ICBA | Join Us!

Advocacy. Benefits. Training. Wellness. Canada's largest construction association. 4-time Reed Award winner for top North American Trade Association

[ICBA | Join Us! @icbabc]

Alberta still leads Canada on household income.

Median after-tax household income in Alberta: $85,300 in 2024 — $9,800 above the national average, $9,500 higher than B.C., $5,800 ahead of Ontario.

ICBA Chief Economist Jock Finlayson on why — and what's next for the energy province:

https://t.co/J2GyZoMxnl

[ICBA | Join Us! @icbabc]

NEW from ICBA Chief Economist Jock Finlayson:

The IMF says 40% of jobs worldwide will be hit by AI.
Construction? Way less exposed than most.

Only ~1 in 5 journeyperson trades face high automation risk — and a 12% jump in construction labour demand is projected by 2030.

The trades aren't going anywhere: https://t.co/ux26KKPmxE

[ICBA | Join Us! @icbabc]

Canada's productivity gap with the U.S. just hit a record. Construction — 8-9% of GDP, 1.5 million jobs — is a big part of why.

ICBA Chief Economist Jock Finlayson on a new Goldman Sachs study, and what it means for Canadian wages, housing costs, and competitiveness: https://t.co/GrLepjZg8v

[ICBA | Join Us! @icbabc]

NEW from ICBA's Jock Finlayson & @KenPeacock14:

B.C.'s private sector has shed 59K jobs this year — a 3.1% ⬇️.

That's the largest (non-COVID) 3-month drop since the late 1990s — worse than the 2008-09 global financial crisis.

https://t.co/GiiyXnYphz

[ICBA | Join Us! @icbabc]

Alberta's construction sector grew 19.4% from 2021 to 2025. B.C.'s grew just 5.2%.
Residential construction tells the real story — Alberta UP 18.9%, B.C. DOWN 13.4%.

ICBA Chief Economist Jock Finlayson on why he's more optimistic about Alberta than B.C. over the next two years: https://t.co/ZhX4ND3MAN

[Jordan Bateman @jordanbateman]

Imagine blowing through reserves, seeing costs 🚀, draining a surplus and seeing fees go to 3rd-highest in Canada.

WorkSafeBC: another NDP dumpster fire in the making.

Unbelievably, the Minister says premiums are "a bargain for employers, frankly."

https://t.co/wSLb8lCjCY

[ICBA | Join Us! @icbabc]

For the first time since the 2009 financial crisis, B.C. is losing more businesses than it's creating.
25K+ businesses exited in 2023 — up 11% from 2017. Private-sector GDP growth has crashed to just 1%.
New from ICBA's Jock Finlayson & Ken Peacock:
https://t.co/doTCMovfl5

[ICBA | Join Us! @icbabc]

Leading a hybrid team is harder than leading a co-located one. ICBA's Leading Hybrid Teams workshop with Kwela gives managers the tools to fix communication, trust & accountability gaps.

📅 May 13, 8:30 AM PDT | 3.5 hrs | Member rate $285+GST
https://t.co/ACbEtJR5Fv

[ICBA | Join Us! @icbabc]

Sounds like Mark Carney's new fund quietly gives unionized contractors an unfair bidding advantage.

That shuts 75% of Canada's construction workforce out of projects their own taxes pay for — and 85% of B.C. tradespeople.

NEW from ICBA's Chris Gardner: https://t.co/sQMCHw5xRr

[ICBA | Join Us! @icbabc]

The Carney Government just put $6 BILLION on the table for skilled trades training.

The catch? A whack of $ flows only through the building trades unions, shutting out 85% of B.C. and 88% of Alberta's trades workforce.

This needs fixing: https://t.co/ENt3gsohD7

[ICBA | Join Us! @icbabc]

And a Bill Reid story? This really is peak Langley/Cloverdale/political/construction/commonsense nerdery. And we're along for the voyage.

[Jordan Bateman @jordanbateman]

Having exhausted his rolodex, Steven Malkowich welcomed me aboard his @ShipoffoolsHQ podcast. Talked about a bunch of stuff and, of course, had the obligatory shoutout to @WACBennett because THIS IS B.C. POLITICS GOSH DARN IT.

https://t.co/68nrn9UoGL

[ICBA | Join Us! @icbabc]

NEW from ICBA Chief Economist Jock Finlayson:

🔴 $25B for Carney's "Canada Strong Fund"
🔴 Every dollar borrowed
🔴 Federal deficits every year since 2015

Stacking new programs on a decade of fiscal failure won't fix Canada's economy. Tax & regulatory reform will.

https://t.co/RFXuid0stA

[ICBA | Join Us! @icbabc]

Your best tradespeople became foremen because they were great at the work. This course helps them become great at leading people.
Lead to Succeed: Leadership Skills for Foremen — May 12–13 | Member: $399 + FREE coaching sessions included.
🔗https://t.co/i6oyNa9U61

[ICBA | Join Us! @icbabc]

25 years of trying to reduce U.S. trade dependence barely moved the needle.

@FraserInstitute research from ICBA's Jock Finlayson shows Canada's export ties to the U.S. are deeply "sticky" — and the current push to diversify will be no different without serious structural change.

https://t.co/tuPANoZpcu

[ICBA | Join Us! @icbabc]

BC's OHS Regulation just changed — Parts 8 & 31 have been amended. Do you know what it means for your sites? Free 1-hour webinar with Jeff Weaver of InUnison breaks it all down. April 30 | 8:30 AM | Free

🔗 https://t.co/5wne5lgRn2

[ICBA | Join Us! @icbabc]

We’re stepping up again at ICBA. 💙🏗️
Another $500,000 committed to the ICBA Foundation on top of last year’s $3M endowment.
Supporting:
🧠 Mental health
🎓 Training access through bursaries & scholarships
👷 The next generation of trades
This is about legacy. Impact. The future of our industry.
Get involved: https://t.co/ZDVDQA8C4f

[ICBA | Join Us! @icbabc]

Yesterday ICBA helped slay Metro Vancouver's regional DCC dragon. Today we're asking Kelowna Council: go bold. Cut DCCs by 50%, not 20%. You can't collect development charges on homes that never get built. 🏗️

https://t.co/1khnMb8qAK

[ICBA | Join Us! @icbabc]

ICBA Regional VP Mike Davis on the steps of the BC Legislature Monday: 85% of BC's construction workers are locked out of public projects by NDP union-only rules.

$17 billion in cost overruns. 158 years of delays. It's time for fair and open tendering, not sweetheart deals.

Proud to support @KielGiddens' bill to Build BC Fair.

[ICBA | Join Us! @icbabc]

NEW: B.C. may already be in a recession.

40K jobs lost in Feb + March — record losses outside the pandemic. All private sector. Meanwhile, public sector hiring keeps growing.

Housing starts heading for "nuclear winter" — dropping from 44K to ~30K.

Finlayson & Peacock in @BIVnews
https://t.co/Finm4WYOmd

[ICBA | Join Us! @icbabc]

Metro Vancouver votes Wednesday on DCC relief. Staff are pushing directors to leave the 2026 hike in place and call it a win. It's not. ICBA President Chris Gardner is calling on the Board to ROLL BACK AND REDUCE — and build the homes BC needs.

👉 https://t.co/EvbkkSlOQ4