sustainable. I suppose for that to be true, the economic 
recovery that we read so much about would also need 
to be real. And all evidence points to the Canadian 
economic recovery taking years, not months. From where 
I sit, that does not bode well for fear factor pricing and 
cost stability – there is simply too much chaos in  
the world.
I would love to be wrong and I am certainly not an 
economist, but I do not see a near-term future with cost 
stability. There are some regional differences of course –  
building type also makes a difference, and there will 
always be trade specific differences. Lumber and 
glazing prices are down when mechanical, electrical and 
substructure prices are going up. Steel and aluminum 
are price prohibitive. The only common denominator, 
however, is uncertainty.
The jury is still out on Prime Minister Carney. He is 
fighting the good fight, but there is much to be done 
and the clock is ticking. Peter Hall, the former chief 
economist at Economic Development Canada and the 
keynote speaker at our AGM in February, was pessimistic 
about the economic chaos and its impact on recovery. 
But he believes that constructors who attach importance 
to diversification will survive, and that the stakes are 
too high for the U.S. to not revisit a trade agreement 
with Canada and Mexico. In the meantime, higher 
international trade diversity and lower domestic trade 
restrictions are a good thing.
Be vigilant my friends. And stay the course. Resilience is 
our middle name.
Respectfully,
 
John Mollenhauer 
TCA President & CEO
SOME ECONOMISTS ARGUE 
OUR GDP FIGURES ARE 
MISREPRESENTED WITH ACCRUALS 
AND UNREALISTIC ACCOUNTING 
PRACTICES, AND THAT WE WOULD 
OTHERWISE BE IN A RECESSION AS 
WE SPEAK
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We craft structures that 
Stand tall, Perform flawlessly, 
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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

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