Company History

Black & McDonald was founded in 1921 as a partnership between William John (W.J.) McDonald and William R. Black, primarily engaged in simple residential electrical wiring. In the early years, when they often traveled from one job to the next on foot, Black & McDonald established its long-standing commitment to fairness, quality, its people, and its clients.

In 1946, following death of William Black the ownership of the company was consolidated within the McDonald family. Today, the company remains 100% owned by the McDonald family.

By the early 1950s, Black & McDonald was well known as a respected commercial and industrial electrical contractor with a solid customer base in the Toronto Region.  This solid foundation, coupled with the development of a strong management team, formed the platform for the expansion of the company both in product offerings and in geographic areas served.

By the early 1970s, Black & McDonald was a true national company with a service offering that, in addition to electrical contracting, now included mechanical contracting, sheet metal fabrication, HVAC equipment maintenance and repair, and utility contracting.

In the 1980s, the company added the Facility Management & Operations product line with a contract at the Commerce Court office complex in downtown Toronto.

In the 1990s, the expansion of Black & McDonald continued. Through a joint venture with AMEC, the company developed construction and maintenance expertise in the offshore oil and gas market in Atlantic Canada. The 1990s also saw the entry of Black & McDonald into the US utility contracting market through the start up of CLS.

In the 2000s, the company has continued to grow both organically and through strategic acquisitions. Additional capabilities added include industrial and recreational refrigeration service through Diamond, Instrumentation and Valve Testing through Land & Sea, and representation in the province of Saskatchewan through ICBM and ICM.

Today, the company does over $500 million in sales annually and has over 3,000 employees. Across North America, the company has more than 20 offices.

Going forward, Black & McDonald’s strategy continues to be to grow in a planned and profitable manner by operating with integrity and loyalty to our employees, customers, suppliers and the communities where we do business.