WHAT THIS MEANS FOR 
CANADIAN CONSTRUCTION
Canadian construction is doing 
reasonably well in most provinces across 
the country except for Ontario, which is 
experiencing a downturn, particularly in 
the GTA area and the high-rise residential 
sector. The largest city in Canada and 
the fourth largest city in North America 
is still seeing a reasonable number of 
construction sites; however, it’s not 
anywhere near the number seen in the 
last few decades. This downturn is a 
product of the uncertainty in today’s 
global economy and investors’ concerns 
about the profitability of construction 
projects in this unstable market. 
“There is the optimistic view that 
construction investments will be 
increasing in Canada because of the 
concerns about the U.S. at present,”  
says Carrick. “This optimistic view  
centres around the government’s 
infrastructure and defence sector 
funding, as well as potential Chinese and 
Japanese investment because of the new 
trade agreements.”
“Fixing the Canadian and world economy 
is not going to be easy, and will not 
happen overnight,” says Mollenhauer. 
“It will be a slow and painful process 
taking maybe as long as 15 years. A trade 
agreement between Canada, the U.S. and 
Mexico is paramount to a recovery for 
Canada. One thing we have to realize – in 
my mind – is that the Canadian and world 
economy is not going to return to where  
it was.”  ◄
The strategy highlights Canada’s internal 
need to strengthen the country and to 
approach new markets for our resources. 
Canada is abounding with natural 
resources in every province that other 
countries need. Carney set out to meet 
with as many countries as possible, 
including the European Union, Great 
Britain, Japan, South Korea and Australia.
Regarding Trump and his day-to-day 
rantings, a strategy was also developed 
for future problems that may arise from 
the U.S. administration. This strategy is 
well rehearsed and has proved valuable 
when trade issues arose south of the 
border. The prime minister did not 
respond emotionally but instead showed 
careful restraint to stick to the data that 
was relevant.
Carney, at the 2026 World Economic 
Council meeting in Davos Switzerland, 
gave a speech on Canada’s concerns 
about where international trade was 
headed and how Canada was going to 
deal with the new realities of the global 
economy. He spoke to the issue that the 
dominance of the United States and the 
U.S. currency throughout the globe since 
World War II was “ruptured,” and middle 
countries such as Canada should come 
together to prevent “economic coercion 
from great powers.” Carrick adds, “This 
is when the real identity of Canada was 
finally determined.”
The formation of a trading group was 
recommended by the senior staff of NATO 
in June 2025, involving seven middle-
sized democratic countries “to counter 
threats from larger countries such as 
China and the U.S.” This is being looked 
at by a number of countries including 
Canada, Great Britain, Japan, South 
Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
BUILDERSDIGEST   Quarter 1  2026   33
THE CANADIAN ECONOMY AND CONSTRUCTION PART 3

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