INDUSTRY>NEWS

It won’t surprise the panelists from Procore’s Canadian Construction Forecast 2023 if the construction sector outpaces the slowing growth expected in Canada’s general economy this year.

The panelists at the breakfast event, which took place at the Fairmont Royal York hotel in Toronto on January 31, outlined what their research is indicating as they discussed factors driving construction forward in Canada, as well as potential downside risks such as geopolitical and economic trends that may play out as the year unfolds.

Harshil Gupta, regional product marketing manager for Procore, was moderator for the panel discussion, and provided some insights into the Canada’s economy and its construction sector, in particular, before leading the panel through several industry-related questions.

“This is a historically tight labour market,” said Gupta, as he shared findings from several Canadian organizations, inlcuding the Business development Bank of Canada (BDC), which he said expects to see the Canadian gross domestic product (GDP) grow by a modest 0.5 per cent in 2023.

“They would like us to think of this as economic stagnation rather than recession,” he explained.

Mary Van Buren, president of the Canadian Construction Association cited her association’s own economic reporting for 2023, which indicates an expected slowdown in the second quarter on the residential side of construction.

Van Buren said that sentiment and optimism remains high in the industry, however, and stated that factors like decaying infrastructure in Canada and the push to update and “green” civil infrastructure and buildings across the country will create opportunity for the construc- tion industry.

Immigration will also have a positive impact on high-rise residential construction, said Adam Freill, editor at On-Site Magazine. Freill expects the increased number of newcomers to Canada in 2022 and 2023 to be a positive catalyst for the multi-unit residential segment of construction in the coming years.

Alex Carrick, chief economist at ConstructConnect, considered the geopolitical factors that will affect the industry, “I think the talk of recession is overblown,” said Carrick, “There was a 2.1 per cent increase in GDP in the U.S. in 2022 and the unemployment rates are low in both Canada and the U.S.”

Carrick stated that the global push toward Net-Zero 2050 is as important as the industrial revolution because the entire world is moving away from a dependence on fossil fuels. With this global push, Carrick says mega-construction projects have started in Canada and the U.S. as the countries look to build hydrogen plants, electric-vehicle manufacturing plants, chip-making plants and battery plants like the over $5 billion battery-manufacturing plant by Stellantis and LG Energy Solution in Windsor, Ont.

Among the factors that could have a negative impact on the industry were labour and supply chain shortages.

“Our contractors are feeling the pain of shortages. They’ve had to decline proj- ects because of labour shortages and it’s impacting Canada’s ability to grow,” said Van Burren.

“Labour has always been in the top three issues impacting our industry,” said Freill, who added that technology like software to manage projects and paperwork can help mitigate some of the issues. “It’s about doing more with what we do have, and technology can help us do that.”

Each panelist mentioned the positive impact technology can have in the industry.

Carrick expects automation to continue trending higher in the industry and suggested modular building and 3-D printing of components as advances that can help the industry. Van Burren mentioned that exoskeletons can also help mitigate the wear-and-tear on labourers’ bodies and can allow more types of people to enter construction.

Beyond technology, Van Burren put some of the ownness of solving the industry’s labour-shortage issue on the federal government: “We need to change the point system for immigration. We need to let in more skilled labourers.”

Looking ahead, Van Burren said she is looking forward to more predictability in the coming year. She would like to see a stabilizing workforce and GDP and expects the government to commit to long-term (25-year) infrastructure plans.

EllisDon launches women and gender-nonconforming safety vest campaign

EllisDon has launched its Fit Your Frame campaign. The program aims to provide construction safety vests to women and gender-nonconforming persons whose frame and body type are not best served by traditional safety vest offerings.

“Traditional safety vests are not built to fit women or gender-nonconforming persons, and we wanted to change that,” said Jennifer Khan, the company’s vice-president of inclusive diversity.

“Every day, EllisDon is working towards more inclusive measures on our sites and in our offices; I hope that this will continue to ripple throughout the industry so that everyone, and I mean everyone, feels welcome,” she added.

The construction company has partnered with Md Bespoke, a Black-owned Canadian custom clothing manufacturer that will produce vests that will uphold the quality and function of traditional safety vests, but with additional fitting and size options.

“It is so important to feel like you belong in a workplace, and I know from personal experience what that can do mentally to you when you feel like you do not belong,” said Tess Durrant, chief operating officer at Safety BeSpoke.

Lafarge and TransAlta look to fly ash for concrete

Lafarge Canada and TransAlta Corporation are going to repurpose landfilled fly ash to replace cement in concrete. The fly ash is a waste product from TransAlta’s Canadian coal-fired electricity operations west of Edmonton, which ended in 2021.

“Driving innovative and sustainable initiatives is a key part of our business in Alberta and across Western Canada,” said Brad Kohl, president and CEO of Lafarge Canada (West). “There is great potential in repurposing materials across the construction value chain. Transforming landfilled material, such as fly ash, into a usable product for construction, is a win-win solution for all of us.”

“Our role in this project demonstrates TransAlta’s commitment to supporting innovative solutions for our customers that reduce their environmental footprints and meet their ESG goals,” said Blain van Melle, executive vice-president, Alberta Business, at TransAlta Corporation. “Using fly ash to make concrete creates a valuable opportunity to recycle one of the largest waste streams in North America. It’s a great complement to the zero-emissions electricity we are currently providing to Lafarge from our wind platform in Alberta.”

Landfilled fly ash must first go through a beneficiation process to be used in concrete. The project will use Ash-TEK Ponded Ash Beneficiation System (PABS) technology, which has consistently produced high quality ash during trials and has a low-carbon footprint and an economical operating cost.

Lafarge will deploy this unique approach to the process, removing moisture from the ash, milling it, and removing excess carbon, ensuring that it meets regulatory standards and market expectations. Geocycle, a provider of sustainable waste management services worldwide, and Lafarge’s subsidiary in Canada, will also join the initiative.

Fit Your Frame is led by EllisDon’s inclusive diversity leadership group 2gether and is geared towards reflecting all forms of gender expression. The campaign, which has launched, will continue nationwide throughout all EllisDon’s area offices and sites with vests will be distributed to EllisDon employees.

To order vests, send an email inquiry to contact@safetybespoke.com.

Alberta fly ash to replace cement in concrete.

“Landfilled fly ash sometimes has too much carbon, which affects how much air there is in the concrete. Once we can treat and separate that carbon, then the fly ash is ready to be used in place of cement,” commented Sophie Wu of Geocycle. The fly as can be used to replace up to 25 per cent of the cement, in a standard replacement, she explained.

“We recognize that seizing opportunities to optimize cement is a key part of our CO2 reduction strategy,” said Kohl. “Thinking outside the box is a part of how we do business.”