🏆 Top 100

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Good morning! 🌭 From hot dogs to health care: a former Costco warehouse has been transformed into a clinic in St. John, Newfoundland’s east end. The facility was constructed by a group of contractors calling themselves Newfoundland and Labrador Health Alliance. Officials say a huge advantage was that the existing Costco layout was already open, allowing them to create space tailored to patient needs.

⏰ Today’s read: 5 minutes

MARKETS

Economy: Economists say Canada is entering 2026 facing a prolonged housing reset shaped by slower immigration, rising supply, and only modest relief from interest-rate cuts. Home prices continue to adjust downward after years of excess, resale inventories and vacant units have surged in major cities, and an unprecedented boom in purpose-built rental construction is colliding with near-zero population growth, raising the prospect of sharply higher vacancy rates.

NEED TO KNOW

The week's headlines

⚡ Underground movement: Ontario has approved plans for a new $1.5B high-voltage underwater electricity transmission line into Toronto to address rapidly growing power demand, accepting a recommendation from the Independent Electricity System Operator to add a third supply path from near the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station.

🧑‍⚖️ Heading to trial: A high-stakes trade secrets and business dispute between Alberta-based industrialized construction firms DIRTT Environmental Solutions and Falkbuilt is heading to trial next month. DIRTT has said the case will determine whether Falkbuilt and its leaders wrongfully caused losses that could exceed $50 million.

💰Road pricing: Newfoundland and Labrador government data show the cost of paving roads has nearly doubled over six years, with average costs per km rising from about $330,000 in 2019 to more than $610,000 in 2025, far outpacing a 20% rise in transportation CPI. Overall paving investments have increased 93% since 2019–20, while project costs rose 85%.

⚖️ Court challenge: The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear an appeal challenging the constitutionality of Ontario legislation that enables the redevelopment of Ontario Place on Toronto’s waterfront. Opponents argue the Rebuilding Ontario Place Act improperly shields government actions from court oversight and violates public trust by exempting the project from environmental, heritage and municipal noise laws.

THE BIG STORY

Revealed: Canada’s top 100 infrastructure projects

Just how big is Canada’s public infrastructure construction sector? We have the data to find out. Our sister publication, ReNew Canada, just released its Top 100 Projects report, shedding light on the state of the industry. 

The big number: It’s huge. ReNew’s report found the total value of Canada’s largest public infrastructure projects has reached $343B. This represents a record-breaking one-year increase of $43 billion—the largest year-over-year jump in the report's 20-year history.

Atomic age: What’s fueling this? The primary catalyst is the nuclear energy sector. Nearly $50B of the total value is attributed to just two Ontario nuclear initiatives: the Pickering Generating Station Refurbishment and the Darlington New Nuclear Project. Along with refurbishments at Bruce Power and Darlington, nuclear projects took four of the top six spots.

Keep it moving: Despite the growth of nuclear, the transit sector remains the largest by value, with 25 projects totaling $123 billion. New transit work included Calgary’s relaunched Green Line LRT, Toronto’s Yonge-North Subway Extension, and the federal government’s Alto High-Speed Rail Network.

The top spot: The $26B Pickering Generating Station Refurbishment project took first place on the list. Crews aim to extend the facility’s operation by up to 38 years. Expected to begin in early 2027 and finish by the mid-2030s, it will create roughly 30,500 jobs during construction and ultimately generate enough power for 2.2 million homes.

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

Bunk mates

The University of Toronto’s Koffler Scientific Reserve (KSR) completed a 28,860‑sq. ft. expansion with a new Dining and Operations Centre and 20 seasonal bunkies to support research, teaching, and student accommodation. The project, led by Montgomery Sisam Architects, integrated a timber-framed, sustainably designed central building with solar-equipped seasonal bunkies. Key participants included Van Horne Construction Ltd. as general contractor, Blackwell Structural Engineers for structural engineering and WSP for civil engineering.

PROJECT UPDATES

Ontario breaks ground on long-term care home

Construction on All Nations Hope Network now underway

Woodfibre modules on route to project

Dream Impact crafts plan to focus on major T.O. developments

$1.1M land deal secured by black pellet biofuel business

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

🏒 WATCH: Milan’s beleaguered Olympic hockey arena gets 1st test

🚧 READ: Laneway work builds momentum in Winnipeg

⬆️ WATCH: Let’s talk about Canada’s elevator problem

⚡ READ: Can stranded oil/gas wells power bitcoin mining?

🚛 WATCH: Moving the world’s largest haul truck through Alberta

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Here’s to a great rest of the week!

Disclaimer: SiteNews is an independently-operated news website. Views expressed are that of the editorial team and are based on publicly available information unless otherwise noted through sponsored content.