Building a Greater Canada

In January 2020, I became a Canadian citizen, marking a significant milestone in my journey. The following month, inspired by my peers' success, I began applying to major tech companies in the United States. Many of my fellow University of Victoria graduates had secured positions with industry giants like Tesla, Google, and Apple, as well as promising Silicon Valley startups.

In the summer of 2022, I temporarily relocated to the United States to immerse myself in the much-discussed tech culture. One striking difference I observed between Vancouver and San Francisco was the entrepreneurial mindset. In Silicon Valley, young entrepreneurs, including Canadians, are actively pursuing ambitious goals such as revolutionizing industries and even planning missions to Mars.

In Canada, innovative ideas often remain confined to university presentations. I had the opportunity to mentor the University of British Columbia's Innovation OnBoard team for a pitch competition. This year, I am mentoring a Innovation OnBoard UofT team working on Cache Homes, an innovative residential construction project.

Cache Homes is developing a modern backyard suite that is energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, and equipped with cutting-edge technology for safety and security. With proper guidance and support, this product has the potential to succeed in both North American and European markets. We need to motivate and support talented Canadian entrepreneurs like Timothy C. who are coming up with such innovations.

This article synthesizes economic analysis and industry expertise through an innovator’s lens, examining Canada's potential to lead globally in construction technology while navigating current obstacles.

Canada's Path to Construction Technology Leadership

To position Canada as a world leader in construction technology, we must address several key areas:

Understanding the Labour Market

Canada's unemployment rate in November 2024 was 6.8%, up from a low of 5% in early 2023. Youth and newcomers are experiencing the most extended job wait times. Meanwhile, Labour shortages persist in construction, healthcare, and trades (with government programs in place to attract and train workers).

Economic Perspective:

Classical Economics – Market Will Self-Correct

• If there is a shortage of workers in construction and unemployment among youth/newcomers, wages should rise in construction, attracting more workers, and the imbalance should disappear.

Ground reality – Markets Are Sticky

• Labour markets do not adjust quickly due to wage rigidity, uncertainty, and skill mismatch for available jobs.

Industry Insight:

• Developing buildings within the proposed timeline requires the coordination of multiple moving parts, including labour, materials, and subcontractors meanwhile maintaining safety standards and regulatory compliance adds complexity
• Delays can arise due to supply chain disruptions, unexpected weather conditions, or incidents on site.

AI Automation:

Everyone is competing in the race for AI technology. This is significant because it fundamentally alters how resources, especially labour and capital, are utilized in production and services. Like the Industrial Revolution, which introduced machines to replace manual labour, commercial AI now replaces cognitive and repetitive tasks.

Innovator's perspective

The market has a supply of youth and newcomers and a demand for labour. Startups in construction tech should aim to develop technologies that enable construction workers to be more productive while ensuring their safety to combat labour shortages while hiring and training youth and newcomers in an accelerated process to bring unemployment down.

Since construction remains a uniquely physical, hands-on, and highly variable industry, AI Automation will not be affecting these jobs because

• Unlike office jobs, construction requires direct interaction with materials in unpredictable environments.
• Tradesmen frequently adjust to on-site challenges, something AI lacks the adaptability to handle.
• Skilled work (e.g., plumbing, electrical, welding) requires human dexterity and judgment.

Centralized vs Decentralized Innovation

In my experience, the ability to innovate for big construction projects is not evenly distributed. While technological advancements continue to shape industries, the reality is that an average engineer or entrepreneur often lacks the resources and capacity to develop technology for implementation in large-scale projects. This limitation centralizes innovation primarily to large corporations and established industry players with significant capital and resources.

This imbalance hinders progress because startups and independent innovators can make decisions quickly, iterate rapidly, and pivot with minimal bureaucracy. In contrast, innovation within large corporations tends to be slow due to multiple layers of approvals, compliance checks, and the need for stakeholder alignment.

Startups focus on disruptive and breakthrough innovations, leveraging cutting-edge technology to create new solutions that redefine industries. They experiment, take risks, and challenge conventional norms. Meanwhile, big corporations are pragmatic. They adopt only proven technologies with long-term viability and often wait for innovations to be mature before integrating them into large-scale projects.

As a result, while startups may have the most groundbreaking ideas, they lack the funding, partnerships, and industry buy-in to scale them into real-world applications.

Canada must bridge this gap to lead in construction technology. By understanding pathways for construction tech startups to access funding, forge industry collaborations, and navigate regulatory barriers, we can decentralize innovation and allow smaller players to contribute meaningfully to large-scale projects.

Investment infrastructure to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

Foreign investors are drawn to countries with economic stability, growth potential, favourable regulatory environments, and strategic advantages. Silicon Valley was not built overnight. Canada can become a global magnet for construction tech, bringing in billions in foreign capital and fuelling long-term industry growth.

The Canadian government has already committed $2.4 billion to AI investments, including:

• $800 million for public AI supercomputing infrastructure.
• $700 million in AI industry growth incentives.
• $350 million for AI commercialization and business adoption

We need foreign investment to retain talented Canadians who want to drive change and are willing to take risks. Cities such as Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and Calgary have become prominent centers for technology and innovation, having an ecosystem of startups, incubators, and venture capital firms. One of Canada's most substantial competitive advantages is its ability to host AI infrastructure at scale. The government is investing in:

• AI data centers with $15 billion in loan and equity investments
• Energy-efficient AI supercomputers in cold-climate provinces.

With the right mix of investment, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit, we can create a thriving ecosystem that fosters groundbreaking advancements. The challenges we face today are temporary hindrances. By the time Generation Alpha graduates and joins the workforce, we will have built an ecosystem of construction startups, skilled professionals, and international collaborations that create jobs and drive economic growth.

Building a Greater Canada is not a dream. It is a responsibility.