Press Releases

Canada’s construction industry rebounds post-pandemic, with more muted growth to come

March 26, 2021

Ottawa – Construction requirements across Canada are expected to rebound in 2021 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and rise through the coming decade – albeit at more muted levels than in the past 10 years. The strength and pace of recovery, however, will vary among provinces, and will depend significantly on the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, the recovery in consumer and business confidence, the global demand for Canadian exports, and the lifting of restrictions on international travel. This is according to the latest labour market forecast released today by BuildForce Canada.

BuildForce Canada’s 2021–2030 Construction and Maintenance Looking Forward national report forecasts construction employment to rise by 64,900 workers over the next decade. This represents an increase of 6% over 2020 workforce levels. While the outlook forecasts much of that growth to take place through 2025, by the end of the decade, the respective provincial industries will have to cope with the need to replace nearly 259,100 workers, or about 22% of the current labour force, due to retirement.

“Canada’s construction outlook is strong for 2021 and well into the middle portion of the decade thanks to gains in the residential and non-residential sectors,” says BuildForce Canada Executive Director Bill Ferreira. “And while we forecast growth to slow over the later years of our forecast period, we nonetheless expect that the industry will be challenged to recruit more than 309,000 new workers to replace retirees and keep pace with demand.”

BuildForce Canada anticipates that the non-residential sector will lead industry growth between 2021 and 2023 and be driven by a large list of public transit, health care, education, roadwork, and other civil infrastructure projects. Overall, non-residential employment is projected to increase by more than 39,800 workers between 2021 and 2025, and another 5,000 to 2030. The sector is expected to end the decade up 44,800 workers (+8%) compared to 2020.

After a mixed year in 2020, the residential sector is expected to see strong growth post-2021. Low lending rates and renewed immigration levels are expected to drive a moderate up-cycle in new-home construction to 2024, while renovation work is projected to grow steadily. As a result, total residential employment is expected to peak in 2024 before ending the decade with an increase of nearly 20,100 workers (+4%) compared to 2020 levels.

Activity across the Atlantic provinces is expected to vary. Newfoundland and Labrador will see a modest recovery through 2021, but long-term growth will be constrained. The forecasts for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, meanwhile, will be bolstered by in-migration trends. Prince Edward Island was the only province of the four to experience a rise in construction employment in 2020, and that increase is expected to continue through 2022.

Quebec’s market is expected to rebound from the pandemic in 2021 and grow through 2024 on the strength of private-sector spending and strong levels of government investment.

Ontario will be driven by a growing pipeline of major infrastructure projects across all regions. An additional recovery in commercial and industrial investment will bring labour demands to a peak in 2026.

In 2020, Manitoba experienced its first year of negative construction growth in several years. Declines in major-project requirements and lower levels of institutional and residential growth may cause employment levels to drop slightly – by 1% – over the forecast period.

A broad-based recovery is expected to take hold in Saskatchewan in 2021, as education, health care, utility, and mining investment combine to boost growth across most construction segments to an expected peak in 2023.

Alberta, which was among the provinces hardest hit by the pandemic, could see further challenges ahead. Ongoing uncertainty in the energy sector and further deferrals and cancellations of major investments have significantly tempered expectations for a strong near-term recovery. A more material expansion is expected after 2023.

Finally, British Columbia is poised to enter the steepest period of growth in its forecast period. The province will add more than 11,400 non-residential workers through 2022, before shedding as many as half of those gains through 2026, before renewed growth later in the period adds new jobs. By 2030, employment is expected to increase by 9,900 workers compared to 2020.

“The unevenness with which provinces and even regions within those provinces will experience construction growth over the forecast period suggests that intra- and interprovincial mobility, as well as drawing workers from other industries, will be key to meeting construction demands,” says Ferreira.

The development of skilled tradespersons in the construction industry takes years, and often requires participation in a provincial apprenticeship program. As such, replacing retiring workers typically requires several years of pre-planning to avoid the creation of skills gaps. By 2030, overall hiring requirements in the industry are expected to exceed 309,000 due to the retirement of some 259,100 workers (or 22% of the current labour force) and growth in worker demand of 49,900.

Based on historical trends, Canada’s construction industry is expected to draw an estimated 228,100 first-time new entrants aged 30 and younger from the local population, leaving the industry with a possible retirement-recruitment gap of 31,000 workers. When coupled with demand growth, the industry may be short as many as 81,000 workers by 2030.

Clearly, an ongoing commitment to training and apprenticeship development will be necessary to ensure there are sufficient numbers of qualified tradespeople to sustain a skilled labour force over the long term. What is yet unclear is how the pandemic will impact registration rates going forward. Limited data collected to date suggests that the pandemic has resulted in a steep decline in new registrations relative to employment across the country. It has also imposed significant obstacles to the in-person delivery of training, testing, and certification, which may impact near-term completion rates.

Building a sustainable and diverse labour force will require the construction and maintenance industry to increase recruitment from groups traditionally underrepresented in the current construction labour force, including women, Indigenous people, and new Canadians.

In 2020, there were approximately 190,000 women employed in Canada’s construction industry, of which 27% worked directly on construction projects. Of the nearly 1.1 million tradespeople employed in the industry, women made up 5%. Increasing the participation of women in the construction labour force, particularly in the skilled trades, would go a long way to addressing the industry’s longer-term recruitment needs.

The Indigenous population also presents recruitment opportunities for Canada’s construction industry. In 2020, approximately 5% of the country’s construction labour force was made up of Indigenous people – compared with about 4% of its overall working-age population. Of those in the construction and maintenance industry, 81% work directly on construction projects. Given the predisposition of Indigenous workers to consider careers in construction, there may be scope to further increase the recruitment of Indigenous people into the industry.

The construction industry may also leverage new Canadians over the coming decade to meet anticipated labour market requirements. Canada is expected to welcome an average of more than 320,000 new international migrants each year between 2021 and 2030. This will make new Canadians a growing segment of the overall labour force.

The national construction labour force is comprised of approximately 18% new Canadians, which is lower than the overall share of new Canadians in the total labour force (23%).

BuildForce Canada is a national industry-led organization that represents all sectors of Canada’s construction industry. Its mandate is to provide accurate and timely labour market data and analysis, as well as programs and initiatives to help manage labour force requirements and build the capacity and capability of Canada’s construction and maintenance industry. Visit www.constructionforecasts.ca.

For further information, contact Bill Ferreira, Executive Director, BuildForce Canada, at ferreira@buildforce.ca or 613-569-5552 ext. 2220.

