⛏️ Talent Thursdays: Gold rush

Together with

Good morning!  👷🏻 While the National Day of Mourning has passed, a new memorial will ensure that construction workers who are killed, injured or get sick on the job are remembered year round. Ontario has unveiled the design for a new construction workers’ memorial which features plaques that bear the names of impacted workers. A new plaque will be added each year.

📈 BY THE NUMBERS

The Bank of Canada has maintained its key interest rate at 2.25% for the 4th consecutive time. The future policy path depends on two main risks: the bank may implement rate hikes if high oil prices lead to persistent inflation, or rate cuts if escalating U.S. tariffs and trade restrictions further stifle Canadian economic growth and productivity.

TOGETHER WITH PROCORE

Your AI insights could win you big

Canada’s construction leaders are sharing insights on AI and tech adoption. Share your voice and enter for a chance  to win a $2,000 golf + spa experience*.

*No purchase necessary. Open to Canada (excl. QC), 4/1/26–5/15/26. Total prize value: $4,296.70 CAD. Odds depend on entries. Void where prohibited. See here for full T&Cs. Sponsor: SiteMedia.

👷‍♀️ PEOPLE MOVES

Arup has added 3 senior leaders to its Toronto office: Chris Teolis as Associate Principal and Data and AI Leader for the Americas. Susanne Manaigre as Rail Operations and Maintenance Leader. And Adrian Sheppard as Rail Project Director.

Pearson Brock has joined Timescapes as Head of Sales, North America.

Robert Potts has joined Scott Builders Inc. as a Senior Project Manager in the Edmonton office, bringing over 17 years of experience in delivering complex institutional and multi-family projects.

Catherine Roome has been appointed President & CEO of Concert Properties, effective May 26. She has over three decades of leadership experience across infrastructure, regulation, and public-interest organizations. Her previous role was President & CEO of Technical Safety BC.

Jason Shanks is stepping down from his role at CBRE after 8 years and will be relaunching his move management business, Creative Move Management, following a few months of travel and recharge.

Dean Cox has been promoted to VP at Birnie Electric Limited.

Othmane Lazrak has been appointed Director at Oxford Properties Group.

Helder Amaral is is now Executive - Civil at Limen.

Sean Ross has joined EBC as Project Director

Dario Gnoato, P.Eng. is stepping down as Chief Executive Officer at Backwoods Energy Services & Backwoods Security Services, effective May 8, 2026.

Rachel Pollock has been promoted to Marketing & Proposal Specialist at Omicron.

Shabbir Lasani has joined Valency Inc. as Vice President of Growth Marketing. In this role, he will help shape the company's category around CAPEX project assurance and construction readiness.

David Restivo has been appointed to Partner at Dillon Consulting Limited.

Tatiana Reynolds, CPA, CA, has joined Pro Line Fittings as Chief Financial Officer.

Kate Mueller, P.Eng. has departed from Falkirk after nearly five years, where she supported approvals for major British Columbia projects and helped grow the company to nearly 70 professionals. 

Elias Mohamad has joined the leadership team at HIBCO Construction as General Manager, transitioning from his role at Chandos Construction.

VDZ+A has promoted three leaders to Principal: Travis Martin, recognized as a leader in youth recreation and play environments with experience across Canada and overseas; Stephen Heller, Interior Chapter Chair of BCSLA and director of the Kelowna studio; and Taylor Webber, who has grown the civil engineering division

Marnie Williams has been promoted to Senior Director, Major Projects & Programs at RAM.

Alexandre Moreau is stepping into a new role as Chief Human Resources Officer at Veolia | North America, after more than 5 years in the company's Asia-Pacific zone.

Philippe Goulet has accepted the Director of Operations role at Bird Construction Ottawa.

Dorival Giannoni is now Director of Finance Transformation at Universal Group. 

Scott Pegg has joined AECOM to lead the Canadian public sector advisory business.

Carol Leaman has been appointed to Bridgit's Board of Directors as an Independent Director, while Vincent Seguin has been named Chief Technology Officer, accelerating the company's AI strategy.

Judy Hoang has been promoted to Vice President, Finance at Ledcor. Since joining the company in 2014, she has led results-driven finance operations teams and partnered with executives to advance critical business initiatives.

Vanessa McNeil has been promoted to CPO at Pinchin in Canada.

Tony Ribeiro is Director at Minto Group.

Want more? The complete list of People Moves for April is out! See them all in the link below.

EVENTS

Prepare to get CALIBRATED

Are you ready? We have put together an action packed, one-day program to arm women in the industrial sector with everything they need to start achieving their career goals. Join us on May 13th at the Vancouver Club for a full day built around the specific pressures of leading in technical, industrial, and heavy sectors

Tickets are available now — but not for long. Secure yours today.

🗞 HEADLINES

⛏️ Construction gold rush: We sat down with PCL Construction’s Tyler Kautz to explore the massive surge in data center demand, which he describes as a "21st-century gold rush" projected to reach $1.3 trillion globally over the next decade. 

👷🏻 100K workers: Prime Minister Mark Carney’s "Team Canada Strong" initiative is a $6-billion federal strategy aimed at closing a projected 1.4-million-worker labor gap by training up to 100,000 new skilled tradespeople over the next five years.  

🎒 Back to school: Ontario government is investing $1.6 billion to fund 79 school construction projects province-wide, a move set to create over 29,000 new student spaces and 1,900 licensed child care spots.

💰 Fee cuts: Can Metro Vancouver’s roll back of development cost charges boost the region’s the homebuilding sector? We spoke with Conwest COO Ben Taddei to get his thoughts on the move and what is holding back the industry.  

🧠 INSIGHTS AND LEADERSHIP

Resources for professional development

• Got 13 minutes? Here’s the week’s biggest headlines

• Moving a bridge: Learning from the NWT’s persistence

• This will change how you think about miter saws

• Leisure is not optional for high-performing leaders

• Young people don’t have a hunger to work (here’s why)

💬 QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Canada’s new government is catalysing a series of nation-building projects in energy, trade, critical minerals, transport, data, and beyond – projects that will make Canada stronger, more resilient, and more independent. Through the Canada Strong Fund, all Canadians will have the opportunity to share directly in these benefits. This is our country, this is your future, and we are building it together.” - Prime Minister Mark Carney on Canada’s first sovereign wealth fund.

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Here’s to a great rest of the week!

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