👮🏻‍♂️ Talent Thursdays: Copper lining

Together with

Good morning!   💼 Get a job! Young people sure are trying. Labour data shows Canadians aged 15 to 24 have an unemployment rate more than double the national average as employers pump the brakes on entry-level hiring. StatsCan says they are “bearing the brunt” of a challenging labour market.

📈 BY THE NUMBERS

Construction spending is down. In February, total investment in Canadian building construction fell 2.1% to $23.0 billion, primarily pulled down by a 3.3% contraction in the residential sector. This residential decline was driven by a significant drop in multi-unit construction (down 6.9%). Conversely, the non-residential sector saw a slight increase of 0.7% to $7.0 billion.

TOGETHER WITH KNTRCTR

Your subcontractor process is running on memory. (We know.) That's a problem

In construction, your reputation follows you, and a big part of that is the company you keep on site. The contractors who consistently bring in the right subs don't get there by accident. They get there by knowing who delivers — and who doesn’t — and by making sure that knowledge doesn't disappear as the company scales, or walk out the door when someone moves on.

KNTRCTR was built to give that knowledge a reliable home.

👷‍♀️ PEOPLE MOVES

Shane O’Donnell, Principal and COO of TYBO Contracting, has announced plans to step down after 20 years at the company. A founding partner of TYBO, O’Donnell says he is currently planning his next career move. 

Tony McCadden has been promoted to Vice President, Major Projects, at Jacob Bros Construction. He has been with the company for more than 10 years. 

Jeremy Reeds has been promoted to CEO at Windmill Development Group. Jonathan Westeinde transitions to Executive Chair, and Adam Molson joins as Partner, Development.

Doug Rennie is now Heavy Construction Manager at Meraki Resources where he will build out Major Projects construction capabilities to support upcoming transmission and infrastructure work. 

Richard Walker has announced his retirement later this year after leading XL Construction and guiding its integration with Graham.

Thurber Engineering has announced leadership promotions across its three regions: Weiss Mehdawi, Cory Smith, and Paul Evans have been named Vice Presidents and Regional Managers for Ontario, Prairies, and B.C. respectively.

Tahltan Nation Development Corporation (TNDC) announces the promotion of Gavin Day to HEO Training Superintendent and Jennifer Hanak to Vice President, People & Safety.

Kurt Knebel has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer for Pulice, a FlatironDragados company. 

Blake Christian has joined Graham as Executive Vice President, Buildings US. Based in Seattle, Blake brings more than 30 years of experience leading complex building operations across North America.

Allnorth Consultants Limited has promoted Wesley Lennon and Duncan Taylor to Vice President. Wes becomes VP Operations, Infrastructure while Duncan becomes VP Operations, Industrial.

Raza Azizi has transitioned from Viola Ready Mix Inc. to Atom Materials Inc. as General Manager.

Paul Bordignon has joined Site Scan Inc. as Chief Operating Officer, where he will lead all field operations.

Shawn Rohleder is starting a new position as Project Director at Axiom Builders.

Ben Huang has joined StreetSide Developments - Vancouver (A Qualico Company) as Project Director.

Russel Lolacher is celebrating 15 years with the BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit and 3 years as Product Director for DriveBC Modernization.

Colin Doran is stepping into a new role as EVP & COO at Finnegan Marshall after 28 years with Altus Group.

Dawn Paquette has been appointed Chief Information Officer at Turner Construction, bringing over three decades of technology leadership experience. 

Janine Grossmann has been appointed Senior Director, Business Development, Architecture + Design (A+D) at B+H Architects. She will lead Interior Design business development across the firm's Toronto and Vancouver studios.

Bahaa Hajar is now BIM/VDC Team Lead-Atlantic Canada at Pomerleau.

David Keane of Keane Strategic Consulting has been appointed as a consultant to the Canada Infrastructure Bank, supporting the advancement of major infrastructure and LNG projects across Canada.

Jesse Funnell has been promoted to President at The Crossing Company 

EVENTS

Recess hits different at SiteSummit

SiteSummit 2026 is Summer School — and we all know that at school, recess is half the point.

Between lectures and seminars at George Brown's Waterfront Campus, 600+ of the industry's top operators will kick back at an Official FIFA World Cup Viewing Lounge. Yes, you read that right.

They’ll play beer pong and foosball, tuck into pizza, and allow themselves to actually let loose. 

Because we know this industry’s best conversations don't happen when we’re stuck in a classroom — they happen when we get to play.

June 23-24. Toronto's waterfront.

🗞 HEADLINES

💻 Software blues: When Dustin DeVan sold his startup to AutoDesk in 2018 for $275 million, it wasn’t the pinnacle of his career. It was just the beginning. He spoke with SiteNews about why most construction software sucks and his vision for transforming the preconstruction process. 

🚧 Equipment check: Alberta RCMP executed a search warrant at the Edmonton headquarters of XCMG Canada, the world's fourth-largest heavy equipment manufacturer, as part of an ongoing fraud investigation. The raid follows a recent $32 million legal injunction against the Chinese company in B.C.

🚨 Crime wave: A new bill aims to address a 200% surge in copper wire theft. The federal laws would amend the Criminal Code to categorize the theft and trafficking of infrastructure metals as indictable offenses, significantly toughening penalties to include fines up to $25,000 and 10-year prison sentences. 

👀 Cracking down: Edmonton is implementing the Construction Accountability Program to crack down on irresponsible builders responsible for messy, unsafe, or poorly managed worksites. Because the city cannot legally deny permits based on past performance, the program will require higher oversight for offenders.

🧠 INSIGHTS AND LEADERSHIP

Resources for professional development

• How young workers think differently 

• Why site protection costs so much

• 5 reasons heavy equipment uses diesel 

• Scaling a contractor from $1M to $10M

• A time management guide for business owners

💬 QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“This win belongs to our members. Years of consistent, evidence-based advocacy, from individual companies raising the alarm on project viability, is what moved the needle. This is what collective action looks like. And there's more work ahead.” - Michael Drummond, EVP, Urban Development Institute, on Metro Vancouver’s decision to roll back DCC rates.

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Here’s to a great rest of the week!

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