Funded by the Government of Canada’s Sectoral Initiatives Program.

After a pause, growth resumes in British Columbia in 2021

March 25, 2021

Ottawa – The construction and maintenance sector in British Columbia is poised to return to growth in 2021 after a year in which the industry recorded its first material decline in activity in more than a decade, labour-market data released today by BuildForce Canada suggests.

British Columbia was among those provinces hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The province saw declines in new housing, commercial, and industrial building construction, which experienced double-digit declines in investment compared with 2019. Those losses were partially offset by a rise in demands from major engineering and pipeline projects, as well as numerous public-transportation projects.

BuildForce Canada’s 2021–2030 Construction and Maintenance Looking Forward report for the province forecasts that growth in the sector is expected to resume in 2021 as major project demands continue to rise, and industrial and commercial investment recovers.

“The slowdown in construction and maintenance activity in British Columbia last year may have been seen by some as a blessing, as the province’s labour market has experienced chronic recruiting challenges,” says BuildForce Canada Executive Director Bill Ferreira. “Having said that, the brakes won’t be on for long. We expect growth to return in 2021 with the stacking of projects across nearly every sector of the industry – heavy industrial, public transit, education, health care, public infrastructure projects, as well as new housing, renovation work and commercial building construction. This could create significant recruiting challenges across the industry.”

Over the coming decade, BuildForce Canada expects employment to rise by 17,800 workers, or about 10% more than the current labour force. The challenge for the industry will be how to address short-term labour market demands. Between 2020 and 2022, the non-residential sector alone is expected to require an additional 11,500 workers (+16%) to keep pace with demands, with much of that growth concentrated in the Lower Mainland region.

“The ramp-up in major project requirements could be lessened somewhat by the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Ferreira. “Slowdowns in other sectors of the industry in other regions of the province may encourage labour mobility, but that may be limited for those trades with specialized skills and experience. B.C.’s industry will certainly have to consider adopting short-term strategies designed to recruit workers from other industries and other parts of the country, and over the longer term, enhance its recruitment of youth and groups traditionally underrepresented in the industry.”

BuildForce Canada estimates that as many as 41,000 workers, or approximately 22% of the current labour force, will retire by 2030. Accounting also for demands relating to expansion, the province’s industry will need to recruit close to 59,650 workers in the next decade.

That gap will be closed somewhat by the expected 35,150 new entrants under the age of 30 available locally, but a significant portion of remaining demand will need to be drawn from other industries or other provinces.

The development of skilled tradespersons in the construction industry takes years, and often requires participation in a provincial apprenticeship program. New registrations in British Columbia’s 20 largest construction trade programs have fluctuated significantly over the last few years. After peaking at more than 8,500 in 2013, registrations declined, but have since recovered, reaching 8,000 in 2019.

The pandemic is expected to further cause ripples in registration levels in 2020. Limited data collected to date suggests that the pandemic has imposed significant obstacles to the in-school delivery of training, testing, and certification. These impacts are likely to reduce the near-term numbers of new certified workers.

Based on projected new registrations and completion trends, several of British Columbia’s trades are expected to meet or exceed the number of new certified journeypersons required by 2030. However, the Boilermaker, Carpenter, Gasfitter, Glazier, Heavy Equipment Operator, Industrial Electrician, Insulator, Lather, Painter, Roofer, and Welder trades were identified as at risk of being undersupplied. An ongoing commitment to training and apprenticeship development will remain necessary to avoid potential future skills shortages.

Building a sustainable and diverse labour force will require the construction and maintenance industry to increase recruitment from groups traditionally underrepresented in the current construction labour force, including women, Indigenous people, and new Canadians.

In 2020, there were approximately 32,700 women employed in B.C.’s construction industry, of which 34% worked directly on construction projects. Of the 175,900 tradespeople employed in the industry, women made up only 6% of the total.

The Indigenous population is another group that presents recruitment opportunities for British Columbia’s construction industry. In 2020, 5.7% of B.C.’s construction labour force was made up of Indigenous people, compared with about 5% of the province’s overall working-age population. Of those in the construction and maintenance industry, 82% work directly on construction projects. Given the predisposition of Indigenous workers to consider careers in construction, there may be scope to further increase the recruitment of Indigenous people into the industry.

The B.C. construction industry may also leverage new Canadians over the coming decade to meet anticipated labour market requirements. The province is expected to welcome an average of more than 69,000 new international migrants each year between 2021 and 2030. This will make new Canadians a growing segment of the overall labour force.

British Columbia’s construction labour force is comprised of approximately 24% new Canadians, which is lower than the overall share of new Canadians in the provincial labour force (29%).

BuildForce Canada is a national industry-led organization that represents all sectors of Canada’s construction industry. Its mandate is to provide accurate and timely labour market data and analysis, as well as programs and initiatives to help manage labour force requirements and build the capacity and capability of Canada’s construction and maintenance industry. Visit www.constructionforecasts.ca.

For further information, contact Bill Ferreira, Executive Director, BuildForce Canada, at ferreira@buildforce.ca or 613-569-5552 ext. 2220.

This report was produced with the support and input of a variety of provincial construction and maintenance industry stakeholders. For local industry reaction to this latest BuildForce Canada report, please contact:

Kim Barbero
CEO
Mechanical Contractors Association of British Columbia
(604) 205-5058

Scott Bone
President
Northern Regional Construction Association
(250) 596-9901

Ryan Bruce
Membership Development & Government Relations
CLAC
(250) 331-1465

Paul de Jong
President
Progressive Contractors Association of Canada
(403) 620-3781

Chris Atchison
President
British Columbia Construction Association
(250) 475-1077

Brynn Bourke
Interim Executive Director
British Columbia Building Trades
(778) 397-2220

Neil Moody
President and CEO
Canadian Home Builders’ Association – BC
(604) 432-7112 ext. 304

Kelly Scott
President
BC Road Builders and Heavy Construction Association
(604) 436-0220

Funded by the Government of Canada’s Sectoral Initiatives Program.

Alberta: Employment stability returns, growth to follow

March 25, 2021

Ottawa – Hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting investment declines in the oil and gas sector, Alberta’s economy is poised to stage a modest comeback in 2021, and a more material expansion after 2023.

The latest labour market forecast released today by BuildForce Canada projects that employment in the province’s construction and maintenance sector will be sustained in the immediate term by public-sector capital spending before growing moderately after 2023 on the strength of anticipated investments in oil and gas projects, as well as an up-cycle in new residential construction.

