📝 Bad grades

Together with

Good morning! 🎸 Get ready to rock out in Toronto (temporarily). First announced last September, the bare-bones music venue Rogers Stadium has been built at a blistering pace. Some of the most anticipated artists slated to play this summer include Stray Kids, Coldplay, Black Pink, Oasis, System of a Down and Deftones. But don’t get too attached. The plan is to eventually disassemble it all.

⏰ Today’s read: 5 minutes

MARKETS

Economy: U.S. President Donald Trump announced a dramatic tariff hike—doubling import duties on steel and aluminum to 50%—sparking price surges in the U.S. and sharp declines in foreign steelmaker shares. The move, effective June 4, escalates global trade tensions and follows accusations that China broke a trade rollback deal. Canadian officials say the new tariffs will cause “mass disruption” for local steel producers. 

TOGETHER WITH THE CANADIAN CONSTRUCTION ASSOCIATION

Local associations are strengthening the Canadian construction industry

Construction keeps Canada moving, building everything from community centres and roads to hospitals and schools. Behind the work are the businesses and people that get the work done. Local construction associations are here to support them. Membership with an LCA means access to practical tools, expert advice, and a network of peers that help businesses stay informed and ready for today’s challenges. It also means being part of a broader effort to strengthen the construction industry across Canada. When members come together through their local associations, they gain more than just resources. They become part of a connected group of more than 18,000 organizations working to shape the future of construction. Together, they help push for better policies, stronger advocacy, and a more resilient industry. Whether it’s sharing knowledge, facing common challenges or influencing positive change, membership means having the backup you need today and in the future. Learn more in the link below.

NEED TO KNOW

The week's headlines

🚧 New ground: Edmonton has broken ground on the $1.4 billion Capital Line South LRT expansion, which will connect Century Park to Heritage Valley Transit Centre along 111 Street, adding 4.5 km of high-floor track, two tstations, an underpass, two bridges, and a maintenance facility. Expected to take five years, the project aims to support 15,000 daily riders as the city’s population surges. 

⚛️ Atomic age: Construction has officially begun on North America’s first small modular reactor (SMR) at Darlington Nuclear Generating Station in Ontario, marking a $21 billion, made-in-Canada project aimed at meeting rising electricity demands. Approved by federal and provincial regulators, the BWRX-300 reactor—part of a four-unit build—will provide clean, reliable power for 1.2 million homes and create 18,000 jobs, with the first reactor expected online by 2030.

🛢️ Pipe dreams: Following the first ministers meeting in Saskatoon, Prime Minister Mark Carney is facing continued pressure from Alberta and other provinces to support a new oil pipeline and repeal Bill C-69, the federal environmental review law. The meeting is focusing on fast-tracking infrastructure, boosting internal trade, and reducing red tape, with Ontario signing new trade agreements with several provinces. Carney is proposing “One Canadian Economy” legislation to accelerate national project approvals.

🛎️ Room service: A new 320-room, full-service convention hotel is set to be built at Calgary’s Stampede Park, marking the first such development in downtown Calgary in 25 years. Announced by the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation and the Calgary Stampede, the $330 million project will be developed, owned, and operated by local firm Truman on an 85,000-square-foot site near the expanded BMO Centre.

THE BIG STORY

Housing report card: Please stay after class

Canada's housing crisis just got graded. Nearly every province’s efforts to build homes flunked or barely passed, sparking a political brawl from Edmonton to Victoria. Another way to determine this without assembling a task force: ask anyone currently looking to buy. 

Not making the grade: The "Report Card on More and Better Housing" gave every province in Canada a mediocre-to-failing grade. B.C. topped the list with a C+, while Alberta came in dead last with a D+. The federal government received a B for policy leadership, but the overarching message was clear: Canada is on pace to miss its 2030 housing targets by 2.5 million homes.

The recommendations: The report offered a clear roadmap for improvement, including massive investments in non-market housing, reforming building codes, reducing municipal red tape, integrating climate resilience and tying federal funding to outcomes. 

Ripping up the report card: Alberta called the report "baseless" and "politically motivated". The provincial government was chastised for underinvesting in non-market housing and dragging its feet on building code modernization. They also noted B.C.’s higher grades despite having one of the most unaffordable housing markets on earth. 

The bottom line: Beyond all the finger pointing, we aren’t thinking big enough or treating this like the crisis it is. For example, social housing made up less than 6% of Canada’s housing stock in 2021. Singapore's public housing program serves 80% of the population. Ottawa has talked big when it comes to modular building and government housing, but will it and the provinces go big enough to provide relief? 

AWARDS

Most Influential: Last day for nominations

If you know someone who is making a difference in Canadian construction, it’s not too late to nominate them for Construction’s Most Influential People. Today is the final day to submit. Nominees can be any age, in any position and do work in any way that impacts the built environment. Click the link below to get those nominations in before it’s too late!

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

Come sail away

The shíshálh Nation, in partnership with Renewal Development and Wesgroup Properties, has relocated 10 single-family homes from Port Moody, B.C., to the Nation’s Selma Park subdivision near Sechelt. They were transported by truck and barge. The project has provided significant employment for shíshálh Nation members—about 70% of the workforce—and addresses an acute housing shortage, with hundreds of Nation members on a waitlist.

PROJECT UPDATES

New hotel planned for Calgary’s Stampede Park

Designer chosen for 15k-person community in Toronto

Graham reaches deal for $41M of Mapleton water infrastructure projects

Red Hill curve to be reconstructed in Hamilton

Blackwater gold and silver mine opens in B.C.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

VIDEO: ✍🏼 Why blueprints are a thing of the past

READ: 🚛 EllisDon partners with Phil App to deal with excess materials

VIDEO: 🏗️ Is this New Brunswick modular factory the key to housing?

READ: ❤️‍🩹 Hospital files $100M lawsuit over crooked floors

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Here’s to a great rest of the week!

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