The spirit of progress and collaboration drove the ACSA 2025 Conference, held November 5-6 at Calgary’s BMO Centre. About 400 industry leaders, workers and safety advocates came together under the theme, Safety Foundations: Constructing a Culture of Excellence, to explore how innovation and connection are shaping safe, productive worksites now and for the next generation of workers across Alberta.
Cantiro Senior Organizational Health and Safety Advisor Nicole Linman said, “Each year, this conference reinforces something our industry has long understood — progress is built on learning from the past and carrying those lessons forward with intention.”
Innovation in action
Now in the second year of its Five-Year Strategic Plan, ACSA members, staff and partners used the conference to advance the conversation from compliance to capability — focusing on how the industry is reframing how it thinks, does and measures safety. ACSA CEO Mark Hoosein mentioned, “The program reflected what members asked for over the past year: practical tools, real case studies and space to question what needs to change.”
Keynote speaker Mark Breslin, author and CEO of Breslin Strategies, challenged attendees to embrace their ability to champion change as a pathway to safer and stronger companies. Breakout sessions turned these ideas into practical action, giving employers and crews tools they can take back to their sites. Sessions led by Dr. Ali Golabchi of the Construction Innovation Centre, Tiana Field-Ridley and Trevor Moses of Opening Minds and Shawn Gray of ConstructIQ Advisory gave companies ways to evaluate new technologies, strengthen psychological health and safety and use artificial intelligence to identify risks and streamline processes without replacing human judgment on site.
New this year, the Safety Spotlight featured five 10-minute presentations from Alberta researchers, delivered through ACSA’s growing partnerships with post-secondary institutions. The session showed how advances in safety science and training are preparing the next generation of tradespeople and how those ideas can translate into safer tasks and stronger crews.
Collaboration across the province
The ACSA Partners Panel brought together leaders from industry and our partners to discuss shared challenges, from mentorship and onboarding to the ongoing effort to reduce injuries among first-year workers.
“Safety isn’t just compliance — it’s performance,” said ACSA CEO Mark Hoosein. “A safer job site is a stronger, more successful business. Every time we reduce injuries, we strengthen trust, improve retention and reinforce Alberta’s reputation for excellence.”
BILD Calgary Region CEO Brian Hahn, a panellist at the conference, added, “Working safely, quality and productivity all go together. There’s nothing more sustainable you can do than make sure your workers go home safely.”
Members saw that mindset reflected in ACSA’s Injury Prevention Campaign, which produced more than 25 practical resources targeting common incidents such as falls and back strain, and in Crew Brew, a program that takes safety conversations directly to job sites across Alberta.
Recognizing excellence
The event concluded with the Safety Excellence Awards, celebrating companies and individuals setting new standards in safety leadership. Their stories showed what is possible when Alberta’s construction community works together, regardless of size, location or trade. Claims data and feedback from supervisors, health and safety practitioners and apprentices at outreach events shaped these efforts, and ACSA is sharing the tools so members can test them on site and send feedback through conference and campaign surveys or by emailing info@youracsa.ca to guide the next round of improvements.
Looking ahead
Across more than 57,000 member companies, over 25,000 workers completed ACSA training in 2024 as the association continued to help businesses of all sizes strengthen their safety systems, mindsets and daily practices through programs such as the Certificate of Recognition (COR) and Small Employer COR (SECOR).
ACSA invites all industry members to join next year’s conference to learn, connect and bring back practical ideas their teams can use, because when safety is built into every decision, excellence follows. Save the date: October 28 and 29 at Edmonton’s JW Marriott ICE District.
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