BuildForce Canada’s 2021–2030 Construction and Maintenance Looking Forward report for Alberta forecasts overall industry employment requirements to increase by more than 19,000 workers (+11%) by 2030 compared to 2020.

“Alberta has weathered some very challenging economic times over the last few years,” says BuildForce Canada Executive Director Bill Ferreira. “The impact of COVID-19 has certainly increased overall uncertainty, and while it may be cold comfort to those impacted, conditions are expected to improve over the next few years.”

The challenge for Alberta’s industry over the forecast period will be accommodating fluctuations in labour force demand. Although the average annual non-residential requirements are relatively stable over the near term, seasonal fluctuations created by heavy-industrial maintenance requirements could create periodic recruitment challenges among those trades with specialized skills and experience.

BuildForce Canada estimates that as many as 40,400 workers – approximately 21% of the current labour force – will retire by 2030. Based on historical trends, Alberta’s construction industry is expected to draw an estimated 38,460 first-time new entrants under the age of 30 from the local population over the next decade. As a result, the province could experience a shortfall of nearly 2,000 workers across the scenario period. When added to the anticipated rise in demand over the decade, the province could be short as many as 17,345 workers by 2030. This trend will require industry to think innovatively about attracting, training, and retaining qualified workers from other industries, other provinces, and as necessary, from other countries through permanent immigration.

The development of skilled tradespersons in the construction industry takes years, and often requires participation in a provincial apprenticeship program. New registrations in Alberta’s 20 largest construction trade programs peaked in 2014 before seeing significant declines in 2015 (-6,000) and again in 2019, when they finished the year at fewer than 8,000.

The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to further reduce registration levels in 2020. Limited data collected to date suggests that the pandemic has imposed significant obstacles to the in-school delivery of training, testing, and certification. These impacts are likely to reduce the near-term numbers of new certified workers.

Based on projected new registrations and completion trends, most of Alberta’s trades are expected to meet or exceed the number of new certified journeypersons required by 2030. However, the Boilermaker, Carpenter, Glazier, Insulator, Plumber, and Welder trades were identified as at risk of being undersupplied. An ongoing commitment to training and apprenticeship development will remain necessary to avoid potential future skills shortages.

Building a sustainable and diverse labour force will require the construction and maintenance industry to increase recruitment from groups traditionally underrepresented in the current construction labour force, including women, Indigenous people, and new Canadians.

In 2020, there were approximately 36,600 women employed in Alberta’s construction industry, of which 31% worked directly on construction projects. Of the 172,400 tradespeople employed in the industry, women made up only 7% of the total.

Alberta has done well at attracting Indigenous people into the construction industry. Approximately 6.4% of the province’s construction labour force is made up of Indigenous people – compared with about 5% of the province’s overall working-age population. Of those in the construction and maintenance industry, 80% work directly on construction projects. Given the predisposition of Indigenous workers to consider careers in construction, there may be scope to further increase the recruitment of Indigenous people into the industry.

Alberta’s construction industry may also leverage new Canadians over the coming decade to meet anticipated labour market requirements. The province is expected to welcome an average of more than 42,000 new international migrants each year between 2021 and 2030. This will make new Canadians a growing segment of the overall labour force.

Alberta’s construction labour force is comprised of approximately 17% new Canadians, which is lower than the overall share of new Canadians in the provincial labour force (23%).

BuildForce Canada is a national industry-led organization that represents all sectors of Canada’s construction industry. Its mandate is to provide accurate and timely labour market data and analysis, as well as programs and initiatives to help manage labour force requirements and build the capacity and capability of Canada’s construction and maintenance industry. Visit www.constructionforecasts.ca.

For further information, contact Bill Ferreira, Executive Director, BuildForce Canada, at ferreira@buildforce.ca or 613-569-5552 ext. 2220.

This report was produced with the support and input of a variety of provincial construction and maintenance industry stakeholders. For local industry reaction to this latest BuildForce Canada report, please contact:

Paul de Jong
President
Progressive Contractors Association of Canada
(403) 620-3781

Ron Glen
CEO
Alberta Roadbuilders and Heavy Construction Association
(780) 436-9860 ext. 225

Terry Parker
Executive Director
Building Trades of Alberta
(780) 421-9400 ext. 112

Dennis Perrin
Prairies Director
CLAC
587-785-1836

Ken Gibson
President
Alberta Construction Association
780-233-6738

Funded by the Government of Canada’s Sectoral Initiatives Program.

Manitoba employment flattens as several large projects conclude

March 24, 2021

Ottawa – A sustained period of industry expansion in Manitoba concluded in 2020 and could signal the beginning of a decade of relatively flat employment growth.

The latest labour market data released today by BuildForce Canada suggests that declines in major project requirements, alongside lower anticipated levels of institutional building and new-home construction, could limit employment growth for much of the decade. Modest growth in road, highway, and bridge construction, industrial buildings, and other infrastructure projects is expected to partially offset these declines. By 2030, industry employment will be marginally lower, reduced by approximately 1% from 2020 levels.

BuildForce Canada’s 2021–2030 Construction and Maintenance Looking Forward report for Manitoba projects construction employment to drop by 4% through 2024 as work concludes on several major projects. Employment should remain largely flat through the remainder of the forecast period with growth of just under 500 workers in the residential sector offset by a loss of 650 workers in the non-residential sector.

“Manitoba is coming off the peak of an extended construction expansion that was fuelled by electrical power generation and transmission, pipeline, and infrastructure projects, and immigration-driven population growth over the last decade,” says Bill Ferreira, Executive Director of BuildForce Canada. “The industry added more than 12,000 new workers, or about one-third of its total workforce, over that period. With several of those large projects concluding in 2020, and a slowdown in the residential construction industry, the province’s workforce is expected to contract in the short term before rising again after 2025.”

Although overall employment is expected to see little change over the next 10 years, the construction and maintenance industry must keep a steady focus on hiring, training, and retaining workers. BuildForce Canada expects that 8,000 workers – or nearly 20% of the current labour force – will retire by 2030. At the same time, the industry is expected to attract an estimated 8,300 new workers under the age of 30 from the local population. The potential training surplus may cause as many as 1,100 workers to leave the industry or find work in nearby provinces.

“Manitoba enjoys a relatively younger population compared with other provinces,” says Ferreira. “Having said that, all industries are faced with aging populations, and this is likely to increase competition for qualified workers. The industry has an excellent opportunity right now to recruit and train new workers so that it can satisfy its labour market requirements through the end of the decade.”

