Housing Starts in Canada – All Areas. (Source: CNW Group/Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) The total monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of housing starts for all areas in Canada decreased seven per cent in March, with 242,195 units getting underway compared to the 260,047 reported by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) for February. The dip had the six-month trend in housing starts slipping by 1.6 per cent, moving from 247,971 units in February to 243,957 units in March. The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the SAAR of total housing starts for all ..read more

(Photo courtesy of Heidelberg Materials North America) MHI-LCSC, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, and Kiewit have been awarded a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) contract for the carbon capture technology at Heidelberg Materials North America’s Edmonton Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) project. The FEED study will leverage MHI’s proprietary Advanced KM CDR Process developed jointly with The Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. Heidelberg is using a two-stage competitive procurement process as it works to select the carbon capture technology and contractor to pro ..read more

(Photo courtesy of B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure) South Fraser Station Partners, a consortium comprised of Aecon, Acciona and Pomerleau, has been selected by the Province of British Columbia as the preferred proponent for the stations contract on the Surrey Langley SkyTrain Project. The project includes the design and construction of eight stations, three transit exchanges, nine power substations, and 250 metres of guideway at the SkyTrain’s terminus station. Financial close is expected in the second quarter of 2024. “Aecon looks forward to working with our client and pa ..read more

Communities across British Columbia will benefit from enhanced protection against the impacts of severe weather thanks to a combined investment of more than $26 million in resilient infrastructure from federal, provincial, and municipal governments. Announced by Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Minister Sean Fraser and Bowinn Ma, British Columbia Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, the projects receiving funding aim to better mitigate the impacts of climate-related disasters, playing a critical role in ensuring the safety of people, protecting local businesses, and s ..read more

Eric Teague. (Photo courtesy of McCloskey International) Eric Teague has joined McCloskey International as sales director for the Americas, Oceania and Pacific. Teague brings 30-years’ experience in the North American heavy construction equipment sector to his new role, having worked in all facets of the business, including sales, rentals, distribution, parts, and service on both the OEM and distributor sides. “On behalf of the entire McCloskey team, I’m delighted to extend a warm welcome to Eric Teague,” commented Anthony Bouvie, vice-president of sales and marketing, MPP Global. “Eric is b ..read more

Meeting Canada’s housing supply targets to help improve affordability will require the construction industry’s residential and non-residential labour forces to grow significantly over the next decade, says BuildForce Canada. (Image source: BuildForce Canada) In its recently released Residential Scenario Outlook, 2024 to 2033 report, the national industry-led construction organization explained that the residential construction sector will need to grow its labour force by 83 per cent above 2023 levels, to just under 1.04 million workers, for the construction industry to be able to address the ..read more

(Artist rendering courtesy of CMLC and Arts Commons) After two years of planning and design work, Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) and its partners at Arts Commons and the City of Calgary have revealed the architectural design for the Arts Commons Transformation expansion. The project will include a new building featuring a 1,000-seat theatre and 200-seat studio theatre, marking a significant step forward in the delivery of the largest arts-focused infrastructure project currently underway in Canada, said CMLC. “The transformation of the Arts Commons campus is a more than half-billi ..read more

Gordon Plotkin (centre right), Canada regional sales director, HD Hyundai Construction Equipment North America, presents a commemorative plaque to Hurricane Industrial Equipment president and CEO John Patterson (centre left), welcoming the team to HD Hyundai’s growing dealer network. Also pictured are, from left: Chris Davis, district manager, HD Hyundai Construction Equipment; Darin McLean, CFO/partner, Hurricane Industrial Equipment; Brian Slavinski, district manager, compact equipment, HD Hyundai Construction Equipment; and Andre Couture, district service manager, Canada, HD Hyundai Constr ..read more

(Image courtesy of Province of British Columbia) With an aim to build faster and more sustainably, British Columbia is adopting building-code changes to permit the use of mass timber in more types of buildings, including schools, shopping centres and housing. The province says updates to the B.C. Building Code will benefit people in the building and housing sectors with the expanded use of mass timber. “These changes will help reduce carbon pollution, support the forestry sector, create jobs, build more homes and lead to more vibrant communities,” said Ravi Kahlon, the province’s minister of ..read more

Building permits, February 2024 (Source: Statistics Canada, Table 34-10-0285-01, Building permits, by type of building and type of work.) Several major non-residential construction projects helped drive the value of building permits to $11.8 billion in February, a gain of 9.3 per cent from January. The non-residential sector grew 12.3 per cent, to $4.7 billion, while the residential sector increased 7.4 per cent, coming in at $7.1 billion. A gain of almost 22 per cent in Ontario led provinces in growth, with gains occurring across all components there. Growth in the non-residential sector wa ..read more