Canada's Top 100 Employers (2026) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 34
38
( 2026 )
SPONSOR CONTENT
Opportunity is a benefit at Graham Construction
W
hen a company
is growing
as quickly
as Graham
Construction,
it’s no surprise that it rewards its
employees with opportunities.
Corey Smart is vice president
of operations in the Services
Division, having joined Graham
when his employer was acquired
by the Calgary-based company.
“For some folks, advancement
is moving up the food chain,
but I think the more interesting
advancement opportunities are
how do we get people into a new
part of their career,” he says.
“The most rewarding part of my
career has not been taking on
higher-level roles necessarily, but
broader roles, roles in a different
part of the business, or maybe a
completely new geography that
brings new opportunities.”
Alex Trifunov, pre-construction
manager at Graham’s Vancouver
office, agrees. “I spend a lot of
time figuring out who’s available
and who has the right expertise
to deliver our projects, whether
they’re here, or in Toronto, or
Manitoba,” he says.
Graham’s list of projects
is broad, with offices across
Canada and in the United States.
The company works on major
infrastructure and advanced
industrial facilities, as well as
world-class commercial and
community developments.
“It provides a lot of opportunity
for those folks to do interesting
projects across the country, and
experience new places,” Trifunov
says. “I started in Calgary, but
I moved here when we had a
project-based need that aligned
with my life plan of getting out to
the coast. I got that opportunity
because of Graham’s integration
across the country.”
Everyone wants to do
right by everyone else.
— Alex Trifunov
Pre-Construction Manager,
Vancouver
Employees at Graham Construction have access to a wide array of opportunities and projects across the
country and beyond.
Graham became employeeowned in 1985 when its workers
bought the company from the
family who founded it in 1926 to
build railway stations. Smart says
employee ownership plays a big
part in the company’s corporate
culture.
“I’ve worked for a lot of
companies that were large,
publicly-traded multinationals,
and Graham just has a different
outlook on how they think of
their people,” he says. “It allows
us to think in the longer term, but
from a people standpoint it really
brings a different perspective on
how you think about the people
working for you, because those are
also your owners.”
“Everyone wants to do right by
everyone else,” Trifunov says. “I
think employee ownership makes
a big impact there.”
Graham’s projects range all over
the country and across the border.
They include commuter rail
projects, water treatment facilities,
health care facilities, roads and
bridges, office and residential
