The 2025 Canada’s Safest Employers Awards were handed out on October 9 at a gala event held at the Toronto Metro Convention Centre. This year, the lauded occupational health and safety awards program featured three individual awards and 20 company and team awards, including the SafeStart Award for Canada’s Safest Employer for Young Workers.
This SafeStart-sponsored award recognizes an organization in any industry that has innovated ways to put unique practices in place to engage, train and mentor young workers while also displaying exemplary health and safety practices specifically targeted to workers under the age of 25.
“SafeStart is proud to sponsor Canada’s Safest Employer for Young Workers Award. Protecting young workers is one of the most important—and challenging—tasks for safety professionals,” said Barb Tait, CEO of SafeStart. “We’re thrilled to recognize and celebrate organizations that go above and beyond to safeguard this vulnerable group of employees.”
And the winner of the SafeStart Award for Canada’s Safest Employer for Young Workers is Rabcon Contractors Ltd!
Not only do we want to congratulate Rabcon Contractors Ltd., but all of the excellence awardees in this category, including the City of Surrey, Flomax Compression, Green Infrastructure Partners Inc., Memme Infrastructure Contractors, Pronghorn Controls, Techmation Electric & Controls Ltd., Township of Langley, and Utilities Kingston.
The awards process, from nomination to gala, was intense and meticulous. The call for nominations was open from February 24 to May 2, 2025, and was verified by the Canada’s Safest Employers Awards team. Those who were shortlisted provided a more detailed submission. Excellence awardees in each category were selected from the shortlist and officially announced in July 2025 on their website and promoted in Canadian Occupational Safety magazine and online channels. From there, submissions from those excellence awardees were forwarded to an independent judging panel, which determined the winners in each category by vote according to the relevant criteria. The winners were then announced at the gala event in Toronto.
Young workers experience a disproportionate rate of injury and harm, so employers must prioritize their safety. In addition to sponsoring the SafeStart Award for Canada’s Safest Employer for Young Workers, we’ve also produced a new guide to help you protect the newest members of your workforce by getting their first 90 days right.
Running through the onboarding checklist for new hires can be long and arduous, and it’s not uncommon for culture to get lost in the process. That can spell danger for young workers in particular. Download our free guide to the ins and outs of onboarding new workers and learn how to strengthen your organization’s culture while protecting the fresh faces on your team. From hazards to human factors, you’ll discover key tactics to bring people—especially young workers—up to speed on safety before they risk getting hurt on the job.