✍🏼 Frank

Good morning!  🏒 Mamma mia! Will Canada’s elite hockey players have to skip another Olympics? With just two months to go, construction crews in Italy are racing against the clock to finish Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. NHL officials said if the stadium isn’t ready, NHL players will not attend for the third time in a row. 

⏰ Today’s read: 5 ½ minutes

MARKETS

Economy: Experts are bullish on commercial. Avison Young’s 2026 Canadian Outlook saw 97% of surveyed experts across Canada expecting commercial building activity to increase or remain stable—a notable jump from mid-2025. Investment volumes have held steady since 2024, and Q3 2025 marked the strongest sales quarter since 2022. Experts anticipate continued growth in 2026, supported by potential interest rate cuts. The survey of nearly 200 Canadian professionals provides strategic insight into sector trends and regional outlooks across major cities.

NEED TO KNOW

The week's headlines

🚃 Substantial: Crosslinx Transit Solutions has reached substantial completion on Toronto’s 19-kilometre, 25-stop Eglinton Crosstown LRT, transferring full operational control after a successful 30-day demonstration period. The project runs along Eglinton Avenue and serves surrounding regions across midtown Toronto.

🏠 Ottawa deal: The federal government and the City of Ottawa are partnering on a $400-million plan to build up to 3,000 affordable homes, with Ottawa waiving development charges, permit fees, and property taxes to speed construction. Build Canada Homes will finance 2,000 units on federal land, with construction expected to begin next year.

🩺 Healthy business: Dr. Greg Appelt is using his medical background to build medical facilities and now housing across Canada. We spoke with him about how he built one of Canada’s largest medical real estate businesses and how he’s helping add critical healthcare capacity. 

🏗️ Sales pitch: Federal Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon and other officials plan to meet with Saskatchewan-based fertilizer company Nutrien to urge it to build a proposed $1-billion potash export terminal in Canada rather than the U.S., where Nutrien has chosen the Port of Longview, Washington.

THE BIG STORY

What Frank Gehry leaves behind for Canada’s builders

 Toronto roots: Gehry moved to L.A. as a teen, but never fully left Canada behind. He reimagined the Art Gallery of Ontario with wood, glass and light, transforming a patchwork of past renovations into a single, bold vision. His final Canadian project, Forma, is both a homecoming and a high-rise rebuke to safe, forgettable design.

Pushing beyond: Gehry’s buildings weren’t just beautiful — they were difficult. Realizing his vision often required new materials, new software, and deep collaboration between architects, engineers and trades. He helped push the limits of what construction teams believed was possible, and forced developers to build smarter, not just faster.

Economic upside: While critics called his designs extravagant, the results were often priceless. Bilbao’s Guggenheim put the city on the global map. The AGO’s transformation boosted attendance and revitalized its block. Gehry made the case that signature design — when done right — can deliver cultural, civic, and financial returns.

A missed opportunity: Canada has rarely embraced this kind of ambition. Gehry didn’t design a single public university building or transit hub here. Forma only happened because a private developer asked for it. In a country with growing cities and generational construction targets, design is often treated as an afterthought.

Carrying the flame: Gehry is gone, but the challenge he posed to the industry remains. Do we want cities that inspire? Or just meet code? Gehry showed the limits of what is possible and challenged the status quo. 

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

Smart water

The Wastewater Innovation Centre in Barrie, Ontario is being delivered by a team led by Stantec (with WSP Canada) as designers, and built under an Integrated Project Delivery contract by a joint venture between Bird Construction Inc. and Maple Reinders Constructors Ltd. (MBJV). The project reimagines municipal wastewater infrastructure as civic architecture — using weathering-steel cladding reminiscent of industrial piping, strategic massing and glazing to enhance street presence, rooftop solar, passive daylighting, and efficient systems.

PROJECT UPDATES

Work on new ER in Eriksdale to start next year

The Goodfish Lake First Nation Arena is officially complete

Ontario partnering with Ottawa to build modular homes

RFQs now being accepted for for Longue-Rive redevelopment

Edmonton boasts 200 infrastructure projects completed during 2025 

Stantec-Graham team to deliver Brantford Sports and Entertainment Centre

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

✍🏼 READ: New Pattullo bridge gets its name

⛏️ WATCH: How they dig (REALLY) deep in Vancouver

💰 READ: How much will prompt payment impact B.C.?

👕 WATCH: Is this work shirt a Carhartt killer?

🖥️ READ: How Microsoft’s AI tech is transforming concrete

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Here’s to a great rest of the week!

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