Together with

Good morning!👷🏻 While white-collar workers are sweating over AI coming for their jobs, builders are poised for success. Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang says that the future needs hundreds of thousands of electricians and plumbers to build out and maintain AI infrastructure. 

“The skilled craft segment of every economy is going to see a boom. You’re going to have to be doubling and doubling and doubling every single year.”

What’s in the newsletter:

👷🏻‍♀️ September People Moves

💰 New minimum wages

🧔🏻 Movember 2025

📈 LABOUR BY THE NUMBERS

Canadian employers are projecting slightly lower salary increases in 2026, with budgets averaging around 3.1–3.2%, down modestly from 2025 but still above pre-pandemic norms. Surveys by Normandin Beaudry and Mercer Canada indicate that most sectors plan modest adjustments to maintain employee motivation and retention, with tech, construction, pharma, and professional services at the higher end and tariff-affected industries slightly lower.

👷‍♀️ PEOPLE MOVES

Terry Thomas has stepped down from his role as CEO at Make Space after almost eight years and has been appointed as President of Maple Leaf Self Storage and Executive Vice President of Self Storage for QuadReal.

Zac Abelson has been promoted to Development Manager at Wesgroup.

Kristopher Wojtecki has been appointed President of Starlight Infrastructure Solutions.

Jeff Block has joined Spire Mechanical LTD in a Western Canada Sales role focused on business marketing and development.

Kiran Marok is now COO at Resident.

Erin Elliott has started a new position at Conwest Developments as CFO.

Matt Kamer is Western Canadian Properties Group’s new Director of Construction.

Don Bevacqua has been promoted to Manager, Surrey Land Development at Aplin Martin.

Jason Double is now Managing Owner at ePower Consulting.

Erich Meyer started a new position as Estimator/Project Manager at Green Infrastructure Partners. 

Jacqueline Burry has joined Universal Group as its new General Manager of Projects and Customer Experience.

Our entire list of major career updates for last month is live. Check it out in the link below.

AWARDS

Nominate today: Site Service Awards program has officially launched

Behind every build are countless skill sets — trades, marketers, safety managers, tech experts, HR pros, designers, and more who rarely, if ever, get their moment in the spotlight. That’s about to change. SiteNews has officially launched Site Service Awards to celebrate the full spectrum of talent that keeps Canada’s construction industry strong. In addition to an awards gala, the program will also include in-depth storytelling with a print-magazine, photos and articles. Learn more and nominate someone from your team right now using the link below.

🗞 HEADLINES

💰 New minimum: Five Canadian provinces—Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island—are increasing their minimum wages to help workers cope with rising living costs, tying the hikes to inflation measured by the consumer price index. New rates are $17.60 in Ontario, $16.50 in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, $16 in Manitoba, and $15.35 in Saskatchewan. Alberta remains the only province without a recent increase.

🕵️ Audited: Ontario’s Auditor General says the province’s Skills Development Fund Training Stream (SDF) steered more than half of its first five rounds of awards to lower-ranked proposals, often without adequate rationale, while overall employment outcomes lagged targets. Officials say the selection approach created an appearance of preferential treatment. 

🧔 Hair raising: The Movember Foundation has launched its annual construction industry campaign to raise money for men’s health issues. Last year, the industry raised nearly $1 million and Ledcor took home the Construction Challenge trophy for raising $100,000. Key issues include cancer screenings/treatment and mental health supports. 

❌ Rejected: A Dartmouth construction company faces a crisis after three Filipino employees had their work permit renewals rejected due to minor application errors—missing a $230 fee in two cases and a missing labour market impact assessment in another. The rejections force the workers to stop working immediately and either restart the months-long application process or leave Canada.

🧠 LEADERSHIP

Resources for professional development

• Business trip: Execs combat stress with psychedelics

• Co-CEOs: Are two heads better than one?

• How to find construction project leads

• 6 core skills great strategists have mastered

💬 QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Let’s be clear. These tariffs on our lumber have NOTHING to do with national security. They are an economic assault targeting B.C. families. In the United States, they’re designed to distract, but will actually raise prices for U.S. consumers.” - B.C. Premier David Eby 

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Here’s to a great rest of the week!

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