Latest news with #CalgaryConstructionAssociation
Global News
31-07-2025
- Business
- Global News
Tariff uncertainty taking a toll on Alberta's construction industry
With the clock ticking down to Friday's deadline for Canada and the United States to negotiate a new trade agreement, people who work in Alberta's construction industry are keeping an anxious eye on the news out of Washington and Ottawa. If the two countries fail to reach an agreement by the deadline, imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, he has threatened to impose 35 per cent tariffs on all goods imported from Canada not included in the existing Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement (CUSMA). The president of the Calgary Construction Association, Bill Black, said the uncertainty is already taking a toll. View image in full screen The president of the Calgary Construction Association said his members are anxiously watching the ongoing trade negotiations between Canada and the U.S., but at the end of the day, whatever the final tariffs are, the costs will need to be passed on to customers. Global News 'It's games, and it's playing with people's livelihoods. It's playing with business profitability and it's affecting the availability and affordability of housing, not just in Canada, also in the U.S.,' Black said. Story continues below advertisement While Black is hopeful the trade dispute will eventually be resolved, he said charging tariffs on products like copper makes no sense. 'Copper is utilized in electrical and a significant amount of building components that are used in the U.S. residentially and commercially,' Black said. View image in full screen People who work in the construction industry in Alberta are hoping for the best but preparing for the worst as the clock ticks down to Friday's deadline for a new trade agreement between Canada and the U.S. Global News Early Thursday morning, the U.S. president appeared to dampen expectations that negotiators for the two countries would be able to reach a deal by his self-imposed Friday deadline. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy In a post on social media, Trump said it will be 'very hard' to make a deal with Canada after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Wednesday that Ottawa intends to recognize a Palestinian state. View image in full screen The possibility that Canada and the U.S. will reach a new trade agreement by Friday's deadline took a hit when President Donald Trump took to social media to criticize Canada's decision to recognize a Palestinian state. Truth Social 'I definitely think we're going to see some tariffs,' Black said. 'I can't see how, frankly, his ego would let him not retain some.' Story continues below advertisement 4:36 Trump stands firm on tariff deadline as negotiations come down to the wire with Canada While Black said Canadian companies are looking to source more construction materials within Canada, making them less dependent on U.S. suppliers, there are some materials that are only available from the U.S. 'The difference between some owners and others is some are asking contractors to carry all the risk in their bid, and so that means you're probably going to get some significant contingency,' Black said. 'Other owners are saying, give me your best price now and tell me the items that we need to worry about.' 'At the end of the day,' Black said, 'if there is additional cost, it is going to result in being passed on (to customers).' The most recent data from the United States Census Bureau shows that, purely on goods traded, the U.S. had a trade deficit with Canada of US$61.98 billion in 2024. The year before, it was $63.6 billion. Story continues below advertisement In a separate post on Thursday morning, following a conversation he had with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Trump said he is giving that country an additional 90 days to negotiate an agreement before imposing a threatened 30 per cent tariff on goods from Mexico that aren't included in CUSMA.
Calgary Herald
28-05-2025
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Calgary Construction Association partners with CBE for 'Adopt a Shop' school pilot
A new pilot program intends to connect students from schools across Calgary with skilled trades organizations. Article content Officials from the Calgary Construction Association (CCA) and the Calgary Board of Education launched the Adopt a Shop program Wednesday at Central Memorial High School's Career and Technology Centre. Article content Participating construction firms will provide middle and high-school students in shop programs with hands-on learning and exposure to professional industries. The companies will 'adopt' the school's shop program by donating funding, building materials, mentorship or other supports. Article content 'This is the future of our industry and the future of our cities represented in this group of young people,' he said, gesturing to a group of Central Memorial shop students. 'Our industry is used to seeking a backlog of future work, and we cannot do that effectively if we do not have a backlog of future talent.' Article content Article content Last fall, the CCA partnered with local elementary schools through the Honour the Work program, which aims to help introduce younger students to the opportunity of working in skilled trades and construction careers. Article content Article content However, until recently, Black said previous collaboration between the association and schools was typically on a one-time or casual basis, such as an annual construction career expo for students. Article content Programs like Adopt a Shop allow for broader investment in construction education and workforce development, added Black, who has long preached about the ongoing labour shortage in the construction sector. Article content 'What we like about this is that it's year-round,' he said. 'It's not just one (event), it's continuous. It's part of the curriculum and is woven into the day they spend coming to school.' Article content Grade 12 student Vivian Lucas, who is taking Central Memorial's Construction 20 class this semester, said that while she won't benefit from Adopt the Shop personally due to her impending graduation, the program will give shop students next year an advantage, in terms of getting their foot in the door of a potentially high-earning career.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Calgary groups slam province's Green Line plans, say offering support would be 'reckless'
