, and defined a clear value proposition to members. Now, with just under 1,200 member firms, OCA is among the largest business networking groups in Ottawa and the largest local construction association in Canada by member volume.
A good dose of construction growth across the city helped. In 2000, the City of Ottawa issued $1 billion worth of building permits for the first time in history, spurred by a booming tech sector. Permit values in the past six years have consistently exceeded three times that figure, with growth across all sectors of the economy.
Amid a blizzard of activity, OCA carved out a reputation for its education and training programs. Its training centre on Bronson Avenue and now Antares Drive became a hub for members looking for networking opportunities, current news, safety training and professional development courses.
Less attention-grabbing but no less important, DeVries said, has been the time he and countless volunteers put into advocacy work in the form of regular meetings with key purchasers of construction services: the City of Ottawa, the federal government, as well as local school boards, colleges and universities.
“One of my earliest goals was to open those lines of communication and to keep them open so purchasers could understand the perspectives of the companies that build their assets,” DeVries said.Â
“I’m proud of the work we’ve done with the City of Ottawa in particular. At $600 million a year, the city is one of the largest local purchasers of construction services. OCA meets quarterly with its procurement team to share information and keep those channels open. We don’t always get what we want out of those meetings, but the discussions are always constructive.”
Away from the jobsite, OCA established a reputation for philanthropy. In the past 27 years, it has contributed millions of dollars to organizations across the community. DeVries said two initiatives stand out.
“The first was the work our members did to raise $7.5 million in support of the capital campaign to build the Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence at Algonquin College,” he said. “Our work helped bring the college’s construction trades training programs together into a state-of-the-art building at the entrance of the college’s campus.”
The second was OCA’s 2014 Chair’s Reception, at which the association announced a contribution of $250,000 in support of The Royal’s Campaign for Mental Health. The event featured emotional discussions from then-TSN broadcaster Michael Landsberg and then-OCA board member Doug Burnside about their respective struggles with mental health and the importance of raising awareness of mental illness.
The evening was capped off with an announcement by then-OCA chair Paul McCarney that he would personally match OCA’s contribution. A further contribution of $500,000 followed from Site Preparation Limited’s partners Kathleen Grimes and Ersin Ozerdinc. In just a matter of hours, OCA and its members had raised $1 million for a cause that, at the time, was on the margins of the construction sector.
“It was like an evening in a revival tent,” DeVries recalled. “I’ll never forget it. And as OCA grew financially, it was in a good position to take on opportunities to support other groups across the community.”
As he looks toward retirement, DeVries said it’s the people he’ll miss the most.
“Construction people are great people. They’re decision-makers. They’re straight shooters and they don’t tolerate nonsense,” he said. “I’ll miss working with them, day in and day out. And I can’t say enough about the great staff at OCA, who are the association’s backbone and without whom I wouldn’t be sitting here today.”
