🔭 Talent Thursdays: Stargazing

Together with

Good morning! 🏠 Looking for a cozy getaway? The iconic cabin in ‘Heated Rivalry’ isn’t fiction. The Barlochan Cottage, a minimalist lake house designed by Toronto architect Trevor McIvor, was built as a prefabricated Douglas fir structure with glass walls and a central granite fireplace. You can check it out for yourself in Muskoka for just $248 a night.

📈 BY THE NUMBERS

Canada’s population experienced a historic decline of over 100,000 people in 2025, marking the first annual drop since the 1940s as the federal government aggressively moved to reduce the number of temporary residents. This contraction, which brought the total population to approximately 41.5 million, was driven primarily by a significant exodus of international students and foreign workers following new federal curbs on non-permanent residency.

TOGETHER WITH POMERLEAU

Canada’s digital demands meet their expertise match

As demand for digital infrastructure accelerates, data centers are becoming some of the most complex and mission-critical builds in the country — requiring precision across power continuity, advanced mechanical and electrical systems, and rigorous commissioning.

Pomerleau is bringing a national, full-lifecycle approach to these projects — from early design coordination through to delivery — ensuring performance, reliability, and long-term resilience.

With specialized in-house expertise and a collaborative model, Pomerleau is supporting the next generation of high-performance facilities across Canada.

👷‍♀️ PEOPLE MOVES

Dawn Paquette has joined Turner Construction Company as Vice President & Chief Information Officer. She brings more than 30 years of experience leading information systems organizations.

Jason Towers has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Strategic Operations at Chandos Construction. Towers joined the company in 2011 as a Project Manager and has since held roles including Operations Manager in Red Deer, supporting teams across the country including Kelowna.

Jayeful Islam has joined the Calgary Construction Association team. With a background in policy writing, political analysis, and relationship building, Islam brings professional experience spanning the private, government, and non-profit sectors

Nic Labelle-Giugliani has joined Site Scan Inc. as Senior Sales Consultant, bringing strong industry relationships and experience to expand the company's reach across the construction sector with QA/QC scanning and Digital Twin solutions.

Trevor Muir, former President and CEO of Surepoint Group, has joined Matrix Movement as President. 

Shawn Turcotte is now Vice President of Operations - Ottawa at EBC Inc.

🗞 HEADLINES

📉 Hold fast: The Bank of Canada held its interest rate steady at 2.25% amid dual pressures from U.S. trade policy uncertainty and the war in Iran, which has disrupted oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz and driven energy prices sharply higher. The next rate decision is scheduled for April 29.

💼 Leadership change: Abbotsford, B.C.-born Mike Henry is stepping down as CEO of BHP — the world's largest mining company — after six and a half years at the helm. He will be succeeded in July by Brandon Craig, who currently runs BHP's Americas division, including its Canadian operations. 

🏠 Failure to launch: A new B.C. Auditor General report has found that the province was ill-equipped to support Lytton's recovery after a 2021 wildfire that destroyed 90% of the village. Key failures included the absence of a legal framework for disaster recovery, inadequate oversight of over $60 million in provincial funding, and an inability to facilitate collaboration with local Indigenous governing bodies. 

🔭 Eyes on the skies: The federal government has awarded Canadian aerospace company MDA Space a $32-million contract to build three ground-based remotely operated telescopes in Alberta, Manitoba, and New Brunswick, set for delivery by June 2028. The telescopes will be used by the Canadian Armed Forces to monitor threats to space infrastructure.

EVENTS

You're invited for whisky, wine, and winning conversations

SiteNews and ICBA Alberta invite you to this year's rendition of Industry Icebreaker — Cask & Key, with featured host John McNicoll — on May 7 at Edmonton’s historic Blatchford Air Hangar.

Step into one of Alberta’s most iconic venues for a night of curated whisky, bold wines, and sophisticated zero-proof cocktails, all enjoyed alongside live piano from industry legend Glenn Ackerley.

Test your swing in the Pro-Shop Challenge, rub elbows with senior construction leaders, and enjoy meaningful moments built to spark lasting connections.

Early bird tickets are available, but only until Friday.

🧠 INSIGHTS AND LEADERSHIP

Resources for professional development

• Delivering hard news with compassion

• This house proves modern architecture's biggest mistake

• Why do we despise a ‘jack of all trades’?

• The healthiest building material (and how to use it)

• A CM degree is still worth it

💬 QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"For a long time, blue-collar work like plumbers, electricians, bricklayers, has been devalued. But it could be in the next couple of years, these are the roles that are elevated the most, and that plumbers regularly earn more than lawyers." — Daniel Priestley, Entrepreneur and Founder of Dent Global

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Here’s to a great rest of the week!

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