Some downtown and industry groups are pushing back against the Alberta government's plan to build elevated Green Line LRT tracks in Calgary's downtown core. A letter sent by four organizations to the province said supporting the proposed above-ground alignment would be "reckless." The province's new plan for the Green Line is "leading to a sense of rushing," according to Bill Black, president of the Calgary Construction Association, one of the groups that signed the letter. "Too many question marks are still there," he said. "The routing of the elevated line will have a significant impact on the look, feel and operability of downtown." The letter lists soundproofing, assessment values, building safety and the loss of tenants as concerns. The Calgary Downtown Association, The Building Owners and Managers Association of Calgary (BOMA Calgary) and the Calgary chapter of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association (NAIOP Calgary) also signed the letter. In September, Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen sent a letter to Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek saying the province was unable to provide support for the city's Green Line alignment, which he said was becoming a "multi-billion dollar boondoggle." The province unveiled its reimagined alignment in December, designed by AECOM, featuring no downtown tunnelling. The four groups who wrote the letter support building of the Green Line from Shepard to the planned Grand Central Station on the condition that the beltline and downtown alignment is revisited. (Helen Pike/CBC) A 165-page engineering report from the consulting firm maps out plans for an elevated track in the city centre and five additional stops in South Calgary. But the document failed to convince BOMA Calgary executive director Lloyd Suchet that an above-ground alignment is the better option. "We don't know how vibration, noise, privacy will be mitigated. We don't have the impact of shadowing," he said. "An elevated train line is not conducive to street-level activity. And so we have serious concerns of how this will impact those businesses and residents along the route as well as the safety issues this type of infrastructure could create, particularly the shadowing and at night." NAIOP Calgary strategic initiatives director Guy Huntingford also has a set of questions he says haven't been answered. "We want to make sure that it's something that the City of Calgary can be proud of, and so above ground just doesn't cut it," he said. "The biggest issues are assessment and market values. Have those been considered? Those buildings pay a great amount of property taxes. What's going to happen to that and to the city budgets?" All four groups support building the Green Line from Shepard to the planned Grand Central Station near the future Scotia Place arena and event centre on the condition that the beltline and downtown alignment is revisited. In a statement, Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen said an above-ground alignment downtown saves more than a billion dollars in tunnelling costs, which can be used to extend the project further south. The Minister also said the revised alignment will serve more Calgarians because it is 76 per cent longer than the final City of Calgary plan. Many of the challenges identified can be addressed as the design progresses, he added. Calgary City Council will discuss the Green Line project behind closed doors on Tuesday.
CBC
28-01-2025
- Business
- CBC
Calgary groups slam province's Green Line plans, say offering support would be 'reckless'
Some downtown and industry groups are pushing back against the Alberta government's plan to build elevated Green Line LRT tracks in Calgary's downtown core. A letter sent by four organizations to the province said supporting the proposed above-ground alignment would be "reckless." The province's new plan for the Green Line is "leading to a sense of rushing," according to Bill Black, president of the Calgary Construction Association, one of the groups that signed the letter. "Too many question marks are still there," he said. "The routing of the elevated line will have a significant impact on the look, feel and operability of downtown." The letter lists soundproofing, assessment values, building safety and the loss of tenants as concerns. The Calgary Downtown Association, The Building Owners and Managers Association of Calgary (BOMA Calgary) and the Calgary chapter of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association (NAIOP Calgary) also signed the letter. In September, Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen sent a letter to Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek saying the province was unable to provide support for the city's Green Line alignment, which he said was becoming a "multi-billion dollar boondoggle." The province unveiled its reimagined alignment in December, designed by AECOM, featuring no downtown tunnelling. A 165-page engineering report from the consulting firm maps out plans for an elevated track in the city centre and five additional stops in South Calgary. But the document failed to convince BOMA Calgary executive director Lloyd Suchet that an above-ground alignment is the better option. "We don't know how vibration, noise, privacy will be mitigated. We don't have the impact of shadowing," he said. "An elevated train line is not conducive to street-level activity. And so we have serious concerns of how this will impact those businesses and residents along the route as well as the safety issues this type of infrastructure could create, particularly the shadowing and at night." NAIOP Calgary strategic initiatives director Guy Huntingford also has a set of questions he says haven't been answered. "We want to make sure that it's something that the City of Calgary can be proud of, and so above ground just doesn't cut it," he said. "The biggest issues are assessment and market values. Have those been considered? Those buildings pay a great amount of property taxes. What's going to happen to that and to the city budgets?" All four groups support building the Green Line from Shepard to the planned Grand Central Station near the future Scotia Place arena and event centre on the condition that the beltline and downtown alignment is revisited. In a statement, Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen said an above-ground alignment downtown saves more than a billion dollars in tunnelling costs, which can be used to extend the project further south. The Minister also said the revised alignment will serve more Calgarians because it is 76 per cent longer than the final City of Calgary plan. Many of the challenges identified can be addressed as the design progresses, he added. Calgary City Council will discuss the Green Line project behind closed doors on Tuesday.
