Alberta wants to build new schools, but industry says labour shortages have construction sector stretched thin
Premier announces additional $6.5 billion for school construction budget
Alberta construction officials are warning that skilled labour shortages might make delivering on the provincial government's ambitious, $8.6-billion plan to build new schools challenging.
"You could see that labour availability becoming even more strained, as we do have other projects on the go as well," said Warren Singh, the executive director of the Alberta Construction Association (ACA).
"We do feel that this is necessary. We do want to step up, we stand ready to work with the province in doing so, it's really just about how."
The School Construction Accelerator Program, announced by Smith during a provincewide televised address on Tuesday evening, will add $6.5 billion to the previously announced $2.1 billion the province had earmarked for new school construction, totalling $8.6 billion over three years.
Its intention is to relieve the province's population boom pressure on the education system by creating 50,000 spaces for students over the next three years, then an additional 150,000 student spaces in the four years after the initial three-year push, for a total of 200,000 student spaces over seven years.
During her address, Smith said cabinet just approved funding for schools in Calgary, Edmonton, Barrhead, Breton, Mallaig, Redcliff, Taber and Wainwright. However, the address did not offer details about whether schools will be built under public-private partnerships.
Province anticipates 30 new schools each year
Singh says he's looking forward to having a conversation with the province to explore the details of the projects, such as whether or not the province will be considering a public-private partnership model.
The ACA executive director is hopeful that the province will engage with industry professionals in order to gain insights and expertise on how to deliver on the commitment over the time period that was announced.
"It's a lot of schools and it's very ambitious, but I think that, at the same time, we'd be looking to them and they'd be hopefully looking to us to develop that 'how,'" he said.
WATCH | Alberta's premier announces the School Construction Accelerator Program:
A spokesperson for Alberta's Ministry of Education told CBC News via email the program anticipates 30 new schools and five to eight modernizations announced each year, for the next three years, beginning in the 2025 budget, although specific school announcements will occur when the annual capital plan is released.
"In addition, this program anticipates the creation of 15 new charter school projects, and 20,000 new student spaces in modular classrooms over the next four years," reads the email.
During a press conference in Calgary on Wednesday, Alberta's Minister of Infrastructure, Peter Guthrie, also announced that immediate changes are being made to the government's funding process, which intends to shorten construction approval timelines. As a result, Guthrie says previously approved schools which are currently in the planning or design phase can move forward to the next stage as soon as they're ready.
He also says he's looking forward to working with industry partners.
"As many of our industry partners know, projects like these, they take a lot of co-operation and co-ordination. Currently we have 90 projects at various stages of development, creating over 14,000 jobs for Albertans," said Guthrie.
"With the additional 30 schools each year and the improved process efficiency to move projects along, we anticipate creating thousands of jobs, if not tens of thousands of additional jobs, to support those 200,000 new spaces."
Calls for collaboration
Concerns that the influx of numerous new projects could put further pressure on the construction sector's workers are also being raised by the Calgary Construction Association (CCA). In a news release sent Wednesday morning, the CCA announced it was encouraged by the new school commitment, but called for industry collaboration in order to move things forward.
"While the CCA is encouraged by the government's commitment to addressing school infrastructure needs, we recognize the challenges that lie ahead in ensuring the successful execution of this program," reads the statement.
"Key among these are the need for improvements in procurement practices and mitigating the ongoing labour shortage within the construction sector."
Bill Black, president and CEO of the CCA, says an $8.6 billion program could add further demand challenges to an industry that's already stretched thin.
"If the government wants schools built, the government's also going to realize that they need to be a part of that solution, too," he told CBC News on Wednesday.
Black believes Alberta's construction industry is resilient and capable of rising to challenges, but he's concerned the programs available to support the construction sector aren't matching the province's expectations for its output. Specifically, he's concerned about programs like the Canada-Alberta job grant, a program backed by federal dollars supporting trades training for employers that was paused indefinitely over a month ago.
He says existing stressors on the industry coupled with an increased demand to build new schools could impact the timeline of the commitment.
"For a school to go from concept to design development to finished construction, probably the best case scenario is three or four years per project," said Black.
"But that can very easily extend if design drags out, if the procurement phase drags out, and other matters come into play. So a lot of work has to happen in a very efficient manner before shovels can actually go in the ground."
'Aggressive timeline'
Labour shortage woes are top of mind for various construction industry experts, but one industry member says this announcement is an important opportunity for the sector.
Terry Parker, the executive director of Building Trades of Alberta — an organization that co-ordinates and promotes the interests of 16 different trade unions across the province — says he's excited and pleased to see such a significant investment in Alberta's infrastructure.
"We have to start growing the construction sector again in this province. We've been in a little bit of a lull for the last 10 years here and seeing projects like these come up is exciting for us," said Parker.
He says his group is drafting a letter to the province with recommendations for how the government can best navigate the construction process so it benefits Alberta's trade workers.
"It's an aggressive timeline, there's no question about this. But if it's staged properly, we could actually be accomplishing all of it," he said.
"If you're trying to do all these schools at one time, it's going to be tough on the construction industry. But if you stage it, our contractors in this province can do the work, I'm confident of that. I'm confident our members have the ability and the skill set to move this forward."
He says the province's procurement policy should also include that Alberta construction firms are granted bidding priority. For Parker, what's most important is ensuring these projects benefit Alberta contractors and skilled workers, first and foremost.
"We are looking at a labour shortage, but we need to start bringing in more apprentices into the trades. We've got to be looking at bringing in more First Nations [people], women, young people and new Canadians all into the construction sector," he said.
"We have people within Alberta that want to work in Alberta. Let's bring them home if they're outside of this province right now, and let's build this province."
Government response to labour shortage concerns
CBC News asked the provincial government what the plans to collaborate with Alberta's construction industry would look like, as well as how the government would address labour shortage concerns outlined by construction groups.
Benji Smith, press secretary for the Ministry of Infrastructure, said the government always works with construction partners on all projects, including schools.
"Alberta's government has invested a total of $78 million in 2024-25, creating 3,200 new seats at 11 post-secondary institutions across the province. While establishing more trades seats at our post-secondary institutions is important for in-province recruitment and retention, we also need a significant number of workers who are trained and ready to take up jobs to meet immediate labour market demands and the needs of Albertans," reads the statement sent late Wednesday afternoon.
"Our government is also working to attract skilled trades workers from across the country. We are actively recruiting to meet the needs of today with experienced, trained individuals who can fill vacancies."
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With files from Tiphanie Roquette and Janet French