BuildForce Canada’s provincial
construction labour market forecasts
Canadian Design and Construction Report staff writer
BuildForce Canada reports different construction labour
force issues around the country. Notably, even in areas
where there are job losses currently, retirements are ex-
pected to outpace new entrants to the labour force in the
next few years.

BRITISH COLUMBIA
– Construction workforce poised for growth
The ramp up of major projects in B.C., from proposed
transportation, pipeline and LNG projects to highway and
bridgework will bolster the province’s construction work-
force by 24 per cent, or almost 17,000 workers over the
next five years.

“It’s potentially the most rapid rise we’ve seen in B.C.’s
construction workforce in the past decade,” said Build-
Force executive director Rosemary Sparks. “The pace and
magnitude of many of these proposed projects will require
the steady recruitment of new workers from the local
workforce and from outside construction or outside the
province to meet labour demands, especially in remote lo-
cations.” BuildForce’s forecast shows proposed transportation,
pipeline, and LNG and mining investments are the primary
driver behind B.C.’s construction job growth from now to
the peak in 2021. Industrial, commercial and institutional
(ICI) building also continues on an upward trend, while new
housing is expected to cycle down this year, following a
period of extended expansion.

The forecast also shows:
• Following peak levels of activity, residential employ-
ment is expected to decline by about 15 per cent over
the scenario period;
• Renovation and maintenance work is expected to ex-
merk@merx.com ceed new housing by 2022, accounting for almost
two-thirds of residential employment;
• The need to replace as many as 40,000 baby boomers
retiring from construction in the next 10 years.

“The retirement of 21 per cent of B.C.’s construction
workforce compounds the challenge for recruiters,” Sparks
said. “Attracting more women and Indigenous people to
construction could be a big part of the solution in filling
that skills gap. Right now, they make up just four per cent
of the province’s skilled construction workforce.”
ALBERTA Second smaller wave of construction job losses expected
Alberta’s construction industry is projected to lose up
to 11,000 jobs over the coming year as several large proj-
ects reach completion and low oil prices continue to limit
new investment and growth.

“While a staggered recovery is expected to start next
year, it won’t lift all sectors of construction until about
2024,” Sparks said. “It’s a complex transition period for in-
dustry that needs to ensure it has a skilled workforce
trained and ready as the economy turns around.”
The BuildForce forecast shows that the pace of overall
job losses will ease in 2017. However, the slumping oil and
gas sector and the completion of major projects will drive
non-residential construction employment still lower by
2018. Commercial and industrial building is expected to
decline this year and next. Road, highway and bridge ac-
tivity slows, with job losses only partially offset by infra-
structure stimulus funding.

The rise in shutdown/turnaround work results in peri-
odic recruitment challenges for specialized trades, while
continuing growth in sustaining and maintenance work be-
comes an important source of employment. As the econ-
omy improves, new housing construction is expected to
pick up starting in 2018, with ICI building following suit.

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The Canadian Design and Construction Report — Spring 2017 – 7