Recovery in oil sands and other engineering related work
likely won’t begin until later in the forecast period. Although
more moderate job growth is expected over the long term,
unemployment rates will remain above average this
decade compared to the last.

The forecast also shows:
• A recovery in new housing activity projected in 2018
and 2019, which adds back 10,000 jobs. By 2026, resi-
dential employment is above 2016 levels by 10 per
cent; • A further loss of 9,300 oil sands construction jobs
through to 2023 with recovery not expected until the
following year;
• The need to replace more than 36,000 workers who
are retiring this decade.

SASKATCHEWAN Residential building and major projects
help sustain employment
Modest gains in new home building this year, a second
wave of planned mining, utility and pipeline projects, and
a steady rise in maintenance work will help restore con-
struction employment to previous highs by 2021.

“Construction employment will sustain at high levels as
residential building and major projects cycle up and down
this decade,” Sparks said. “Meeting rising labour require-
ments by 2020, will mean persuading many of the workers
who may have left the province to head back.”
The forecast shows new home construction is ex-
pected to recover this year, sustaining stable levels of res-
idential employment through to 2022. After that, slower
population growth reduces housing starts and related em-
ployment. Industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI)
building is expected to decline over the short term, then
resume after 2019 depending on the timing of a series of
planned utility, pipeline and mining projects. Employment
will decline with the completion of major projects, however
rising maintenance and sustaining capital work will help
keep construction employment at relatively high levels.

BuildForce Canada’s forecast also shows:
• Major projects are expected to add 2,200 jobs, a 15
per cent increase by 2021;
• Project completions release more than 4,000 workers,
with many absorbed by rising maintenance and other
non-residential construction markets;
• The need to replace more than 9,000 workers ex-
pected to retire within 10 years.

“Industry needs to stay focused on recruiting new work-
ers even when construction growth slows,” Sparks said.

“The slower economy compounds the challenge of replac-
ing 17 per cent of the skilled workforce that’s expected to
retire this decade.”
MANITOBA Major projects keep the workforce growing strong
Major hydro, transmission and pipeline projects are ex-
pected to drive construction employment to a new high
8 – Spring 2017 — The Canadian Design and Construction Report
this year, with as many as 9,000 new workers needed this
decade to keep pace with construction and baby boom re-
tirements. “This year marks the height of two years of strong con-
struction growth in the province,” said Sparks. “When the
current up cycle in hydro and transmission work winds
down, a series of new projects will start. It’s a level of con-
struction activity that requires new workers, especially as
industry contends with an aging workforce.”
The forecast shows construction activity reaching its
highest point this year with major hydro and transmission
projects, industrial and commercial building as well as min-
ing, road, highway and bridgework all underway. As these
projects wind down between 2018 and 2022, they’re off-
set by ongoing hydro work and the anticipated start of
planned mining, pipeline and government infrastructure in-
vestments that result in a moderate rise in non-residential
employment to 2026.

New housing construction and home renovation work
is on the rise this year, driving residential employment to a
new high in 2022 before returning to current levels by the
end of the forecast period. Construction employment in
the province will remain at record levels for the next
decade. The BuildForce Canada’s forecast also shows:
• Maintenance requirements rise over the next decade
absorbing some of the declines in engineering con-
struction work after 2022;
• Women make up three per cent of the province’s
skilled construction workforce while 11 per cent are
Indigenous people;
• Up to 19 per cent of the construction workforce is
retiring over the next 10 years.

“Industry needs to stay focused on attracting more
women and Indigenous people to construction,” Sparks
said. “They could make a big difference in helping to
counter the loss of as many as 8,100 workers who are re-
tiring this decade.”
ONTARIO Major projects important for industry as rising
retirements create opportunities, challenges
Major infrastructure, transportation and utility projects
are creating a decade’s worth of work for Ontario’s con-
struction workforce. These projects will sustain employ-
ment over the next 10 years, while the impending wave of
baby boom retirements becomes the bigger challenge for
industry, “Ontario is losing as many as 86,000 workers this
decade to retirement,” said Sparks. “It’s a huge loss of skill
and experience that requires a concerted effort to attract
more youth, women and Indigenous people to construc-
tion as well as workers from outside the province.”
Between now and 2020, labour demands in the
province will intensify for current and planned infrastruc-
ture and major engineering projects.

“Labour mobility across regions will be key in meeting
rising demands for specialized trades,” she said.