When Doug Ford’s Conservative government was re-elected in Ontario this past June, that province’s on-again, offagain plan to build Highway 413, a new route across the north end of the Greater Toronto Area, received a significant boost; or so it seemed.
Over the years the 59-kilometre corridor has had its ups and downs. It has been touted for its potential to ease gridlock yet derided for the environmental footprint it would leave across a sensitive greenbelt that successive governments have pledged to protect.
During the month-long campaign, pundits billed the vote as a referendum about the highway, which would skirt around Brampton and Vaughan. However, with information about species at risk living along the proposed route coming to light after the election, the project remains on precarious ground.
Still, despite a range of environmental, economic and geopolitical pressures, many road, bridge and tunnel projects remain ongoing and look to keep road crews busy across Canada over the next few years. While not an exhaustive list, the following spotlights and profiles in five regions across the country help highlight some of the ongoing prospects for roadbuilding that will be happening in the coming years.
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(åPHOTO: COURTESY OF B.C. MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE)
BRITISH COLUMBIA: HIGHWAY 1
Construction of the Highway 99 Tunnel, rebuilding flood-damaged highways, and multiple side-road projects are keeping B.C. roadbuilders busy, but Highway 1 continues to lead the way as a multi-year road improvement endeavour.
The details vary by segment, but the overall goal is to improve safety and expand one lane in each direction to two while building barriers and landscaped medians to support a 100 kph speed limit. Much of the work also includes expanding brake check areas, adding acceleration and deceleration lanes, improving passing opportunities to accommodate increased traffic, and enhancing active transportation.
Work is being completed in phases and has been underway for nearly a decade. Segments immediately east of Kamloops are long done, and a two-kilometre stretch east of Revelstoke at Illecillewaet was finished in November 2021. Construction is also progressing on new four-laning segments in Chase and Salmon Arm.
Three phases of work through Kicking Horse Canyon have similarly widened 21 kilometres of narrow, winding two-lane highway across some of Canada’s most mountainous terrain, and a $440.6-million design and build contract has been awarded to Kicking Horse Canyon Constructors for a fourth 4.8-km section. The consortium for this segment includes Aecon Group, Parsons and Emil Anderson Construction. Work is slated for substantial completion in winter 2023-24.
Also on tap are a 4.3-km, $243 million stretch from Ford Road to Tappen Valley Road, which will see the Tappen Overhead Bridge replaced and widened; construction of the new $123.7 million four-lane Quartz Creek Bridge; and the projected $224.5 million replacement of the R.W. Bruhn Bridge. Contractors for currently active projects include: Dawson Civil (Chase Creek Road to Chase West), CIF Construction (Chase West to Chase Creek Bridge), Springline Construction Services (Salmon Arm West), and Pennecon Heavy Civil (Quartz Creek Bridge).
BC Road Builders and Heavy Construction Association president Kelly Scott calls the entire billion-dollar-plus package a significant investment that stands to enhance safety and efficiency.
“The work continues to bolster the western trade corridor we keep talking about,” he says. “This is a critical artery. All communities will benefit from the improved, efficient, safe road system, with better access to health care, education and supplies.”
MANITOBA: WINNIPEG PERIMETER HIGHWAY
In announcing a three-year, $1.5 billion plan for Manitoba’s network of highways, Manitoba’s Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Doyle Piwniuk emphasized the importance of the routes to trade and commerce.
While ongoing work on the northsouth Highway 75 corridor is designed to improve access to and from U.S. markets via North Dakota, the Winnipeg Perimeter Highway is a key project for which investment is expected to ring in at more than $346 million.
“Our government recognizes targeted investments in roadways and bridges are foundational to our economic growth and the quality of life for all Manitobans,” Piwniuk said in an April budget announcement. “Advancing our highway network will enable market access for international, interprovincial and regional movement of goods, and will position our province to become a national transportation hub.”
Chris Lorenc, president of the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association, says the multi-year capital program for highways recognizes the critical role transportation infrastructure plays in economic growth.
“Manitoba’s economy relies on trade for about 54 per cent of its GDP, and the Perimeter Highway and Highway 75 are two of the key trade gateways and corridors in the province,” says Lorenc. “The fact that the province has identified, or is in the process of identifying, trade as an economic-enabling instrument is important, and we’re glad that the Perimeter is getting this kind of attention.”
With a new interchange at St. Mary’s Road underway, and another at McGillivray Boulevard set to go, Lorenc anticipates improvements to overall traffic flow.
“These are all factors that are required to ensure you’re not start-stop, start-stop, start-stop. They will improve safety as well as the general comfort and ease with which product can be moved around.”
Lorenc says Canada needs a sustainable, predictable, incremental national plan that can be coupled with concurrent provincial investment strategies focusing on efficient and cost-effective trade gateways and corridors.
“The federal government has allocated $640 million to enhance trade gateways and corridors over the next five years, which is a drop in the bucket,” Lorenc says. “There’s no national plan recognizing that 66 per cent of Canada’s GDP is generated by trade.”
QUEBEC: JACQUES-BIZARD BRIDGE
(PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE CITY OF MONTREAL.)
The Ile-aux-Tourtes bridge in Montreal and Ile d’Orleans bridge near Quebec City stand to keep work crews busy for the next few years. Of particular note, however, is a new bridge being built to replace the aging Jacques-Bizard Bridge, which dates to 1965 and is the lone road link between Montreal and Ile Bizard.
The $85 million structure, first approved in 2015 and slated to open in 2023, with landscaping and finishing work to carry into 2024, is to be located next to the existing bridge and is intended to address increased congestion by enabling 30,000 vehicles to cross the Riviere des Prairies on a daily basis while facilitating active travel with a two-way bike path and a widened sidewalk.
