On Nov. 4, 2025, the Canadian Construction Association (CCA) welcomed the federal budget, which puts construction at the heart of Canada’s economic strategy through investments in infrastructure, defence and housing.
CCA says these measures are critical to supporting the businesses and people who build the homes, transportation networks and other projects Canadians rely on every day. CCA commends the government’s $115-billion investment in infrastructure, including $51 billion for local infrastructure such as housing and transportation, which will support communities across Canada and enable the ambitious homebuilding agenda.
“Canada has underinvested in critical infrastructure for decades,” said Rodrigue Gilbert, president of CCA. “These investments reflect the essential role of housing-enabling infrastructure in addressing the national housing shortage and committing substantial resources to these projects.” CCA also welcomes investments for the Major Projects Office, and the recognition within the budget that “for too long, the construction of major infrastructure in Canada has been stalled by arduous, inefficient approval processes.”
While the budget marks an important step toward recognizing construction’s role in Canada’s economy, CCA continues to call for a co-ordinated national workforce strategy, one that connects immigration, apprenticeships, upskilling and the destigmatization of careers in the skilled trades. “The construction sector employs 1.6 million Canadians and contributes $165 billion to Canada’s GDP, yet we continue to face significant labour shortages,” said Gilbert. “Without a long-term, co-ordinated workforce strategy, any ambitious construction agenda will stall.”
National Infrastructure Assessment underscores urgent need for delivery-focused reforms
On Nov. 27, 2025, the CCA said the National Infrastructure Assessment (NIA) findings strongly substantiate their long-standing recommendations for long-term planning, modernized delivery systems and the core infrastructure required to support Canada’s housing ambitions. Gilbert says the assessment reinforces a message the industry has long emphasized: Canada cannot build more homes without the enabling infrastructure required to support them.
“We are pleased to see the NIA clearly recognize that housing cannot accelerate without major improvements to water and wastewater capacity, solid waste management and public transit access,” said Gilbert. “These are the foundational systems that determine whether communities can grow.”
By providing a detailed snapshot of Canada’s housing-enabling infrastructure, the NIA reinforces the challenges CCA has consistently raised. The assessment shows that over $126 billion of infrastructure is in “poor or very poor condition,” with 11 per cent of water and wastewater assets and more than 13 per cent of public transit assets at risk and solid waste infrastructure approaching capacity limits. This re-emphasizes the need for governments to act decisively to support safe, resilient and growing communities.