The development of skilled tradespersons in the construction industry takes years, and often requires participation in a provincial apprenticeship program. New registrations in the province’s top 15 trade programs dropped by 23% between 2013 and 2019, which was a significant decline compared to overall construction employment, which increased by 20% over the same period. New registrations reached a low of 1,009 in 2018 before increasing slightly in 2019.

Based on projected new registrations and completion trends, most trades are expected to meet or exceed the number of new certified journeypersons required by 2030. Those likely to be undersupplied include boilermakers, industrial electricians, mobile crane operators, and welders. An ongoing commitment to training and apprenticeship development will remain necessary to avoid potential future skills shortages in the industry.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly complicated apprentice registration and completion rates in Manitoba. Limited data collected to date suggests that the pandemic has imposed significant obstacles to the in-school delivery of training, testing, and certification. These impacts are likely to reduce the near-term numbers of new certified workers.

Building a sustainable and diverse labour force will require the construction and maintenance industry to increase recruitment from groups traditionally underrepresented in the current construction labour force, including women, Indigenous people, and new Canadians.

In 2020, there were approximately 5,600 women employed in Manitoba’s construction industry, of which 25% worked directly on construction projects. Of the 37,400 tradespeople employed in the industry, women made up only 4% of the total.

Manitoba has done exceptionally well at attracting Indigenous people into the construction industry. Approximately 16% of the province’s construction labour force is made up of Indigenous people – compared with about 13% of the province’s overall working-age population. Of those in the construction and maintenance industry, about 81% work directly on construction projects. Given the predisposition of Indigenous workers to consider careers in construction, there may be scope to further increase the recruitment of Indigenous people into the industry.

Manitoba’s construction industry may also leverage new Canadians over the coming decade to meet anticipated labour market requirements. The province is expected to welcome an average of nearly 8,000 new international migrants each year between 2021 and 2030. This will make the immigrant population a growing segment of the overall labour force. Currently, Manitoba’s construction labour force is comprised of approximately 15% new Canadians, which is just slightly lower than the overall share of new Canadians in the provincial labour force.

BuildForce Canada is a national industry-led organization that represents all sectors of Canada’s construction industry. Its mandate is to provide accurate and timely labour market data and analysis, as well as programs and initiatives to help manage labour force requirements and build the capacity and capability of Canada’s construction and maintenance industry. Visit www.constructionforecasts.ca.

For further information, contact Bill Ferreira, Executive Director, BuildForce Canada, at ferreira@buildforce.ca or 613-569-5552 ext. 2220.

This report was produced with the support and input of a variety of provincial construction and maintenance industry stakeholders. For local industry reaction to this latest BuildForce Canada report, please contact:

Sudhir Sandhu
Chief Executive Officer
Manitoba Building Trades
(204) 956-7425

Lanny McInnes
President and CEO
Manitoba Home Builders’ Association
(204) 925-2560

Ramona Coey
Executive Director
Mechanical Contractors Association of Manitoba
(204) 774-2404

Paul de Jong
President
Progressive Contractors Association of Canada
(403) 620-3781

Darryl Harrison
Manager, Policy and Research
Winnipeg Construction Association
(204) 755-8664 ext. 2249

Funded by the Government of Canada’s Sectoral Initiatives Program.

Saskatchewan’s construction labour market poised to rebound

March 24, 2021

Ottawa – Saskatchewan’s construction and maintenance industry is poised to see a pronounced recovery in 2021 thanks to increases in new-housing construction and a robust public-sector capital spending plan, according to labour market data released today by BuildForce Canada.

After industry employment declined in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic – with the commercial and industrial building, and engineering sectors most affected – the provincial labour market is expected to regain strength in 2021. BuildForce Canada’s 2021–2030 Construction Maintenance Looking Forward report for Saskatchewan projects that increased investment in the province’s education, health care, utility, and mining sectors are projected to boost growth across most construction segments to a peak in 2023.

“The anticipated recovery follows several years of steady declines in Saskatchewan’s construction market and continued weaker conditions in 2020 that contributed to elevated rates of unemployment,” says Bill Ferreira, Executive Director of BuildForce Canada. “Although the moderate pace of projected growth suggests that demands are likely to be met locally, challenges may arise for key trades during peak periods. The simultaneous rise in residential and non-residential demands may also limit the supply of workers in those trades that cross over between both sectors.”

Total construction employment is expected to rise by close to 3,700 workers (+10%) through 2023, led by strong gains in industrial, engineering, and new-housing construction, before receding in line with several major projects winding down in 2024 and 2025. Employment is expected to end the scenario period modestly higher compared to the 2020 workforce, with the residential and ICI (industrial, commercial, institutional) building construction sectors recording the largest gains.

Although overall employment is expected to see little change over the next 10 years, the construction and maintenance industry must keep a steady focus on hiring, training, and retaining workers. BuildForce Canada expects that more than 8,700 workers – or nearly 21% of the current labour force – will retire by 2030. At the same time, the industry is expected to attract an estimated 8,800 new workers under the age of 30 from the local population.

“Saskatchewan has been fortunate to benefit from a younger age demographic than most provinces, but its non-residential workforce in particular has lost workers to other provinces following several years of declining construction activity and employment,” says Ferreira. “Meeting replacement demands will require proactive planning solutions and continued focus on attracting, training, and retaining qualified workers.”

The development of skilled tradespersons in the construction industry takes years, and often requires participation in a provincial apprenticeship program. New registrations in the province’s top 16 trade programs have suffered over the past decade. Enrolments fell by 54% between 2012 and 2019, and reached a new low of under 1,000 in 2019.

Based on the current pace of new registrations, several trades could be potentially at risk of not keeping pace with retirement levels. This suggests that a possible undersupply of new journeypersons could exist by 2030. Trades within this group include Boilermaker, Boom Truck, Carpenter, Insulator, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanic, Scaffolder, Sheet Metal Worker, Steamfitter/Pipefitter, and Welder. An ongoing commitment to training and apprenticeship development will remain necessary to avoid potential future skills shortages in the industry.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly complicated apprentice registration and completion rates in Saskatchewan. Limited data collected to date suggest that the pandemic has imposed significant obstacles to the in-school delivery of training, testing, and certification. These impacts are likely to reduce the near-term numbers of new certified workers.

Building a sustainable and diverse labour force will require the construction and maintenance industry to increase recruitment from groups traditionally underrepresented in the current construction labour force, including women, Indigenous people, and new Canadians.