The lead contractor on the project, EBC Inc., started work this past spring. The project will see approaches to adjacent intersections redesigned and a fourth vehicular lane added to end the need to continually change the directionality of a middle lane.
Electrical networks and cabling and sewer and water lines are also being installed and renewed to improve services on the island. The new bridge will also include a lookout, which is being installed in the middle of the bridge, and the adjacent Parc Denis-Benjamin-Viger is being redeveloped. Urban furniture will feature throughout the structure.
To attain the bridge’s projected 100-year life span, engineers proscribed galvanized reinforcing steel, high performance coating and improved drainage systems to add reinforcement and cope with de-icing salt and freeze-thaw cycles.
“This project is a fine example of efficient economic stimulation,” says Gisele Bourque, CEO of the Quebec Road Builders and Heavy Construction Association. “These are structuring projects that put several types of jobs and businesses to work. Starting with general contractors and their subcontractors, this type of project involves several specialties … and also requires the involvement of many suppliers.”
Bourque points to a clear link between public infrastructure investments and longterm economic performance.
“Investments in public infrastructure are necessary for a healthy economy, not only in times of crisis but also in times of economic growth,” she says, noting that the construction industry is a major economic force in the province. As a whole, it represents 14 per cent of Quebec’s GDP.
YUKON: NISUTLIN BAY BRIDGE
(PHOTO: COURTESY OF YUKON.CA)
When blasting started earlier this summer, the Yukon government heralded the $160-million replacement of the Nisutlin Bay Bridge as critical to the local community, territory, country and continent.
The bridge, billed by the government as the largest capital project in Yukon history, crosses Teslin Lake north of the Yukon-B.C. border and keeps traffic flowing along the Alaska Highway, a major artery for travel, goods and essential services.
The original bridge, built in 1953, was aging, and the government wanted a modern-day structure to accommodate increased traffic volumes, including trucks bringing goods and services to the rest of the territory and into Alaska.
The new concrete and asphalt bridge was designed in collaboration with the Teslin Tlingit Council, which signed a project charter with the territory to formalize plans to minimize disruptions from construction and maximize local economic benefits.
The new bridge will be 483 metres long, nearly 13.5 metres wide to accommodate heavier truck traffic, and will include two lanes of traffic, a widened shoulder for cyclists, and a sidewalk that’s lit and separated from traffic. A walkway will also be built underneath the bridge so pedestrians and snowmobiles can cross safely.
Project spokesperson Krysten Johnson, from the Government of Yukon’s Department of Highways and Public Works, says local employment is key to the project and Graham Infrastructure, the lead constructor, has committed to prioritizing hiring Teslin-based businesses, contractors and tradespeople.
“This specific project will ensure a number of local opportunities and community development opportunities including involvement in environmental monitoring, gravel pit development, and the design and installation of artwork to be installed on or near the new bridge,” Johnson said. Project completion is slated for early 2026, and the current bridge, in service 20 metres away, will be demolished when that happens.
ONTARIO: BRADFORD BYPASS
Highway 413 may be facing uncertainty, but road signs along Highways 400 and 404 declaring “The future site of the Bradford Bypass” suggest shovels may soon be on their way to the Greater Toronto Area’s northern reaches. While still at the planning stage, this 16.2-kilometre route linking the two north-south highways enjoys relative support with far less opposition than what Highway 413 has faced.
Plans call for a 100-metre-wide rightof- way with four lanes and a mix of grass medians and concrete barriers.
The Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) has retained AECOM Canada to coordinate work on the preliminary design, including a provincial environmental assessment. And, with no federal assessment expected, provincial projections call for design completion by early 2023.
Andrew Hurd, director of policy and stakeholder relations with the Ontario Road Builders’ Association, says the bypass was included in this past spring’s provincial budget and, while the post-election budget had yet to be reintroduced at press time, the government looks poised to reintroduce largely the same document.
“Government projections indicate that commuters using the highway will save up to 35 minutes and that construction will support an estimated 2,600 jobs per year during construction and generate an estimated $274 million in annual GDP,” Hurd says.
Hurd considers projects like this good news for Ontario’s economy. “Anytime there’s a substantial amount of work in a given area it supports local economies in addition to the provincial GDP.”
With population growth projected to continue across southern Ontario, Hurd also pointed to ongoing work to widen Highway 401 and improve Highway 7 between Guelph and Kitchener, coupled with work on rail and other public transit systems, as vital to supporting trade and other economic activity.
Saul Chernos is a freelance writer and regular contributor to On-Site.
OTTAWA – Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.
Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.
Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.
Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.
Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.
Despite ongoing softness in the labour market, however, strong wage growth has raged on in Canada. Average hourly wages in October grew 4.9 per cent from a year ago, reaching $35.76.
Friday’s report also shed some light on the financial health of households.
According to the agency, 28.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older were living in a household that had difficulty meeting financial needs – like food and housing – in the previous four weeks.
That was down from 33.1 per cent in October 2023 and 35.5 per cent in October 2022, but still above the 20.4 per cent figure recorded in October 2020.
People living in a rented home were more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs, with nearly four in 10 reporting that was the case.
That compares with just under a quarter of those living in an owned home by a household member.
Immigrants were also more likely to report facing financial strain last month, with about four out of 10 immigrants who landed in the last year doing so.
That compares with about three in 10 more established immigrants and one in four of people born in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.
The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.
CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.
This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.
While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.
Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.
The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.
Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.
A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.
More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.
Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.
“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.
“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”
American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.
It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.
“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.
“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”
A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.
Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.
“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.
Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”
“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.
“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
