New housing and major infrastructure proj-
ects in Ontario are driving construction job
growth, especially in the Greater Toronto
Area and southwestern Ontario. That’s
where recruiters are focusing on the prov-
ince’s biggest engineering projects includ-
ing transit and nuclear refurbishment.With
about 20 percent of Ontario’s construction
workforce retiring this decade, as many as
86,000 new workers are needed to coun-
ter the exodus. In Quebec, current and pro-
posed utility, pipeline, highway and bridge
projects are expected to create new jobs,
with an increase of about 10 percent over
the next 10 years.
To the east, anticipated investments in en-
ergy, utilities and manufacturing will boost
engineering related employment in New
Brunswick from 2020 to 2025. It’s the only
Atlantic province where housing starts
are expected to rise over the short term.
Major projects are winding down in New-
foundland and Labrador as total construc-
tion employment returns to levels of the
early 2000s. In Nova Scotia, a major trans-
12 business elite canada
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FEBRUARY 2017