NEWS BRIEFS
“All these projects were planned
ahead of time, and when things were
a little bit rosier,” Mwale said, noting
that while there is optimism about an
economic recovery in 2017, “a little bit
of apprehension” remains among the
city’s builders.

Slowing construction across Saska-
toon - the number of housing starts
recorded so far in 2017 trails last year’s
total by 46 per cent, while building per-
mits are down 52 per cent — has likely
been felt by the city’s residential con-
struction sector as well, Mwale said.

Statistics Canada reported last
month that Saskatchewan’s construc-
tion industry lost 4,300 of its roughly
50,000 jobs over the previous 12
months - the single biggest year over
year decline recorded by any industry
in the province.

MANITOBA Endenshaw Developments
to co-develop Winnipeg’s
SkyCity with Fortress Real
Developments Fortress Real Developments says
that the company has signed on Eden-
shaw Developments Ltd. as a co-devel-
oper on SkyCity Centre Winnipeg.

With a groundbreaking slated for
later this spring, the team has been
working behind the scenes to move
the project towards construction.

“We have been excited about this
project right out of the gates,” Fortress
chief operating officer Vince Petrozza
said in a statement. “With such a large
CONSTRUCTION ACROSS CANADA
and complex tower, we always antici-
pated the need to add a co-developer
for this project, to bring it across the
finish line. After meeting with Eden-
shaw we knew right away they were
the perfect fit for this task.”
Edenshaw, based in Toronto, is a
multi-faceted real estate company with
Winnipeg ties of its own.

“When Fortress came to us with the
proposal to work together on this proj-
ect, I was excited,” Edenshaw presi-
dent and CEO David McComb said. “I
have been in the industry for years and
developed projects in Canada’s two
major markets, Toronto and Vancouver,
but this was a unique opportunity for
me to be a part of something iconic in
a place I used to call home.”
McComb, born in Winnipeg, will
lead the consultant teams on the proj-
ect and will work with all municipal de-
partments to bring this development
through to construction and then com-
pletion. “We are thrilled to have such a pas-
sionate, experienced team join us in
this endeavour to create what we be-
lieve will become the landmark of the
city,” said Fortress president and CEO
Jawad Rathore. “The team has already
hit the ground running, and together
we are focused on delivering this
iconic tower which will add to the fab-
ric of the newly revitalized downtown.”
The 45-storey tower was brought to
market in the fall of 2015 and currently
has achieved more than 50 per cent of
the residential sales.

Red River College
announces new program
to train newcomers for
construction jobs
52 – Spring 2017 — The Canadian Design and Construction Report
A new Red River College program in
Winnipeg is providing essential lan-
guage and construction skills training
to refugees and newcomers to Mani-
toba who arrived in the past year, Man-
itoba education and training minister
Ian Wishart has announced.

“As we’ve seen in recent months,
there’s a growing need to provide sup-
port for refugees in a variety of ways
including direct employment and
labour market programming,” said
Wishart. “We commend Red River Col-
lege for its vision in developing this im-
portant program, which will link
newcomers with employment opportu-
nities and allow them to develop the
skills they need to succeed in the work-
force.” The new, four-month Pathway Pro-
gram to Construction Skills will focus
on developing essential language
skills, safety training and basic con-
struction skills training in the areas of
drywalling, masonry and flat-top roof-
ing. Following the completion of the
program, students will participate in a
paid month long, full-time work place-
ment to further refine their skills and
gain essential on the job experience,
with the goal to support long-term em-
ployment, Wishart said.

Twenty students are currently en-
rolled in the first intake of the program
from countries including Syria, Sudan
and the Democratic Republic of
Congo. A second intake is being
planned for September with similar op-
portunities in Manitoba’s construction
sector, Wishart said in a news release.

ONTARIO OCS Construction
Confidence Index
anticipates growth in 2017
The economic outlook for Ontario’s
construction industry is positive and
confidence has increased across the
province, according to findings from
the 2017 Construction Confidence Indi-
cator, an annual survey of construction
contractors conducted by the Ontario
Construction Secretariat (OCS).

With a score of 60 out of 100, the
confidence indicator reveals a majority




of Ontario’s construction firms expect
to conduct more business this year
than last.

The indicator was released as part
of the OCS’s 17th annual State of the
Industry & Outlook Conference at the
Metro Toronto Convention Centre on
March 9.

“Increased construction activity is
always a good sign for the overall
economy and things are decidedly
looking better for Ontario in 2017,” said
OCS CEO Sean Strickland. “We’re see-
ing a couple of possible explanations
for the boost in optimism like invest-
ments in major infrastructure projects
across the province and an improved
economy south of the border.”
CONSTRUCTION CONFIDENCE SURVEY
2017 The annual Construction Confidence Survey, conducted by the Ontario
Construction Secretariat (OCS), measures the overall health of Ontario’s
construction economy and the industry’s outlook for 2017.

Here, based on 500 interviews with contractors across the province, is what you
need to know about the economic engine of growth that is construction in 2017.

