👷Talent Thursdays: Ladder climbers

Together with

Good morning! 🪜A group of P.E.I tradespeople are looking to take ladders one step beyond. The startup says it has created the Ladder Spike, the world's first all-in-one mechanical footing system that boosts safety for workers. The idea came about during the pandemic when one of the company founders was laid off.

📈 LABOUR BY THE NUMBERS

Canada and the United States maintain a vital trading partnership that underpins millions of jobs, particularly in the industrial sector. In 2024, approximately 1.8 million workers—8.8% of total employment—were employed in industries where at least 35% of jobs depended on U.S. demand for Canadian exports. Industries most reliant on U.S. demand included key industrial sectors such as oil and gas extraction (74.3%), pipeline transportation (71.7%), primary metal manufacturing (60.8%), and transportation equipment manufacturing (56.0%).

👷‍♀️ PEOPLE MOVES

Hammad Chaudhry has joined Timescapes as its new Vice President, Market Development & Partnerships. Prior to this role, he was Vice President, Innovation and Construction Technology at EllisDon.

Jan Jenisch, chairman and former chief executive of Holcim, is now chairman and CEO of Holcim’s North American company following its multi-billion dollar spin-off. Jenisch has been leading the separating of the company’s North American business into a separate U.S.-listed entity. 

Shalana Morton has started a new position as Director of Construction at PML Professional Mechanical. 

Brad Burnett is now president of ITC Construction Group, taking the role over from Doug MacFarlane, who will continue to serve as CEO. Burnett joined ITC in 2003 and has more than 25 years of industry experience. 

Jason Double is now Director, Preconstruction at Alltrade Industrial Contractors. 

RJC Engineers has announced the appointment of three new Principals and four new Associates. With these appointments, RJC’s leadership has grown to 55 Principals and 55 Associates as the organization rings in its 77th year of business in 2025.

Jesse Unke has joined MNP as Partner on the BC Advisory team. 

Nolan Frazier is taking on a second-line sales leadership role at Procore, overseeing its Canadian Enterprise and Commercial business. He is now Regional Sales Director, Canada. 

James Rogers is now Senior Director of Carbon Strategy at CarbonCure Technologies. 

Geoffrey Smith, Executive Chair of EllisDon, is the 2025 Toronto Regional Builder Award recipient. The Toronto Region Board of Trade stated that his leadership has helped shape EllisDon into a global construction powerhouse, driving innovation and growth in the Toronto region. 

Conner O’Leary has been named Director, Industrial Development at Beedie. He has been with the company for six years.

🗞 HEADLINES

End of year: 👷 Canada’s labour market ended the year on a high note, adding 91,000 jobs in December 2024, the largest monthly gain in nearly two years, and lowering the unemployment rate to 6.7%. The gains were broad-based, led by full-time positions and industries like education, transportation, finance, and health care.

Stop loss: 💵 Ontario Premier Doug Ford issued a stark warning about the economic impact of Donald Trump’s proposed 25% tariffs on Canadian goods, estimating potential job losses of 450,000 to 500,000 in Ontario alone. Ahead of a meeting between Canada’s premiers and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss responses, options include retaliatory tariffs and restricting energy exports to the U.S.

Kelowna memorial: 🕯️ Construction of the Rise Memorial, honoring five men who died in the 2021 Kelowna crane collapse, will begin in February at Knowles Heritage Park despite a $150,000 provincial grant denial. The community, City of Kelowna, and Mission Group raised approximately $300,000, with a contractor offering to build at a reduced cost, offsetting the estimated $1 million total.

Future of work: 🦾 Pitt Meadows Plumbing and Houle Electric are co-hosting the Future of Work 2025 event on April 24–25 in Maple Ridge, B.C., focusing on innovation, collaboration, and workforce development in the construction industry. The event features a mix of keynote speeches, panel discussions, and hands-on sessions.

🧠 LEADERSHIP

Resources for professional development

• The top 5 causes of construction-project delays

• Why don’t railroads need expansion joints?

• Green flags to look for in job interviews

• Lessons in leadership from Nelson Mandela 

• How effective leaders delegate with accountability

📆 EVENTS

25 Innovators: Canada’s top subtrades talk disruption

How are Canada’s top subtrades disrupting the construction sector on the job site and in the office? Find out at our 25 Innovators in Construction event next month. We will be speaking with high level leaders about their key strategies. Use the promo code 25SMALLGIANTS in the link below for 25% off tickets.

Where: Site HQ – 2393 W Railway St, Abbotsford

When: 6:00 p.m., February 6, 2025

🔥HOT JOBS

Senior Project Manager - Kingston, Ont. - Chandos

Environmental Manager, Infrastructure - Surrey, B.C. - Ledcor

Senior Superintendent - Ottawa, Ont. - EllisDon

Director of Construction - Burnaby, B.C. - Square Nine

Senior Planner/Scheduler - Vancouver, B.C. - Graham

🔥 Check out all roles up for grabs right now at SiteNews Jobs or put your job post in front of tens of thousands of construction professionals here.

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!

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