VICTORIA, B.C. – The British Columbia Construction Association (BCCA) is sounding the alarm on declining investment in major projects in its Fall 2024 Construction Industry Stat Pack.
The industry faces intense pressure to meet the current demand due to persistent workforce shortages, high labour costs and lack of payment certainty.
“British Columbia’s construction industry will be paramount to building our province’s critical infrastructure and alleviating the housing crisis,” BCCA president Chris Atchison said.
“During the election campaign, B.C.’s political party leaders committed to supporting the construction industry. Now that the results have been finalized, we need the government and opposition caucuses to work together to implement policies geared towards payment certainty and workforce development to ensure the construction industry can meet the current and future demand to build B.C. better.”
The construction industry is seeking increased investments in major infrastructure projects, the release said but the value of proposed major infrastructure projects has decreased in value by five per cent and nearly 20 per cent since spring 2024 over the past five years. As current major projects begin to wind down there is no guarantee they will be replaced.
The BCCA is also calling for more robust supports to ensure infrastructure is built, but “the underlying factors of payment uncertainty, workforce shortage, and high labour costs pose significant strains on the construction industry, which need to be addressed by our political leaders.”
The Stat Pack noted the value of proposed construction projects in B.C. is $166 billion, a decrease of $4 billion since spring 2024.
The Fall 2024 Stat Pack can be viewed here.
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