In 2020, there were approximately 5,800 women employed in Saskatchewan’s construction industry, of which nearly 38% worked directly on construction projects. Of the 36,600 workers employed in on-site professions, women made up only 6% of the total.

The Indigenous population is another underrepresented group that presents recruitment opportunities for Saskatchewan’s construction industry. In 2020, Indigenous people accounted for approximately 11% of Saskatchewan’s total working-age population, and about 12% of its construction labour force. Of those employed in the industry, 85% work directly on construction projects. Given the generally greater predisposition of Indigenous workers to consider careers in construction, there may be scope to further increase the recruitment of Indigenous people into the industry.

Saskatchewan’s construction industry may also leverage new Canadians (immigrants) over the coming decade to meet labour requirements. The province is expected to welcome an average of about 5,000 new international migrants each year between 2021 and 2030. This will make the immigrant population a key source of future labour force growth.

Saskatchewan’s construction labour force is currently made up of approximately 8% new Canadians, compared with 12% across the province’s entire labour force.

BuildForce Canada is a national industry-led organization that represents all sectors of Canada’s construction industry. Its mandate is to provide accurate and timely labour market data and analysis, as well as programs and initiatives to help manage labour force requirements and build the capacity and capability of Canada’s construction and maintenance industry. Visit www.constructionforecasts.ca.

For further information, contact Bill Ferreira, Executive Director, BuildForce Canada, at ferreira@buildforce.ca or 613-569-5552 ext. 2220.

This report was produced with the support and input of a variety of provincial construction and maintenance industry stakeholders. For local industry reaction to this latest BuildForce Canada report, please contact:

Paul de Jong
President
Progressive Contractors Association of Canada
(403) 620-3781

Warren Douglas
Executive Director
Construction Labour Relations Association – Saskatchewan
(306) 352-7909

Chris Guerette
CEO
Canadian Home Builders’ Association – Saskatchewan (Saskatoon)
(306) 292-8619

Dennis Perrin
Prairies Director
CLAC
(587) 785-1836

Karen Low
President of Merit Canada
Merit Saskatchewan
(306) 961-7346

Funded by the Government of Canada’s Sectoral Initiatives Program.

Ontario construction employment growth resumes in 2021

March 23, 2021

Ottawa – While Ontario’s construction and maintenance sector saw a slight decline in employment in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is expected to resume growth in 2021, and continue to rise through 2026. By the end of the decade, the industry will need to hire, train, and retain more than 116,000 additional workers to keep pace with expected demand growth and retirements. This is according to the latest labour market forecast data released today by BuildForce Canada.

BuildForce Canada’s 2021–2030 Construction and Maintenance Looking Forward report for Ontario shows that several major transportation, utility, and other infrastructure projects are expected to ramp up in 2021 and 2022, particularly in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and Eastern and Southwestern regions.

“The disruptions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic moderated the anticipated rapid rise in Ontario’s labour market demand over the near term, but they are not expected to change the anticipated labour market challenges beyond that,” says BuildForce Canada Executive Director Bill Ferreira. “Commercial building construction was most affected by COVID restrictions, but as the economy reopens, those projects will get back on schedule. This will add to an already-strong inventory of project requirements and could lead to a re-emergence of broad recruiting challenges between 2021 and 2023.”

“Ontario’s five regions – Central, Eastern, GTA, Northern, and Southwestern – are interconnected, but each tells its own distinct labour market story,” says Ferreira. “We see a number of competing demands for construction and maintenance workers over the decade that, taken together, are likely to limit the potential for intraprovincial labour mobility to satisfy peak regional requirements.”

Ontario’s large pipeline of major projects, alongside steady levels of new-housing construction and renovation activity, is projected to increase construction employment by 35,180 workers (+9%) by 2026 before moderating thereafter. Total construction employment is expected to end the decade up 23,540 workers (+6%) beyond the 2020 starting point.

Through two decades of growth, Ontario has built up an immense skilled construction labour force. Sustaining capacity over the decade, however, will be made more difficult by the expected retirement of an estimated 92,500 workers – the equivalent of 21% of the 2020 labour force. While the industry is estimated to recruit 84,800 new entrants aged 30 and younger from the local population over the same period, a projected gap of some 31,400 workers will need to be filled from outside the province’s existing construction labour force to meet increased demands.

The development of skilled tradespersons in the construction industry takes years, and often requires participation in a provincial apprenticeship program. New registrations in Ontario have been on the rise since 2016, increasing by 27% to more than 11,100 in 2019.

Ontario’s construction industry is projected to require more than 26,800 new certified journeypersons to sustain the current workforce share of certifications and keep pace with employment and replacement demands across all industries over the scenario period. Based on projected new registrations and completion trends, several of its 21 largest construction trades could be at risk of undersupplying the number of new journeypersons required by 2030. They include bricklayers, glaziers, industrial electricians, and welders. An ongoing commitment to training and apprenticeship development will remain necessary to avoid potential future skills shortages in the industry.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly complicated apprentice registration and completion rates in Ontario. Limited data collected to date suggests that the pandemic has  imposed significant obstacles to the in-school delivery of training, testing, and certification. These impacts are likely to reduce the near-term numbers of new certified workers.

Building a sustainable and diverse labour force will require the construction and maintenance industry to increase recruitment from groups traditionally underrepresented in the current construction labour force, including women, Indigenous people, and new Canadians.

In 2020, there were approximately 67,900 women employed in Ontario’s construction industry, of which 23% worked directly on construction projects. As a share of overall on-site employment, women accounted for only 4% of the total.

The Indigenous population is another underrepresented group that presents recruitment opportunities for Ontario’s construction industry. In 2020, Indigenous people accounted for approximately 2.4% of Ontario’s total working-age population – and about 2.7% of its construction labour force. Of those employed in the industry, about 80% work directly on construction projects. While Indigenous participation in the province’s construction labour force is mostly in line with its share of the overall working-age population, given the predisposition of Indigenous workers to consider careers in construction, there may be scope to further increase the recruitment of Indigenous people into the industry.

Ontario’s construction industry may also leverage new Canadians over the coming decade to meet anticipated labour market requirements. The province is expected to welcome an average of 135,000 new international migrants each year between 2021 and 2030, making this population an important segment of the overall labour force. Currently, Ontario’s construction labour force is comprised of approximately 26% new Canadians, which is lower than the overall share of new Canadians in the provincial labour force (31%).

