Named one of Canada's Most Powerful Women, Natasha Ferguson blazing trail in the trades
January 4, 2023
Just a few minutes into the meeting for a roofing job, the interviewer walked out on Natasha Ferguson.
“I took an Uber during a blizzard to go to this reputable roofing company,” she recalled. “I was very upset with how I was treated by this man and when I went home and told my mom what happened, she recounted some of her racist experiences when she first came here from Jamaica.”
This was not the first time that Ferguson was treated with disdain while trying to secure work in the trades.
On one occasion, she had to defend herself against a contractor who threatened her with a hammer on a worksite.
“It was horrible and it got to the stage where I became fed up and decided things have to change,” Ferguson said.
The number of women working in skilled trades in Canada is very low. For Black women, it is far more difficult to penetrate the field.
As the only woman in Canada running a full-service construction company, Ferguson is counting her blessings.
In 2021, the Canadian Business Review Board named EthelFox Construct one of the Best Businesses in Canada and Ferguson was selected to take part in the Starter Company Plus Program offered through Enterprise Toronto.
Last November, she was celebrated as one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada.
Ferguson is grateful for the Women Executive Network recognition.
“I never thought I would get an award for something I love so much,” she said. “This is one for the books and I know mom would be super proud of me.”
At a very young age, Ferguson was introduced to the trades by her Jamaican-born father, Telbert Edwards, who lives in St. Vincent & the Grenadines.
Natasha Ferguson at work on a job site (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“As far back as age five, he took me to his job sites and had me doing wall paper and other crazy things,” she recounted. “I have always been a tinker even though I went into Marketing & Communications.
About 13 years ago, she jumped back into the trades with her ex-husband, who was a roofer and carpenter, and launched a company.
“While roofing may be a dying trade, I saw possibilities and opportunities to make money,” she said. “Whose house does not have a roof? That is a lucrative business. I also learnt how to set tiles, how to tape and mud drywall and how to frame. As my business has expanded, I have brought more tradespeople into the fold and I am concentrating more on managing. Sometimes, my senior managers will remind me I don’t have to work at a site, but I do because I have to keep my skill set sharp.”
When her former husband went to work for a union, she stuck with the business. They also opened a landscaping company.
“Both of those were seasonal, so we would be super poor every winter and I would have to return to Corporate Communications,” the former Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) sprint champion noted. “In winter, I got contracts for ad agencies and when spring came, I hopped back into construction which I thought I could excel in as I had some trades under my belt and a solid business acumen.”
Four months after her daughter’s birth, Ferguson was back on a worksite.
In her 40s with a baby and a mom diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer, she decided to take the leap and become her own boss.
“I did that after several failed attempts trying to get work in construction,” said Ferguson who was a keynote speaker at the Canadian Coalition of Women in Engineering, Science, Trades & Technology biennial conference in Halifax last May. “Besides me being a woman, I was subjected to all forms of sexist remarks and racism. The other thing that bothered me is I was busting my tail in the Corporate Communications industry and my Caucasian colleagues, who were doing far less than me, were getting ahead when the time came for promotions.”
Already running a company on a small scale, she expanded and rebranded.
EthelFox Construct, a full-service construction company, emerged.
It specializes in kitchen & bathroom remodeling, cabinet refurbishing & painting, high-end painting & textures, wallpaper removals & installations, crown molding, drywall installation, tiling & flooring and custom interior/exterior home renovation.
When necessary, Natasha Ferguson steps in and gets the job done (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“We do pretty much everything in the build and renovation space,” Ferguson, who enjoys singing and dancing, said. “On the design level, I work with my own architects and engineers.”
EthelFox is a combination of her mother’s middle name (Marian Osbourne passed away in November 2020) and her four-year-old daughter Fox.
Running your own business can be challenging as Ferguson soon found out.
“I would come home full of dirt and exhausted and then jump on the computer to create and design logos,” said the multimedia artist. “Mom helped me choose the logo for the company. Even though she didn’t use her middle name because she didn’t like it, she was very happy that one of her names is attached to my company.”
During the November 17 WXN awards gala at Fairmont Royal York Toronto, Ferguson’s late mother was very much in her thoughts.
“She was very spiritual and connected to God,” said her daughter. “She has this strong relationship with him. Some of the things she said before she passed have come to fruition. I feel she is up there pulling strings for me as she said she would. This was a beautiful woman with an impeccable work ethic. This award is for my mom and my Black sisters who have struggled to get into construction.”
Using her profile and platform offers Ferguson opportunities to uplift her community.
Frustrated by the limited selection of women work clothes in a retail store, she started ‘A Women’s Work’ a week after her mother’s passing.
“I remember going home and venting when that happened and mom said, ‘Why don’t you change it and do something’,” Ferguson said. “I promised her I would. We advocate for women in the trades by offering self-esteem, pre-apprenticeship and entrepreneurship programs. The goal is to increase the number of women in the industry in Canada. It is 12 per cent in Canada and about seven per cent in Ontario. I want to see about 100 women graduating from our program who will go into my company projects and other partnering construction firms.”
The first cohort of eight female students participated in a series of three sessions over four weeks, ending on December 16. The in-person training takes place at EthelFox Construct headquarters at 10 Industrial St. in East York.
“My mandate is to get women into the trades,” Ferguson said. “I don’t feel the government is doing enough. Nobody cares about job fairs. Where we are at in this world, people have the attention span of a gnat. You have to understand what the industry has to offer before you start throwing people into situations. If I can train you for eight weeks to drywall at a level where you can patch holes and make $45 hourly is something most people would not be aware of because they are not educated on the industry and what it has to offer. The government does not provide sufficient information about the industry that can be given to people so they can grasp the opportunities that exist.”
Deshan Lewis has been EthelFox Construct Site Manager the last 10 months.
Natasha Ferguson and site manager Deshan Lewis (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“Working with clients daily can be challenging, but having Natasha who could figure things out and get everyone back on track is reassuring,” he said. “Some of the male workers we hire try to take advantage of Natasha, but that doesn’t happen because she knows the business. If you are not doing your job properly, she will let you know. She is also fair and really good at creating ideas.”
EthelFox Construct Group also includes Sky Limitless Roofing, TKO Demolition, SkyGarden Landscaping and the soon to be launched PBF Electrical.
