All major headwinds point to success

By Robin Brunet

Tristan Bertram, director of industry affairs for the Thermal Insulation Association of Canada, regards 2026 as an exciting time for the country’s construction industry.

“Overall, the construction industry was fairly strong in 2025, and it appears it will remain strong this year and for the foreseeable future, with lots of employment opportunities,” he explains. “I’m especially excited by what I’m hearing from Ottawa, which seems committed to backing big projects and other work that will improve our resilience as a country.”

There’s good cause to hope that 2026 will be a repeat of the previous year. In 2025, the Canadian construction sector grew by 0.24 percent even as the national economy contracted, according to the Canadian Construction Association (CAA), with the growth fueled by the federal government’s nation-building focus.

Canada’s new home construction rebounded later in the year, with housing starts rising 14 percent in September, thanks partly to lower bank rates and again in the face of challenging market conditions (not the least of which include the tariff wars between Canada and the United States).

But the CAA acknowledged the severity of the headwinds, with president, Rodrigue Gilbert pointing out, “Rising costs, workforce shortages, and trade uncertainty are making it harder for companies to plan, bid, and deliver the projects that Canadians depend on.”

The CCA also warned that the “Buy Canadian” procurement rules for federal projects, which took effect in November, could negatively impact construction timelines and costs. It calls for consultation with downstream industries, including construction, to ensure that domestic sourcing policies strengthen rather than constrain the ability to build.

The Canadian construction sector employs more than 1.6 million people and contributes 7.5 per cent of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product. Unsurprisingly, finding and training newcomers to the sector remains a priority. “Huge infrastructure projects, such as the LNG Canada facility in British Columbia, really impacted labor supply because so many skilled tradespeople were required for these jobs,” Bertram says. “We’re also motivated by a recent BuildForce Canada study showing that by 2030, the biggest trade-specific labor deficit in the country’s labor force will be insulators.”

Thanks to government grants, TIAC is assisting with training initiatives in Alberta and is currently busy developing course content. “We’re also committed to advancing on-going education on a professional level,” Bertram says.

Sean Strickland, executive director of Canada’s Building Trades Union (CBTU), names major projects that will require a substantial number of well-trained unionized workers. “The most notable ones include LNG Canada Phase 2 and the Red Chris Mine in British Columbia, the Darlington Nuclear and Crawford Nickel projects in Ontario, the Contrecoeur Terminal in Quebec, and the Nukkiksautiit Hydro project in Nunavut,” he says.

CBTU, which is the national voice for more than 600,000 Canadian skilled trades construction workers, has scored big wins in laying the groundwork necessary for an expanded workforce to be able to take full advantage of job opportunities across the country. In January, the Ontario government announced a collaborative effort (between CBTU and the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development) to harmonize national safety standards for construction workers by adopting best practices and the highest standards to ensure work is performed safely

The resolution aims to support Canada’s construction workers by the dismantling barriers preventing them from easily moving between provinces to work on projects. It addresses the challenge of varying health and safety certification standards across Canada, recognizing that interprovincial recertification costs time and money and causes unnecessary delays to critical project progression.

When it comes to the issue of trades shortages, Strickland says the discussion needs to be recast to consider how the existing skilled trades labor force can be optimized from coast to coast. He argues that shortages are skills-specific and depend on the size and type of projects and their location, among other factors. To address this issue, CBTU increasingly converses with larger project owners who disclose what kinds of tradespeople they need, how many, and where and when they need them. “And we’re continuing that process in 2026,” he says. “The industry needs to continue its ongoing efforts to recruit and retain more apprentices for the long-term sustainability of the construction industry and the Canadian economy.”

In the meantime, Strickland shares Bertram’s sentiment that the federal liberals under Prime Minister Mark Carney are committed to a strong unionized construction sector. “To take just one example, the budget for the Union Training and Innovation Program has doubled to $150 million under his leadership and, equally important, he is open to discussions about determining the prevailing wage,” he says.

Perhaps recognizing the sheer volume of upcoming major projects, provincial governments are also taking action to reduce red tape. The Council of Ontario Construction Associations recently applauded the Ontario government for allowing certified professionals from other Canadian jurisdictions to start working within ten business days, for up to six months, by having their certification recognized faster with the province’s regulatory authority while completing their full registration. 

“Everything seems to be going gangbusters across the country,” Strickland says, noting that in addition to mining and other resource and infrastructure projects, Canada is busy with new nuclear facility proposals and wind and solar power projects.

“But it’s up to organizations across Canada and locally to turn the promise of these jobs into reality,” he concludes. “So we’ll continue to maintain our presence at the table, hopeful that we’ll see meaningful growth and major project approvals soon.” ♣