Immigration, federal grants, investment in infrastructure and bolstering the country’s energy sector are among the priorities on the Calgary Construction Association’s wish list for the next federal government. Read More
The Calgary construction sector is currently short about 6,800 positions says association CEO
The Calgary construction sector is currently short about 6,800 positions says association CEO
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Immigration, federal grants, investment in infrastructure and bolstering the country’s energy sector are among the priorities on the Calgary Construction Association’s wish list for the next federal government.
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Increasing the immigration of skilled trade workers is crucial to filling a high volume of vacancies in the industry, according to the association’s president and CEO Bill Black.
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Black estimates the sector is currently short about 6,800 positions. When the prospect of retirements is accounted for the number climbs to more than 40,000, he said, attributing the gap to a worsened public view of working in the industry.
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“We need to rebrand construction to Canadians,” he said.
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“Canadians need to frankly realize if they’re not willing to engage in the industry as a career, we are going to have to look for people elsewhere, because we still need roads, we still need bridges, we still need hospitals, schools and housing, and we will continue to need that built, maintained, operated by workers.”
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Immigration essential to fill construction jobs
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Black criticized the government’s decision to slash the provincial nomination program, which targets immigrants based on their profession, by about half this year, leaving provinces including Alberta with fewer tools to fill positions.
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Canada’s immigration policy has been under scrutiny after the country’s population in 2023 grew by 1.27 million people, or 3.2 per cent, with immigration accounting for more than 800,000 individuals. It took the number of temporary residents to 2.7 million — almost double from two years earlier.
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Black stressed tailoring immigration to the region’s labour needs, while calling the current predicament a “chicken and egg situation.”
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“Yes, immigration has led to a housing crisis,” he said “It’s not just immigration, though. The housing crisis has come about because we’re growing as a country, even internally. Targeted, strategic immigration does need to be part of (the solution).”
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The association also wants more federal grants that companies use to train and hire inexperienced workers. Black cited the Canada-Alberta Job Grant, which contributes 60 per cent of the cost of training employees.
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“When you consider that most of our industry is comprised of fairly small businesses, they don’t really have a training budget, they don’t have a lot of margin or overheads that they can fund this with,” Black said.
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The federal government invested $70.8 million in job programs in Alberta, about $27 million of which flowed to the grant.
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The funding for the program, along with others — such as an apprenticeship incentive grant that financially assists new workers who generally rely on employment insurance as they complete their apprenticeships — concluded in 2024 once the agreement between Ottawa and Alberta had expired.