📉 Shrinkage

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Good morning! 💍 A Toronto Jewelry store had a major scare last week when a man dressed like a construction worker pretending to do work tried to rob the place by smashing display cases with a hammer. Someone should tell this would-be robber there is plenty of money to be made swinging a hammer on a job site.

In this issue:

💰 Canada’s economy shrinks

🏗️ Heritage project wins big in Vancouver

📸 August’s best construction photos

MARKETS

Economy:  The price of oil recently spiked to its highest point in over half a year and broke a two-week losing streak as investors expect supply to tighten. Experts expect Saudi Arabia to prolong a voluntary 1 million barrel per day oil production cut into October to support prices.

THE BIG STORY

Economic headwinds threaten homebuilding

Hold on to your hard hats. The Canadian economy had an unexpected contraction and officials say how we handle it could severely impact the construction sector.

The latest data shows cracks forming. Economic activity fell at an annualized rate of 0.2 % in the quarter, led by a drop in housing investment and a pullback in consumer spending, Statistics Canada said Friday.

What’s happening in construction:

• Construction activity was down for the second consecutive month, decreasing 0.6% in June, as residential and non-residential construction activity contributed to the decline. Residential building construction (-2.0%) was the largest contributor to the decrease, down for the 14th time in 15 months, reflecting continued declines in home alterations and improvement, and lower construction of new single-detached homes in the month.

• Non-residential building construction (-1.4%) posted a second consecutive decline, as construction of commercial, public and industrial buildings all fell for a second month in a row.

• Only engineering and other construction activities (+3.2%) rose, up for an 11th consecutive quarter.

Avoiding a hike: Some leaders like B.C. Premier David Eby fear that the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates. In a letter to the bank, Eby wrote that the province needs all hands on deck to deal with the housing crisis and rising rents. He added that B.C. needs to build a lot of housing and address inflation by bringing housing costs down.

What it means: Economists are arguing that while it has taken a while, previous hikes are working and the overheated economy is beginning to cool to a more stable state. They believe that the unexpected contraction is actually good news for those who don’t want to see interest rates rise even further. The bank’s decision will come on Wednesday.

NEED TO KNOW

The week's headlines

🚨 Ontario's Housing Minister, Steve Clark, resigned following a scathing commissioner's report that revealed ethics rules were breached during the removal of land from the Greenbelt.

🏠 Calgary is considering a major proposal to turn 15 acres of city-owned land into transit-oriented development near future Green Line LRT stations. The rezoning would allow for new buildings to house roughly 1,100 people.

⏳ New documents show the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project is under intense internal and external pressure to finish the project on schedule. The official target date for the mechanical completion of the project is sometime during the third quarter of this year with the pipeline's in-service date expected in early 2024.

🔎 A shortage of industrial land and developments in Ontario Supply have led to higher lease and sale prices. In response, more and more businesses are looking to lease industrial property in other areas of the country. Newfoundland and Labrador is at the top of the list.

📉 A major B.C. construction charity has shut its doors. Since its start 2014, HeroWork has renovated 17 buildings for charities in theGreater Victoria with a value of $8 million. The group attributed the decision to increasing construction costs, reduced returns on fundraising and successive financial losses on renovation projects.

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PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

What’s old is new

Haebler Construction and Acton Ostry Architects’ work on Yaletown Square is turning heads. The project recently won the Heritage award from the Vancouver Regional Construction Association. The project involved the rehabilitation of an existing two-storey 1910 Yaletown heritage designated warehouse building with a new three-storey addition above. The building will be used for a mix of commercial and retail.

PROJECT UPDATES

Gordie Howe bridge tower reaches its full height

Kontrol Technologies snags monitoring contract for rail infrastructure 

Rockyview General Hospital expansion to boost men’s healthcare 

Water treatment contract terminated after workers accused of sexual assault

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

PHOTOS: 📸 We have the best construction shots of the month all in one place

READ: 👀 Calgary VR company tours projects before they are built

PHOTOS: 🏗️ The world’s largest 3D-printed neighbourhood has arrived

READ: ⛽ Abandoned gas station gets new life in St. John’s

WATCH: 🪨 This home was built around a 12,000-year-old boulder

HOT JOBS

🔥 Check out the best roles up for grabs in construction right now:

• Senior Originator, Canada West – Calgary, Alta. – Capital Power

• Manager, Environment – Edmonton Alta. – WSP

• Project Manager – Vancouver, B.C. – Wood

• Manager, Facilities/Pipeline Maintenance – Regina, Sask. – SaskEnergy

• Project Manager, Infrastructure – Burnaby, B.C. – EXP

• Sr. Study Manager – Saskatoon, Sask. – Cameco

• Project Manager – London, Ont. – Ameresco

• Project Controls Manager – Toronto, Ont. – DRA Global

• Project Manager – Vancouver, B.C. – Stantec

• Project Controls Manager – Quebec – Progesys

Check out all roles at SiteNews Jobs or put your job post in front of tens of thousands of construction professionals here. . Hurry up before our free trial ends!

Struggling to fill a role? send us an email at [email protected] to connect with one of our specialized recruitment experts.

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Here’s to a great rest of the week!