Associations, Economic, Government, Infrastructure, Labour, Projects, ResourceAs another year draws to a close for the Canadian construction industry, some trends such as the COVID-19 pandemic continued while provincial politics saw new leaders and new allies.
Housing affordability continued to dominate the headlines while a long-expected labour shortage affected not only residential but every other part of the industry, with no clear solution in sight on either front. Supply chain difficulties continued through 2022 leading to shortages in key materials such as concrete and in Ontario a perfect storm of expiring contracts led to unprecedented labour strife as trade unions renegotiated agreements.
Ottawa’s long-delayed and problem-prone LRT system was excoriated for rising costs and alleged mismanagement, Vancouver’s Broadway Skytrain extension is facing a delay but other projects such as The Well mixed-use development in downtown Toronto saw significant progress. Doug Ford gained surprising allies in his bid for re-election as premier of Ontario when several trade unions backed him over his Liberal and NDP rivals. David Eby took the top job in British Columbia after John Horgan stepped down and Danielle Smith became Alberta premier after Jason Kenney left the position following much turmoil within the United Conservative Party.