📐 Talent Thursdays: Extended

Good morning! 🐋 Looking for a nice place to retire your whale? The Nova Scotia government has approved a lease of over 80 hectares on the Eastern Shore to the American non-profit Whale Sanctuary Project, clearing the way for North America’s first whale sanctuary. The decision allows the group to begin construction and care for retired marine mammals.

What’s in the newsletter:

🚇 Subway extension RFQ

💰 Funding for women in the trades

🏠 Why company scaling matters for housing

📈 LABOUR BY THE NUMBERS

In September, overall employment in Canada rose by 60,000, a 0.3% increase, but the construction sector saw a decline of 8,200 jobs, or 0.5%, compared to August. Despite the monthly drop, construction employment was still up 1.2% from September 2024, with 18,900 more workers, totaling 1,628,100 on a seasonally adjusted basis. The national employment rate edged up to 60.6%, while the unemployment rate remained steady at 7.1%.

👷‍♀️ PEOPLE MOVES

Amit Patel has been appointed Vice President & Senior General Manager at Turner Construction Company.

Jeffrey Swartz, P.Eng., has joined Crozier: Consulting Engineers as Executive Vice President, bringing expertise from both private development and consulting engineering sectors to help accelerate the firm's growth across Ontario.

Brian Maksymetz is now Collaborative Delivery Portfolio Manager - Canada Water at Jacobs.

Ali Salman has started a new position as Partner at moduu.ai.

Andrew Mundy is now Field Operations Manager at Paragon Living.

Samarpith Iyer has been promoted to Virtual Design and Construction Manager at EllisDon.

Thomas Bekenn, P.Eng., has been promoted to Manager of Project Management at Vancouver-headquartered RAM Consulting, where he will continue leading infrastructure programs while mentoring teams.

Slade van Rooyen joined A&H Steel as Vice President Operations in September, bringing over 20 years of experience in executive leadership roles in the steel industry.

🗞 HEADLINES

🚧 Subway extension: Ontario and Metrolinx have issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) to select partners for the detailed design and construction of five new stations for the Yonge North Subway Extension, expanding Line 1 by eight kilometres into York Region.

👷🏻‍♀️Women in trades: Ontario is investing over $8.6 million to train more than 1,700 women across the GTA for careers in the skilled trades, as part of a broader $2.5 billion provincial investment. Funds will go to five organizations, including IBEW 353, Enercare Home Services, Newcomer Women’s Services Toronto, the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario, Brands for Canada, and The Career Foundation.

⛏️ Soot suit: Evolve Power Ltd. has settled its lawsuit with Alberta over the province’s reversal of its coal policy, agreeing to drop its claims and surrender two coal leases—Chinook and Greenfield—in exchange for $95 million. The suit stems from Alberta’s 2020 decision to lift, then reinstate, long-standing land protections for coal mining after public backlash. 

🚃 Paused: Metrolinx has paused the final 30-day test of Toronto’s long-delayed Eglinton Crosstown LRT after an unspecified incident last week, though no injuries were reported. The test, meant to confirm the system’s safety and readiness, will resume soon, according to Ontario’s transportation ministry. 

🧠 LEADERSHIP

Resources for professional development

• Why company scaling matters for housing

• When your employee says they have a drinking problem

• Going from failed student to successful contractor 

• Army general: How to build risk resilience

• Earn profit in construction (without burning yourself out)

💬 QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"This isn't just a workforce problem. It's a mindset problem. Too many schools steer kids toward debt-heavy degrees and away from honest, rewarding, hands-on work." - Timothy D. Lubniewski, General Manager at Rose Paving LLC.

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Here’s to a great rest of the week!

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