The General Contractors Association of Ottawa was founded in 1971 and was granted Letters of Patent by the Government of Ontario in 1982.

Its principal "Objectives" include the following:

• To foster and advance General Contractors’ business interests.
• To promote fair and equitable tendering and contract administration procedures.
• To liaise with owners, architects and consulting engineers.
• To provide useful information flow to the management of member firms.

The GCAO conducts joint meetings on tendering practices and contract provisions with the City of Ottawa, universities and school and hospital boards.

The GCAO provides General Contractors with representation on:

• The Ottawa Valley Bid Depository.
• BILCO-Ottawa joint committee with the Ottawa Regional Society of Architects and the Ottawa chapter of the Consulting Engineers of Ontario, Building Owners and Manager’s Association and International Facilities Management Association.

The GCAO makes representations on a project basis over infractions of approved tendering practices such as:

• Non-refundable deposits for tendering documents.
• Specified use of obsolete CCDC contract forms.
• Inadequate mark-ups for additional work.
• Excessive Specification of Supplementary General Conditions.

The GCAO hosts an Annual Reception at which members mingle informally with owners, politicians, public officials, architects and consulting engineers.

The GCAO conducts two General Membership Meetings and two social events each year.

The GCAO issues four quarterly newsletters to the membership, supplemented by special bulletins as appropriate.

The GCAO monitors Ontario/Quebec construction tendering regulations.

The GCAO sponsors an Integrity and Ethics Award to honour those who have demonstrated high standards in the industry.

The GCAO board of directors is representative of a cross-section of General Contractors in terms of size and specialties, each Director is responsible for a "portfolio".