CONSTRUCTION CONFIDENCE INDICATOR
Regional confidence scor
scores: es:
Eastern 59
Northern 57
2016 57
60 2017
GTA The Constru
ction Confidence Indicator reveals
r eveals
Construction contractors’ per
ceptions of business conditions for
perceptions the next 12 months. A r reading
eading above 50 indicates
that the number of contractors who expect to
conduct mor
gr eater than those
more e business is greater
expecting to conduct less business.

INDUSTRY OUTLOOK IN 2017
COMPARED TO LAST YEAR?
61 Southwestern
60 Central
62 SECTOR OUTLOOK
Percentage Per
centage of Contractors Expecting
Significant Gr
Growth owth Acr
Across oss Ontario
Same 27
Better 47
Worse W orse
43% 25
33% Don’t Know
2 45%
34% 26%
Optimism is highest in the GTA
GTA, , wher
where e
56% of contactors expect Ontario's
ction industry to gr grow.

ow. constru
construction 63 per cent of contractors in
Kitchener-Waterloo expect significant
owth in the high-rise residential
r esidential sector.

sector .

gr growth
Industrial Commercial
Commer cial
Institutional Engineering/
Civil High-Rise
Residential According to detailed regional data,
Central Ontario is the most confident
with a confidence score of 62, fol-
lowed closely by the GTA with a score
of 61. Northern Ontario reports the
lowest confidence with a score of 57,
however, optimism has nevertheless
improved since 2016. Significant in-
vestment is being made in post-sec-
ondary education facilities in Northern
Ontario including major projects at Lau-
rentian University, Canadore and Con-
federation College.

Dawn Desjardins, deputy chief
economist of RBC, who delivered the
conference’s keynote address, says
the findings aren’t surprising.

“Ontario’s economy beat the na-
tional average increase in real GDP
growth in both 2015 and 2016 and we
expect 2017 will mark the year Ontario
was the fastest growing province,”
said Desjardins. “Fiscal stimulus and
consumer spending will be key sup-
ports in 2017 and will likely lead busi-
nesses to pick up the pace of
investment activity as the year pro-
gresses.” The Construction Confidence Indica-
tor analyzes expectations of growth
across five construction sectors – in-
dustrial, commercial, engineering/civil,
institutional and high-rise residential.

The results show that across the
province in the non-residential sector,
contractors expect to see the most
growth in the engineering/civil cate-
gory with 43 per cent of respondents
anticipating “significant growth” in
2017. Expectations for “significant
growth” in this sector are highest in
Eastern Ontario at 57 per cent.

Contractors expect the high-rise res-
idential sector to be a stronger per-
former in 2017. Overall across Ontario,
45 per cent of contractors anticipate
“significant growth” in this sector.

Kitchener-Waterloo leads the province
in high-rise residential optimism with
63 per cent of contractors anticipating
“significant growth,” most likely a di-
rect spin-off from the construction of
new light rail transit.

Despite the boost in overall confi-
dence, nearly half of the 500 contrac-
tors surveyed report they expect the
Trump presidency to have a negative or
harmful effect on Ontario’s economy
and construction industry. This senti-
ment is most acute in Windsor-Sarnia
where 59 per cent of respondents be-
lieve Trump’s government will harm
Ontario’s economy.

Alternatively, opinion in Hamilton-Ni-
agara appears polarized with 40 per
cent of firms forecasting the Trump
presidency will have a positive impact
on Ontario’s economy and 44 per cent
predicting a negative effect. Three
common sources of concern include
increased construction material costs,
negative impact on the manufacturing
industry and decreasing investment in
projects due to economic uncertainty.

The confidence indicator also looks
at employment trends. This year’s sur-
vey shows an 11 per cent increase in
apprenticeship employment in the
unionized construction sector over the
past two years, while the non-union-
ized sector has only seen a three per
cent increase. Eighty-three per cent of
unionized firms employ apprentices
compared to 49 per cent of non-union
firms. Ottawa to begin discussions
on light rail link with Western
Quebec, ignoring MOOSE
initiative Ottawa City Council has started vi-
sualizing connecting the city’s Light
Rail Transit (LRT) system to Gatineau
across the Prince of Wales bridge,
though none of the public documenta-
tion about this process has made any
mention of the MOOSE Consortium’s
private sector initiative to turn that
bridge into the linchpin for a commer-
cially financed regional passenger rail
service connecting 16 Eastern Ontario
and Western Quebec municipalities.

Council approved a motion to “di-
rect staff to continue to work with their
counterparts in the City of Gatineau, to
explore potential enhancements to
public transit and active mobility con-
nections between Ottawa and
Gatineau including, but not limited to,
the future use of the Prince of Wales
Bridge to inform the next update to the
Transportation Master Plan.”
The motion, introduced by Council-
lor Keith Egli, also asks Mayor Jim Wat-
The Canadian Design and Construction Report — Spring 2017 – 53