BuildForce Canada is a national industry-led organization that represents all sectors of Canada’s construction industry. Its mandate is to provide accurate and timely labour market data and analysis, as well as programs and initiatives to help manage labour force requirements and build the capacity and capability of Canada’s construction and maintenance industry. Visit www.constructionforecasts.ca.

For further information, contact Bill Ferreira, Executive Director, BuildForce Canada, at ferreira@buildforce.ca or 613-569-5552 ext. 2220.

This report was produced with the support and input of a variety of provincial construction and maintenance industry stakeholders. For local industry reaction to this latest BuildForce Canada report, please contact:

Mike Carter
Executive Director
London & District Construction Association
(519) 453-5322

Ian Cunningham
President
Council of Ontario Construction Associations
(416) 968-7200 ext. 224

John A. DeVries
President
Ottawa Construction Association
(613) 236-0488, ext. 10

Patrick Dillon
Business Manager
Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario
(416) 679-8887

Tony Fanelli
Executive Director
Construction Labour Relations Association – Ontario
(647) 296-3402

Giovanni Cautillo
President
Ontario General Contractors Association
(905) 671-3969

Andrew Pariser

Vice-President
RESCON
(416) 970-7665

Wayne Peterson
Executive Director
Construction Employers Coordinating Council of Ontario
(905) 516-6693

Karen Renkema
Vice President and Regional Director, Ontario
Progressive Contractors Association of Canada
(416) 768-4848

Funded by the Government of Canada’s Sectoral Initiatives Program.

Construction growth in Nova Scotia on the rise

March 22, 2021

Ottawa – Construction and maintenance activity in Nova Scotia is expected to increase between 2021 and 2023, driven by strong and broad-based demand across the province’s residential and non-residential sectors. This is according to the latest labour market forecast data released today by BuildForce Canada.

BuildForce Canada’s 2021–2030 Construction and Maintenance Looking Forward report for the province forecasts sectoral employment to remain high through 2026 before receding over the latter half of the scenario period. A rise in construction-sector employment of approximately 10% – or 2,600 workers – is expected to occur over the next few years before employment recedes slightly over the latter half of the decade.

“Construction activity in Nova Scotia was only moderately hindered by the impacts of COVID-19 in 2020, and the negative effects were largely confined to the residential and commercial markets,” says BuildForce Canada Executive Director Bill Ferreira. “An anticipated recovery in the residential sector, alongside a ramp-up in requirements related to numerous major health care, educational, roadwork, and engineering projects is expected to drive a strong expansion in construction employment across 2021 and 2022.”

Over the next 10 years, Nova Scotia’s construction industry is expected to see the retirement of nearly 8,700 workers – or about 28% of its 2020 labour force. Based on historical trends, the province’s industry could attract as many as 5,875 first-time new entrants aged 30 and younger from the local population over the same period.

“Nova Scotia’s population is aging, and its construction industry faces a shortfall of about 3,900 workers over the next decade,” says Ferreira. “It’s important for the construction and maintenance industry to reach out to younger people now and position construction as a career of choice.”

The development of skilled tradespersons in the construction industry takes years, and often requires participation in a provincial apprenticeship program. New registrations in the province’s 18 largest trade programs peaked at 1,280 in 2015, resulting in an increased supply of certified workers. Registrations have fluctuated over recent years since, but have remained around 900 registrations per year.

Based on projected new registrations and completion trends, several trades were identified as potentially at risk of undertraining the number of new journeypersons required by 2030. They include bricklayers, carpenters, heavy-duty equipment technicians, industrial electricians, industrial mechanics (millwrights), mobile crane operators, roofers, steamfitter/pipefitters, and welders. An ongoing commitment to training and apprenticeship development will remain necessary to avoid potential future skills shortages in the industry.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly complicated apprentice registration and completion rates in Nova Scotia. Limited data collected to date suggests that the pandemic has resulted in a steep decline in new registrations relative to employment. It has also imposed significant obstacles to the in-school delivery of training, testing, and certification. These impacts are likely to reduce the near-term numbers of new certified workers.

Building a sustainable and diverse labour force will require the construction and maintenance industry to increase recruitment from groups traditionally underrepresented in the current construction labour force, including women, Indigenous people, and new Canadians.

In 2020, there were approximately 3,650 women employed in Nova Scotia’s construction industry, of which 26% worked directly on construction projects. Of the 27,400 tradespeople employed in the industry, women made up only 3.5% of the total. Indigenous people accounted for approximately 5% of the total labour force in Atlantic Canada, which is equal to their share in the construction labour force. With about 81% of the industry’s Indigenous workers active in on-site construction, there could be further scope to increase the participation of Indigenous people in the construction trades. Increasing the participation rate of women and Indigenous people would go a long way to help the industry address its future labour force needs.

New Canadians currently comprise approximately 3.5% of Nova Scotia’s construction labour force. As provincial demographics point to declines in the number of younger workers available to enter the provincial labour force in the coming years, immigration will play an increasingly important role in the development of the province’s future workforce. Over the coming decade, the province is expected to welcome an average of 8,000 newcomers every year. This will make the immigrant population an important future source of labour force growth. Increasing the participation of new Canadians in the industry will be important to ensure the construction labour force remains adequate to the needs of the economy.

BuildForce Canada is a national industry-led organization that represents all sectors of Canada’s construction industry. Its mandate is to provide accurate and timely labour market data and analysis, as well as programs and initiatives to help manage labour force requirements and build the capacity and capability of Canada’s construction and maintenance industry. Visit www.constructionforecasts.ca.

For further information, contact Bill Ferreira, Executive Director, BuildForce Canada, at ferreira@buildforce.ca or 613-569-5552 ext. 2220.

This report was produced with the support and input of a variety of provincial construction and maintenance industry stakeholders. For local industry reaction to this latest BuildForce Canada report, please contact:

Trent Soholt
Executive Director
Nova Scotia Construction Sector Council
902-832-4761

Duncan Williams
President and CEO
Construction Association of Nova Scotia
902-468-2267

Funded by the Government of Canada’s Sectoral Initiatives Program.

Construction growth in PEI to remain strong to mid-decade

March 22, 2021

Ottawa – Construction and maintenance activity in Prince Edward Island is expected to increase in 2021 before slowing through the middle part of the coming decade. Construction employment, as a result, will increase through 2025 before falling back through 2030.

The latest labour market information released today by BuildForce Canada shows that construction demand in the province will accelerate in 2021, driven by a wave of public-sector investments alongside elevated levels of new-housing construction and increasing industrial, commercial, and institutional activity in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

BuildForce Canada’s 2021–2030 Construction and Maintenance Looking Forward report for the province anticipates that the pace of construction growth in PEI will slow in 2025 before retreating from its peak.

