This paper presents a new simulation approach of an AC electromagnetic contactor based on the Electromagnetic Transient Program (EMTP). To decouple the simulation from the magnetic circuit, the duality transformation technique is applied to transform the magnetic model into an electrical model. With this technique, the solutions of the proposed model are only on electric circuit, and model can interface directly with the surrounding components in EMTP. To enhance the model precision, both saturation and fringing flux effects are taken into account. Additionally, the estimation of general unknown parameters, namely shading ring resistance and load force, is proposed. The performance and accuracy of the proposed model are verified by comparing with finite element method (FEM) results and experiments. Finally, the model is applied for the case study of the sensitivity of a contactor during voltage sag. The results demonstrate good performance of the proposed model, and the approach can be further extended to other electromagnetic devices.