By Jock Finlayson, ICBA Chief Economist With the 2024 federal budget due to be delivered on April 16th, now is a good time to summarize the major economic challenges facing Canada. ICBA Economics believes that two challenges stand out, and they are closely linked:...

April is Construction Month in B.C., and as gratitude is an important part of practicing mental wellness, we’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of our construction professionals across B.C., Alberta and the rest of Canada. Your hard work, dedication,...

By Jock Finlayson, ICBA Chief Economist Recent news that the Royal Bank has completed its planned takeover of HSBC Bank Canada points to a further consolidation in the country’s banking and financial services sector. It also signals that British Columbia has lost...

The work of building better mental health in the construction sector never stops. ICBA Training is offering a number of free (for our members) sessions this month, and many of them have a mental health component: Opioid Poisoning Response Training | April 4 (8-10AM)...

Over on CBC Saskatchewan, Grade 11 student Fiona Babar wrote about her teacher, Andrew Foreman, sharing his story of living with OCD – and what it mean to her. Can’t say it much better than this: As a student, I often made the assumption that teachers can never...

By Jock Finlayson, ICBA Chief Economist Nationally, investment in building construction fell slightly in January 2024. Investment was lower (-1.4% month-to-month change, seasonally adjusted) in the residential segment, while non-residential building investment edged...

It’s a hat trick for ICBA, as we won our third North American Trade Association of the Year Reed Award in Charleston, South Carolina, last week. It’s the third time ICBA has won Trade Association of the Year for our advocacy for the B.C. open shop construction...