“Prince Edward Island was the only province to experience a rise in construction employment in 2020, propelled through the pandemic by the momentum of an enduring residential expansion,” says Bill Ferreira, Executive Director of BuildForce Canada. “We expect housing starts and related employment to stay at record levels through 2022. The challenge for the industry will be how to navigate a forecasted transition from the red-hot residential sector to the growing institutional and public infrastructure markets as the province tries to catch up to the requirements of the immigration-driven population boom of recent years.”

Despite the positive impact immigration has had in lowering the average age in Prince Edward Island over the past few years, the province’s construction labour force continues to age. Approximately 1,500 workers are projected to retire over the next decade. As employment declines over the scenario period, the potential 1,200 new entrants under the age of 30 from the local population will offset expected retirements.

The development of skilled tradespersons in the construction industry takes years, and often requires participation in a provincial apprenticeship program. While new registrations in the province’s five largest construction trade programs have been on the rise since 2014, current data suggest COVID-19 has resulted in a steep decline in new registrations relative to employment. This has imposed significant obstacles to the delivery of in-school training, testing, and certification, and may reduce the near-term numbers of new certified workers.

Based on the pre-pandemic pace of new registrations and completion trends, the number of newly certified carpenters was identified as possibly being at risk of falling short of demand requirements. A potential undersupply of new journeypersons could exist by 2030, and these supply risks could be worsened by the impact of the pandemic.

Building a sustainable and diverse labour force will require the construction and maintenance industry to increase recruitment from groups traditionally underrepresented in the current industry labour force, including women, Indigenous people, and new Canadians.

In 2020, there were approximately 790 women employed in Prince Edward Island’s construction industry, of which 48% worked directly on construction projects. Of the 5,400 tradespeople employed in the industry, women made up only 7% of the total. Indigenous people accounted for about 1% of PEI’s total construction labour force, with about 75% working directly on construction projects. That rate is lower than the 5% they account for in Atlantic Canada’s overall labour force and suggests that there could be further scope to increase the participation of Indigenous people in the construction trades. Increasing the participation rate of women and Indigenous people would go a long way to help the industry address its future labour force needs.

As current demographics point to declines in the number of younger workers available to enter the labour force, immigration will therefore play an increasingly important role in the development of PEI’s future workforce. The province is estimated to welcome 23,640 new immigrants between 2021 and 2030. With just under 3% of the province’s current construction labour force made up of new Canadians, there is considerable scope to increase their recruitment into the province’s construction industry and thereby help overcome the challenge presented by the retirement of just over 24% of the industry’s current labour force over the coming decade.

BuildForce Canada is a national industry-led organization that represents all sectors of Canada’s construction industry. Its mandate is to provide accurate and timely labour market data and analysis, as well as programs and initiatives to help manage labour force requirements and build the capacity and capability of Canada’s construction and maintenance industry. Visit www.constructionforecasts.ca.

For further information, contact Bill Ferreira, Executive Director, BuildForce Canada, at ferreira@buildforce.ca or 613-569-5552 ext. 2220.

This report was produced with the support and input of a variety of provincial construction and maintenance industry stakeholders. For local industry reaction to this latest BuildForce Canada report, please contact:

Sam Sanderson
General Manager
Construction Association of Prince Edward Island
902-628-5421

Funded by the Government of Canada’s Sectoral Initiatives Program.

COVID-19 pandemic hits Newfoundland and Labrador hard with project delays and cancellations; workforce adjustment continues to 2030

March 22, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic hit Newfoundland and Labrador disproportionately hard in 2020. Instability in the oil and gas markets caused many existing and proposed projects to be cancelled or delayed, dampening current and future construction employment in the province. Labour market forecast data released today by BuildForce Canada suggests that the province’s construction and maintenance industry will continue contracting through 2030; a trend that commenced prior to the pandemic with the completion of several large-scale industrial projects and was further amplified by the events of the past year.

BuildForce Canada’s 2021–2030 Construction and Maintenance Looking Forward report for the province forecasts that overall construction employment in the industry will decline by a little over 1,000 workers over the decade. Pronounced declines in the non-residential sector will be offset slightly by a rise in residential construction employment. These workforce adjustments are expected to take place over the next four years between 2021 and 2025, and will be followed by a period of relative stability.

“The increased uncertainty of global oil prices, which was brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic in the early spring of 2020, caused construction employment in Newfoundland and Labrador to drop significantly in 2020,” says Bill Ferreira, Executive Director of BuildForce Canada. “The resulting reductions in business investment, exports, and consumer spending reverberated across all sectors of construction.”

Between 2021 and 2030, as many as 4,600 workers are anticipated to retire from the province’s overall construction labour force. That figure runs well ahead of the estimated 2,550 first-time new entrants aged 30 and younger from the local population who are anticipated to join the labour force. The fact that Newfoundland and Labrador has one of the oldest population demographics in Canada, coupled with the conclusion, delay, or cancellation of many long-term resource development projects, may make attracting these younger workers to the construction industry a formidable task.

The development of skilled tradespersons in the construction industry takes years, and often requires participation in a provincial apprenticeship program. New registrations in the 13 largest construction trade programs in the province have fallen at an average rate of 14% per year, resulting in a dramatic decline in the number of newly certified journeypersons in the province. In 2019, the number of certified workers completing their program was less than half compared to peak levels reported in 2015.

Compounding matters significantly is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Public-health measures in the province created substantial interruptions to apprenticeship training and certification in 2020.

Taking into account current apprenticeship completion trends and anticipated retirement levels throughout the decade, several trades were identified as potentially at risk of undertraining the number of new journeypersons required by 2030. Trades in this group include heavy equipment operators, industrial mechanics (millwrights), plumbers, steamfitters/pipefitters, and welders. An ongoing commitment to training and apprenticeship development will be necessary to ensure there are sufficient numbers of qualified tradespeople to sustain a skilled workforce over the long term.

Building a sustainable and diverse labour force will require the construction and maintenance industry to increase recruitment from groups traditionally underrepresented in the current construction labour force, including women, Indigenous people, and new Canadians.

