🔓 Talent Thursdays: Gateway unlocked

Good morning! 🏁 Middle schoolers in Fort St. John, B.C. aren’t waiting for their parents to get them a go-kart. After class, their school is teaching them the fabrication, welding and design skills needed to build their own and set them up for a successful career in the trades.

📈 BY THE NUMBERS

A new survey finds that half of Canadians support a proposed bitumen pipeline from Alberta to northern B.C., with strongest backing from Albertans, men, older Canadians, and Conservative voters, while only 17% oppose it. About 45% stated they see pipelines as important to the country’s economic future, and a majority believe they can be built responsibly. Most also support speeding up environmental reviews under Bill C-5 for projects deemed in the national interest. However, 68% say Indigenous community support is essential before construction proceeds.

👷‍♀️ PEOPLE MOVES

Matt McCleary, PMP has joined PCL Construction as Director of U.S. Public-Private Partnerships. With nearly 25 years of experience in real estate development and infrastructure delivery, McCleary brings expertise in P3s, alternative financing, and strategic execution.

Ben Voss has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Mazergroup, effective January 5th, 2026. Voss brings more than 25 years of executive experience across agriculture, manufacturing, technology, and large-scale project leadership.

Xavier Carballo has started a new position as Project Manager, Delivery, Scarborough Subway Extension at Metrolinx.

Kelsey Jenkins is joining ACCIONA and Trillium Rail Partners as Communications and Community Engagement Lead for the ECWE-SRS project.

Lisa DeSandoli has joined McElhanney as Division Manager, Environment, where she will support the Lower Mainland with ecological services, including assessment and permitting.

Allnorth Americas celebrates Q3 service milestones: Craig Ward (25 years), Steve Pereira, Darcy Netzel, Kevin Barton, Mike French, and Leydi Noble (20 years), Greysen Aby, Gavin Fitzgerald, Carla Leask, and Olof Hultkrans (15 years), Soleil Poncelet, Scott Neurauter, and Matthew MacDonald (10 years), and four team members recognized for 5 years of service.

John McNicoll has joined the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA) as Head of Industry Engagement for Edmonton and Northern Alberta. In this role, he will work with builders, contractors, and industry partners to strengthen relationships, support workforce development, and expand tools and services across the region.

William Levangie is starting a new position as Project Director at Axiom Builders.

🗞 HEADLINES

🚪 Open gateway: Manitoba is moving to create the Manitoba Crown–Indigenous Corporation (MCIC), a new entity that will lead major economic development and trade corridor projects, starting with the next phase of the Churchill Plus initiative. The corporation is designed to centre Indigenous leadership in decision-making, coordinate with the federal Major Projects Office, oversee studies and ensure economic opportunities and environmental stewardship flow locally 

⚔️ Culture war: Facilitators in Nova Scotia are running workshops to challenge the “boys will be boys” culture on construction sites, after apprentices reported hazing, bullying and pressure to conform to harmful masculine norms. The sessions encourage tradesworkers to rethink what it means to “be one of the guys,” model healthier behaviour and create safer, more respectful workplaces that support both mental and physical health.

🛠️ Fresh sheets: The federal government is committing nearly $9 million to green apprenticeship training for sheet metal workers, funding programs that help about 2,000 workers upgrade skills for low-carbon construction while supporting roughly 29,000 Red Seal tradespeople over five years. 

🖥️ Windows update: Microsoft is making a major construction-focused push in Canada, committing $19 billion between 2023 and 2027 to build out large-scale digital and AI infrastructure, including a significant expansion of its Azure Canada Central and East data centre regions. 

🧠 INSIGHTS AND LEADERSHIP

Resources for professional development

• Another day being a multi-billion dollar construction CEO

• Zero grace? You are killing your projects

• Revenue is NOT profit: Why your business is broke

• Borrowed knowledge vs. learned knowledge

• Ugh! 4 rules for dealing with difficult people

💬 QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“It's a lot more expensive to put an elevator in a building after you build it, than to put it in before you build it. You learn these hard lessons.” - Greg Appelt, founder and President of Appelt Properties, in an interview with SiteNews.

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Here’s to a great rest of the week!

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