Demolition and renovation are where the money is for a lot of Ontario contractors. They are also where the biggest hidden liability lives, because any building put up before the 1990s can contain asbestos. Disturb it without the right process and you are exposing your crew, your client, and your business to serious health and legal risk.
This guide is a practical overview of how asbestos rules shape demolition and renovation work in Ontario, written for small and mid-sized contractors who do this work every week.
Why asbestos still matters in 2026
Canada brought in a comprehensive ban on manufacturing, importing, and selling asbestos and asbestos-containing products in 2018. But the ban does not remove the asbestos already sitting inside the existing building stock — in drywall compound, vinyl tile, pipe insulation, vermiculite, textured ceilings, roofing, and dozens of other materials.
Asbestos is dangerous only when fibres become airborne, which is exactly what cutting, breaking, sanding, and tearing out materials during demolition and renovation does. That is why the regulations focus so heavily on the work you do, not just the material itself.
The designated substance survey comes first
In Ontario, asbestos on construction projects and in buildings is governed by Regulation 278/05 under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Before demolition or significant renovation begins, the building owner is responsible for determining whether asbestos-containing materials are present — typically through a designated substance survey.
Under the Act, the owner must also provide the list of designated substances (including asbestos) to every contractor bidding on or doing the work. For you as the contractor, the rule of thumb is simple: do not start breaking things on an older building until you have that survey in hand. "We assumed it was clean" is not a defence.
Know your three work types
Regulation 278/05 sorts asbestos work into three classes based on how likely the work is to release fibres. Each class has its own required controls:
- Type 1 — lower-risk operations such as handling intact, non-friable materials with minimal disturbance.
- Type 2 — moderate-risk work like removing certain non-friable materials or limited drilling, requiring more containment and protection.
- Type 3 — high-risk operations such as removing friable (crumbling) sprayed-on insulation, requiring full enclosures, negative-air units, decontamination facilities, and the strictest controls.
Type 3 operations require advance written notice to the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development before work starts. Misclassifying a job as Type 1 when it is really Type 3 is one of the most common — and most expensive — mistakes contractors make.
Training, equipment, and disposal are not optional
Workers and supervisors who do Type 2 and Type 3 asbestos work must have mandatory training. Crews need proper respiratory protection and protective clothing, and the worksite needs the containment that matches the work type.
Asbestos waste is designated hazardous waste. As a rule it must be kept wet to suppress dust, sealed in clearly labelled, double polyethylene bags or containers, and taken only to a receiving site approved to accept it. It cannot go in a regular demolition bin.
Build compliance into your project workflow
The contractors who handle asbestos well do not rely on memory. They make it part of the job file: survey attached before the quote, work type documented, training records on hand, disposal manifests saved, and client sign-off captured. When everything lives in one project record instead of a glovebox and three phones, an audit or an insurance question becomes a five-minute answer instead of a panic.
That same discipline protects your margin. Asbestos abatement is billable, specialized work — but only if it is scoped and documented before demolition starts, not discovered halfway through and absorbed as an unpriced surprise.
This article is general information, not legal or safety-compliance advice. Always confirm current requirements with the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development and a qualified asbestos professional before starting work.