In 2020, there were approximately 1,100 women employed in Newfoundland and Labrador’s construction industry, of which 55% worked directly on construction projects. Of the 12,900 tradespeople employed in the industry, women made up only 5% of the total. Indigenous people accounted for approximately 5% of the total labour force in Atlantic Canada, which is slightly lower than their 8% share in the province’s construction labour force. With about 76% of the industry’s Indigenous workers active in on-site construction, there could be further scope to increase the participation of Indigenous people in the construction trades. Increasing the participation rate of women and Indigenous people would go a long way to help the industry address its future labour force needs.

Over the coming decade, Newfoundland and Labrador is expected to welcome an average of approximately 1,560 newcomers every year, making the immigrant population an important future source of potential workers for the province’s construction and maintenance industry. With provincial demographics pointing to declines in the number of younger workers available to enter the labour force, immigration will play an increasingly important role in the development of the province’s future labour force. Currently, new Canadians make up just about 1% of the province’s construction workforce. Increasing the participation of new Canadians in the industry will be important to ensure the construction labour force remains adequate to the needs of the economy.

BuildForce Canada is a national industry-led organization that represents all sectors of Canada’s construction industry. Its mandate is to provide accurate and timely labour market data and analysis, as well as programs and initiatives to help manage labour force requirements and build the capacity and capability of Canada’s construction and maintenance industry. Visit www.constructionforecasts.ca.

For further information, contact Bill Ferreira, Executive Director, BuildForce Canada, at ferreira@buildforce.ca or 613-569-5552 ext. 2220.

This report was produced with the support and input of a variety of provincial construction and maintenance industry stakeholders. For local industry reaction to this latest BuildForce Canada report, please contact:

Terry French
President
Construction Labour Relations Association – NL
709-691-0550

Funded by the Government of Canada’s Sectoral Initiatives Program.

Immigration is the key to construction growth and labour force development in New Brunswick

March 22, 2021

Ottawa – New Brunswick’s construction and maintenance industry is expected to sustain stable levels of activity through 2030, but will have to augment recruitment efforts in a number of areas to keep up with demand.

The latest labour market information released today by BuildForce Canada projects that construction demand in the province will be driven by sustained increases in immigration. As a result, demand for new housing will remain at current near-high levels for most of the forecast period. The completion of several civil and institutional infrastructure projects, in contrast, will reduce demand for non-residential employment in the near term, though heavy-industrial maintenance requirements may create seasonal recruitment challenges for some specific trades.

BuildForce Canada’s 2021–2030 Construction and Maintenance Looking Forward report for New Brunswick forecasts moderate growth in construction employment through 2024.

“New Brunswick’s construction requirements are poised to edge higher in 2021 as demands increase in response to projected stronger immigration-driven population growth,” says Bill Ferreira, Executive Director of BuildForce Canada. “Growth in the province’s residential sector is expected to be offset by declines in the non-residential sector through the early years of the forecast period. As a result, we see only moderate changes in total construction employment across the scenario period.”

The BuildForce Canada outlook projects that 6,950 workers – or approximately 28% of the current labour force – will retire from the province’s construction industry by 2030. Based on historical trends, the industry is expected to draw an estimated 4,330 first-time new entrants under the age of 30 from the local population over the same period. When declines in anticipated demands are factored in, a projected gap of more than 2,300 workers is expected to emerge.

“Addressing this gap will require the industry to adopt a number of human resource strategies,” says Ferreira. “These could include further promoting career opportunities to women, Indigenous peoples, immigrants and newly arrived immigrants, and displaced workers from other industries with the required skill sets to work in construction, as well as drawing on construction workers from other provinces where demands have softened during periods of heightened demand.”

The development of skilled tradespersons in the construction industry takes years and often requires participation in a provincial apprenticeship program. Registration in New Brunswick’s 16 largest trade programs has fluctuated significantly in recent years.

New Brunswick is projected to require more than 2,450 new certified journeypersons to sustain the current workforce share of certifications and keep pace with employment and replacement demand across all construction segments over the scenario period. Based on projected new registrations and completion trends, several trades were identified as being at risk of undersupplying the number of new journeypersons required by 2030. They include boilermakers, bricklayers, carpenters, hoist operators, sheet metal workers, sprinkler fitters, and welders. An ongoing commitment to training and apprenticeship development will remain necessary to avoid potential future skills shortages in the industry.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly complicated apprentice registration and completion rates in New Brunswick. Limited data collected to date suggests that the pandemic has resulted in a steep decline in new registrations relative to employment. It has also imposed significant obstacles to the in-school delivery of training, testing, and certification. These impacts are likely to reduce the near-term numbers of new certified workers.

Building a sustainable and diverse labour force will require the construction and maintenance industry to increase recruitment from groups traditionally underrepresented in the current construction labour force, including women, Indigenous people, and new Canadians.

In 2020, there were approximately 2,100 women employed in New Brunswick’s construction industry, of which 30% worked directly on construction projects. Of the 20,400 tradespeople employed in the industry, women made up only 3% of the total. Indigenous people accounted for approximately 5% of the total labour force in Atlantic Canada, but only 2.7% of the province’s construction labour force. With about 79% of the industry’s Indigenous workers active in on-site construction, there could be further scope to increase the participation of Indigenous people in the construction trades. Increasing the participation rate of women and Indigenous people would go a long way to help the industry address its future labour force needs.

New Canadians currently comprise approximately 2% of New Brunswick’s construction workforce. The province’s policy aimed at raising immigration numbers over recent years has been successful in contributing to population growth. It is estimated that over the coming decade, the province may welcome an average of 6,800 newcomers every year, so as the construction workforce ages, increasing the participation of new Canadians in the industry will be important to ensure the construction labour force remains adequate to the needs of the economy.

BuildForce Canada is a national industry-led organization that represents all sectors of Canada’s construction industry. Its mandate is to provide accurate and timely labour market data and analysis, as well as programs and initiatives to help manage labour force requirements and build the capacity and capability of Canada’s construction and maintenance industry. Visit www.constructionforecasts.ca.

For further information, contact Bill Ferreira, Executive Director, BuildForce Canada, at ferreira@buildforce.ca or 613-569-5552 ext. 2220.

This report was produced with the support and input of a variety of provincial construction and maintenance industry stakeholders. For local industry reaction to this latest BuildForce Canada report, please contact:

John Landry
Executive Director
Construction Association of New Brunswick
506-478-0042

Nadine Fullarton
President
Moncton Northeast Construction Association and Mechanical Contractors Association of New Brunswick
506-857-4038

Tom McGinn
Executive Director
New Brunswick Road Builders and Heavy Construction Association
506-454-5079

Funded by the Government of Canada’s Sectoral Initiatives Program.

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