Your ECA advocacy team spent the spring quarter of the year leveraging our work to raise awareness of the association and its value to policy influencers and government decision makers.
With local and provincial representatives, our messaging has focused on facilitating intergovernmental relationships between the City and the Government of Alberta, reducing barriers for our industry, and all aspects of workforce development—ranging from attraction and retention to education and training and creating more opportunities for you and your workers to connect and build community.
Our advocacy team has also continued to build support to address our key issues: ongoing investments in our city and region, a ordability and costs, regulatory equity, collaborative delivery models, contract modernization, capital planning, climate resiliency, housing and a ordability., and climate resiliency and energy e ciency.
ECA Strikes Government Relations and Advocacy Working Group
This newly appointed group falls under the Strategies and Engagement Committee of the ECA Board. Struck in February 2024, it aims to provide oversight and guidance to ECA advocacy, lobbying, and public relations activities conducted by the board and senior sta .
Members have an important role in informing ECA’s external outreach initiatives with the City of Edmonton, the Government of Alberta, and the many stakeholders we collaborate with regularly, including our colleagues with the Calgary Construction Association and the Alberta Construction Association.
Among the group's responsibilities are supporting ECA government relations, communications, and public relations tactics, fostering policy and advocacy alignment with stakeholders and other industry associations.
RYAN CHRISTENSEN Delnor Construction
PAUL FEREDAY Cantiro
LINDSAY MUNN Civida
BEN WAGEMAKERS PCL Construction JEN HANCOCK Chandos Construction
BROOKES MERRITT Loyalton Strategies
WARREN SINGH ACA
DAVID JOHNSON ECA
MATT SCHELLENBERGER ECA
In its inaugural meeting, the working group defined the ECA’s advocacy objectives, identified the key issues advance on behalf of members, and how these issues align with the priorities from the ECA and ACA strategic plans.
ECA Advocacy Objectives:
Define ECA value propositions, and increase government’s awareness of them.
ECA Key Issues:
Municipal Investments
A ordability & Cost
Increase member and stakeholder awareness of ECA’s policy positions and advocacy e orts.
Climate Resiliency & Energy E ciency
Equitable & Transparent Procurement
Workforce Development & Supply
Collaborative Delivery Models
Regional Collaboration
Regulatory Equity & Exemptions
Fireside Chat with Premier Danielle Smith
On May 14, the ECA acted as co-host for an evening discussion with Premier Danielle Smith at an event presented by UDI, presented by MacEwan University, and co-hosted by CHBA Edmonton Region, NAIOP, BOMA Edmonton, and IDEA.
This was a unique opportunity for ECA Board Chair Jen Hancock (Chandos) and President David Johnson to spend valuable one-on-one time with the Premier and raise awareness about the industry’s priorities and our hopes for further capital investments in the Edmonton region in the next provincial budget cycle.
“We’ve set a goal to step up provincial advocacy and to collaborate with the Government of Alberta to help companies grow and compete,” said Hancock. “When we create an opportunity like this to spend a few moments with the Premier, we discuss what matters most to our members: investment, workforce development, and making it easier for construction companies to do business.”
Johnson said the Premier was positive and responsive during their conversation. It also touched on the panel discussion topics of infrastructure, housing, real estate, investments in transit and rail, and new workforce training investments.
Mayor Amarjeet Sohi’s State of the City Address
In early May, ECA Government Relations and Advocacy Working Group members attended Mayor Sohi’s State of the City address. The mayor shared details of Edmonton’s rapid population growth. Since 2022, more than 100,000 people have moved to Edmonton, resulting in approximately 40,000 new households requiring municipal services.
The Mayor commented that while population growth increases revenues to the provincial treasury through taxation, it increases costs to the City. This strains local co ers, forcing city council to prioritize some expenditures over others. This theme echoes provincial advocacy from Alberta Municipalities.
In response to growth pressures, the mayor repeated his request for a per-capita i nfrastructure grant funding increase from the Government of Alberta. He also said the City has renewed its focus on core services, increased the policing budget by 20%, and invested $3B in the construction industry.
The ECA maintains positive working relationships with City Council members and the city’s Department of Urban Planning and Economy. The City of Edmonton is a preferred client of our members. During the networking portion of this event, our advocacy team engaged in discussions encouraging further investment in local construction and infrastructure and gained insights into the city’s strategic priorities, as well as its relationship with other stakeholders.
Edmonton City Council Luncheon
On May 22, the ECA board hosted members of Edmonton City Council for the annual advocacy luncheon to discuss common opportunities and challenges related to construction and infrastructure in the city. Topics discussed at the meeting included city leadership and departments, intergovernmental relations, housing, zoning and secondary infrastructure, permitting and building codes, and project delivery.
“Council was very engaged. They asked board members for their perspectives on the issues they hear about often - concerns over permitting timelines and value for dollars on construction investments,” said Matt Schellenberger, ECA’s Director of Corporate Development and the person responsible for putting together the annual luncheon with council. “Our team o ered them important feedback celebrating improvements in the permitting process - Edmonton is a leader compared to other Canadian cities, while we acknowledge there’s still work to do. We also provided thoughts on priorities for a new City Manager and project delivery improvements.
Board members heard the city is experiencing a 33% increase year-over-year in permit volumes and expect timelines to normalize in the months ahead as departments and stakeholders become more familiar with new zoning regulations and building codes.
Annual Day at the Alberta Legislature
On May 28, the ECA hosted its second annual Day at the Legislature - a successful tradition we expect to continue in 2025 in closer partnership with our provincial colleagues at the Alberta Construction Association. The value of ECA’s provincial advocacy was highlighted with a same-day government announcement of a $43M investment in apprenticeship training for the construction trades.
Attending the Legislature building for the entire day were ECA President David Johnson, ECA Vice Chair Ben Wagemakers (PCL), ACA Executive Director Warren Singh and ACA Senior Vice Chair Jen Hancock (Chandos), ECA Director of Corporate Development Matt Schellenberger and ECA Government Relations Consultant Brookes Merritt (Loyalton Strategies).
The delegation met with nearly 30 individuals representing five ministries, including Ministers Ric McIver, Dale Nally, Matt Jones, and Pete Guthrie of the Municipal A airs, Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, Jobs, Economy & Trade and Infrastructure ministries, respectively. Members of the group also met with political chiefs of sta , deputy ministers and assistant deputy ministers, and policy advisors from each ministry: the Ministry of Advanced Education, the Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Services and Deputy Premier, and the O ce of Premier Danielle Smith.
Annual Day at the Alberta Legislature
Minister Ric McIver introduced the delegation to the Legislative Assembly, as he did last year, and it received a warm welcome from the Premier, Ministers, and all UCP and NDP MLAs. During the Oral Question Period, Minister of Advanced Education Rajan Sawhney highlighted the $43M investment in the NAIT Advanced Skills Centre and spoke of the value of increased skilled trades apprenticeships in the construction, transportation, manufacturing and energy industries.
Other discussion topics of the day included predictable & sustainable funding, municipal a airs, prompt payment, workforce development and labour, codes and permits, and the ECA’s Tradeslink app and Tools for Schools Program.
Coming up in Q3
As the ECA settles into the summer golf and BBQ advocacy circuit over the next few months, stay tuned for advocacy updates from important events like the Calgary Stampede.
The ECA Government Relations Committee is also working with our partners at the ACA on provincial events for the fall, including the Infrastructure Partners Conference on October 7th & 8th. More to come.
