What comes next?

I’ve been listening a lot lately. To people who know more both about the infrastructure business and the business of politics. Hearing them makes me think. It seems that everyone is grappling with how to build smarter (money), faster (time), better (technology), safer (people) and greener (energy / climate).?

You will notice that I didn’t say cheaper because that is a myth to call-out. In this new phase of post-pandemic supply chain disruption, new tariff-era risk for project costs within stretched capital budgets, and new outlook of higher-wage agreements, cheap won't get you value.?

Quebec construction stakeholders like at Corporation des entrepreneurs généraux du Québec (CEGQ) are ambitious to build and concerned about a perceived slowdown in projects whether caused by constrained public and private spending or the new normal of higher construction costs. A perfect storm as its fearless leader Eric C?té describes requires stable and sustained investment, even an acceleration, not a pullback.?

Water infrastructure experts like municipal and regional government officials who showcased their project pipelines at Ontario Sewer And Watermain Construction Association (OSWCA) are involved in billions of dollars each year in the Greater Toronto Area alone. More consistent project planning, procurement and decision-making, with continued improved standard contracts, are a few success factors pitched by Patrick McManus .?

Social and affordable housing champions, like Ottawa Community Housing Corporation (OCH) want to provide a good place for people to live. But making housing more accessible requires more partnerships and incentives to scale-up and speed-up shovels in the ground in every community, everywhere, highlighted by Stephane Giguere, MPA, C. Adm, Adm.a .?

Plus the infrastructure investors and builders present at the ReNew Canada Top 100 are essential to successfully delivering mega-projects, from hospitals to hydro, public transit in cities to ports that connect is to the world. Like we learned from Ehren Cory the Canada Infrastructure Bank/ Banque de l'infrastructure du Canada , it can make sense for smart public money to help make additional projects happen with repayable financing rather than grants and contributions.?

Meanwhile other advocates of mega-projects push to build big bold things with professional industry voices like The Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships , The Infrastructure Lab or Conseil des Infrastructures | Infrastructure Council showcasing that competition in traditional P3s or collaboration in modern progressives are both required. But not every project needs to be worth billions. Sometimes smaller is actually bigger and a healthy construction industry depends on projects of different sizes and a diversity of asset classes.?

As political forces grapple with climate policy and how that shapes what we build, construction companies are innovating often in ways to be both more sustainable and green, while growing. If clients decide what to build then construction gurus should continue to push the boundaries of how to build in ways that make construction efficient and productive while being cleaner for the climate. Among other things, innovation, productivity and sustainability will be in the agenda at the Canadian Construction Association - Association canadienne de la construction this week.?

Leaders in education and labour force, from Colleges Ontario to unions to Skills Ontario , are facing the triple-threat of more retirees, fewer immigrants, and big pressure to produce a new home-grown generation of trained workers. Yes, the business demand for workers and modern political coalitions have made boots-on-the-ground skilled trades 'in'. That said, there's also a need for even more construction leaders who can manage projects with a human touch and technology tools from a site trailer or an office boardroom.?

The context of the US administration, the recent BC and ON elections, and the Liberal leadership campaign before the next federal campaign all matter. But it seems that we have to see through them or beyond them to be clear about what comes next in the infrastructure construction industry.?

More investment.?

Consistent planning and standard contracts.?

Incentives for scale and speed.?

Creative financing.?

Balance of big and small?

Productivity for sustainability.?

Construction leader talent.?

After all, it is Canadian construction companies, their subcontractors, trades, and investors that build things.?