📈 Growth forecast

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Good morning! ✈️ Massive wind turbine blades for green energy projects are so challenging to transport that they are creating an infrastructure bottleneck. Engineer Mark Lundstrom solution is simple: Build the world’s largest plane to them where they need to be. It would be as long as a football field and allow for bigger projects. 

⏰ Today’s read: 4½ minutes

MARKETS

*Stock data as of last market close; currency, oil and crypto data as of 11:00 PM ET April 1st, 2024.

Economy: The Home Depot has announced an $18-billion deal to acquire roofing distributor SRS Distribution. Experts say the move shows they're serious about tapping into the contractor and construction market. The Home Depot stated they aim to finalize the deal by the end of January. They're planning to finance the acquisition using a combination of cash reserves and debt.

THE BIG STORY

Closing our national infrastructure gap

Nobody knows exactly what the future holds for Canadian construction, but BuildForce Canada is using data to give us their most educated guess. Here’s the scoop from their latest report:

Residential Construction: Investment peaked in 2021 (272,000 housing starts) with record-low interest rates and sky-high housing demand. The sector took a hit in 2023 (-10%) due to rising interest rates but investment is expected to bounce back by 2025 and continue rising. Renovation activity due to aging housing stock could surpass new housing growth by 2031, ending 9% above 2023 levels.

Non-Residential Construction: Public and private sectors will fuel a steady upward trend. Engineering projects are predicted to cycle lower in the middle years before rebounding, especially in Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and B.C. where major transit and utility projects are planned.

Industrial: Investment in industrial, commercial, and institutional building projects is anticipated to see a steady upward curve through the decade. Part of this is due to high levels of investment in the construction of institutional and government buildings; part is also due to a rebound in commercial building construction as the economy returns to growth. By 2033, non-residential investment is projected to grow by nearly 2% above 2023 levels.

Labour Challenges: Construction employment is set to rise, but retirements pose a challenge. The industry needs to fill a whopping 85,500 worker gap by 2033, even with increased recruitment efforts. But there’s also some good news. A notable trend throughout 2023 was the increasing employment of women in the construction sector. For women aged 15 years and over, employment rose by 8.2%.

Silver Lining: Yes, the challenges are immense, but the construction industry’s problems have become the nation’s problems. More and more Canadians are realizing that some of the roots of their issues with high living costs and housing affordability can be traced back to high construction costs and labour shortages. The more those dots are connected, the better chance we have of getting bold solutions on the table. 

NEED TO KNOW

The week's headlines

🤝 The Government of Ontario and the City of Ottawa say they have reached a new deal around major infrastructure spending. The agreement includes up to $197 million over three years in provincial operating supports and up to $346 million over 10 years in provincial capital supports.

🏠 The latest data from Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation shows new home construction in Canada’s six largest census metropolitan areas remained high in 2023. Apartment starts surged, driven by more favourable demand and financing conditions predating 2023, alongside government support for rental construction. Despite the growth in apartment starts, supply has not kept pace with demand.  

🏗️ Salvage crews have carefully removed the first pieces of Baltimore’s collapsed bridge using large cranes and barges. Officials say there is no timeline for when the operation will finish or when divers can resume searching for missing construction workers who are presumed dead.

💰 Ontario has released its budget, which calls for $1 billion to be spent in the new Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program and quadrupling the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund to a total of $825 million to help municipalities repair and expand the critical infrastructure needed to reach their housing targets.

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

Tower makeover

One of Canada’s most iconic structures, the CN Tower, will soon have a brand new look. Adding to the last major renovation to the tower in 2018, the lower Terrace level will feature a modernized design, extended indoor viewing, and a brand-new glass floor. Crews will also replace flooring on the main level. Construction is expected to wrap up this fall.

PROJECT UPDATES

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

READ: 🧊 Constructing snow and ice castles in Yellowknife

VIDEO: 💪 An ergonomic jack hammer. Your back will thank you. 

PHOTOS: ⛏️ Ancient construction methods revealed in Pompeii

READ: ♻️ Is recycled aluminum the next big sustainable material? 

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Here’s to a great rest of the week!