Bennet Winer is the winner of AWMAC Ontario’s 2026 Apprenticeship Contest held at Conestoga College in Kitchener, Ontario on March 21.
There were a total of seven participants ready to compete and show off their skills.
Second place went to Matthew Gonzalez, of Wood Studio (Humber Grad) and Alex Comeau of Humber College came in third.
The contest is an opportunity for contestants to show off their woodworking skills and compete with their peers for cash prizes and get their name known in the industry.
The winning project from the Ontario event will automatically be sent to AWMAC’s National Convention where it will be judged for a national award.
The contest is open to apprentices and or recent graduates.
From left: Derek Engel, Conestoga College; Matthew Gonzalez, Wood Studio (Humber Grad); Alex Thorne, Convoy Custom Interiors (Humber Grad); Aaron Comeau, Humber College; Bennet Winer, Conestoga College; Noah Williams, Conestoga College; Rachel Loree, Conestoga College; Steve Bader, instructor at Conestoga College.
Each competitor received drawings, specifications and instructions for their project seven days in advance of the contest. Participants were required to build a cabinet from materials provided. The event began at 7 a.m. with the contestant’s set-up, followed by orientation and safety instructions and the actual competition got underway at 8 a.m. and the end time was 6 p.m.
The competition was judged by Patricia Muncan of CCW, Aiden McQuaid of Bez Architectural Woodwork and Tim Chapman of DCL Woodworking.
Event sponsors were Blum Canada, Baywood, CCW, Planit Canada and Bez Architectural Woodwork, Upper Canada Forest Products, Richelieu Hardware, Alexandria Moulding, Formica, Savignac, Inter-All and ISPA and Pro-Ply.
There were cash prizes for the top three winners. First place received $1,000, second place $500, and third place $250.
All participants received a certificate of participation and food & beverages were also provided.
