💧 Talent Thursdays: Slow drip

Together with

Good morning! 💧Did you leave your faucet running? The City of Hamilton is in hot water after discovering it has been leaking sanitary sewage into Hamilton Harbour for over 26 years. The issue was traced to a 1996 road construction project in which a contractor incorrectly connected a storm sewer to a combined sewer due to a mislabelled construction drawing.

📈 BY THE NUMBERS

The four dominant hyperscalers — Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Meta — are collectively on pace to invest between $635 billion and $665 billion in capital expenditures in 2026, representing a roughly 67% to 74% surge from the $381 billion spent collectively in 2025, with the vast majority directed toward AI chips, servers, and data centre infrastructure.

TOGETHER WITH NUFRAME

Five years, three acquisitions, one unmatched platform

Nuframe Group has completed a five-year growth strategy with the acquisition of JSN Construction, cementing its position as a leader in mid-rise, multi-family, residential wood-frame development. 

With JSN Construction’s Owner Josh Nicholson joining as VP, Nuframe is bringing proven operational expertise and top-tier framing talent into the fold — boosting efficiency, quality, and team performance across every project.

The company is now poised for Phase 2 of its strategy: embracing new technologies, expanding multi-provincially, and maintaining its market-leading platform.

👷‍♀️ PEOPLE MOVES

Chandos Construction has announced four key leadership promotions: Padraig McCarthy and Todd Baker have been named Vice Presidents & District Managers; Aleksi Makila has become VP & Division Manager; and Owen Nordmark has taken on the role of VP of the Centre of Excellence.

John Lilleyman has joined McElhanney as Chief Technology Officer. He expressed enthusiasm about the people and work at the organization as he begins his new role.

Ledcor announced the promotion of Chris Whitty to Senior Vice President, Heavy Civil & Mining Canada; Raj Sawh to Vice President, Major Projects – Canadian Heavy Civil & Mining; and Brian McPhee to Vice President, Infrastructure West.

Trevor Botkin has joined the Canadian Men's Health Foundation as Strategic Lead, Trades.

Jordan Dawson has been promoted to Vice President, Capital and Investor Relations, at Broccolini. 

Lindsay Worton has been promoted to Director, Talent Development at Chandos Construction. In this role, she will lead the launch of Chandos University while supporting expanded learning, leadership development, and operational excellence across the company.

Leah Wong is now Talent Acquisition Advisor at Pomerleau.

Roger Chouinard has been appointed Chief Legal and Strategic Initiatives Officer at Chard.

🗞 HEADLINES

🛢️ Pipe expansion: LNG Canada has assumed the lead role as execution manager for a potential $6B Phase 2 expansion of the Coastal GasLink pipeline, signing commercial agreements with TC Energy. The project would double the pipeline's capacity and cost around $6 billion.

🪙 Tax break: Ontario will temporarily eliminate the full 13% HST on new homes valued up to $1 million for one year with partial rebates scaling down to $24,000 for homes priced up to $1.85 million. Premier Doug Ford announced the measure — valued at nearly $2.2 billion in tax relief — projecting it will stimulate 8,000 additional housing starts and support up to 21,000 jobs. 

💰 Invested: ATCO Ltd. has acquired a 40% of West Kitikmeot Resources Corp. through approximately $10 million in staged investment, positioning itself as a major backer of the Grays Bay Road and Port project in Nunavut — a $1-billion-plus development that includes an all-season road, a deepwater port on the Northwest Passage, and an  airstrip.

🚦Firm deadline: Alberta's is moving to legislate a firm 120-day approval timeline for major energy projects, a measure Premier Danielle Smith says is designed to restore investor confidence and position the province as one of the world's most competitive jurisdictions for energy development.

🧠 INSIGHTS AND LEADERSHIP

Resources for professional development

• What every toolbelt setup needs

• AI doesn’t know what your safety experts know

• This is why all most all New Zealand roofs are metal

• Why the world’s most remote project went wrong

• Post-WW2 Berlin embraced prefab homes. Here’s what happened

💬 QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Canada’s renewed focus on transit represents a historic opportunity, but one that must be matched by technical excellence, thoughtful design, and national coordination. With the right frameworks, expertise, and collaboration in place, Canada can reclaim its leadership role in rail innovation and create a transit network that truly moves the country forward.” - Ana-Marie, Director of Strategic and Cross-Sector Initiatives with CSA Group writing for ReNew Canada.

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Here’s to a great rest of the week!

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