Construction is set to begin on a highly anticipated gigafactory in St. Thomas, Ontario. The record-breaking facility is valued at $7 billion and will bring jobs and opportunity to the town of 43,000. The new plant is expected to begin production in 2027 and will ramp up with demand. PowerCo, a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group, has commenced its recruitment efforts for the facility, which will produce EV batteries, the largest of its kind in the province and country. The facility will begin by hiring hundreds of workers, a figure that will grow...

A partnership between Bechtel and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) continues to work to prevent suicide and improve mental health in the construction industry. Last year, $7 million was pledged to AFSP and now workers can access the first wave of resources. The campaign, Hard Hat Courage, comes complete with a suicide prevention toolkit for contractors, as well as resources and support. The initiative was built by the partnership along with a CEO advisory council and outreach efforts and is geared toward reducing the...

The Canadian government has announced a new strategy to support the softwood lumber industry, with up to $700 million in loan guarantees, $500 million for product and market diversification, and the prioritization of Canadian lumber for federal projects and procurement, as well as new investments in workforce development and support with regards to market expansion and international trade. The new federal measures were welcomed by the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA), which represents 37 municipalities across the region, as...

A new affordable housing deal has been established between the Canadian government and Alberta, and it bodes well for Calgary, which is one of the fastest growing housing markets in the country, with great demand for affordable housing (affordability is defined as housing costs that are no greater than 30 percent of household income). The Affordable Housing Partnership Program is valued at more than $200 million for affordable housing units in the province. The federal government will match Alberta’s contribution dollar for dollar. Part of...

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) has chosen a Canadian-led consortium for the first stage of construction on Pearson International Airport’s multi-billion-dollar Long-term Investments in Facilities and Terminals (LIFT) redevelopment project that will see a decade of capital improvements directed at modernizing and expanding the airport into a more sustainable, digitally enabled environment. The program consists of three key components: the Accelerator phase; the Gateway phase, which will see future expansion to sustain projected...