April 2, 2025 – Ottawa, Ontario
Both components of Saskatchewan’s construction sector reported growth in 2024. Investment in the residential sector increased modestly with growth in the new housing component, while growth in the non-residential sector was driven by increases in both the engineering construction component and in the construction of industrial, commercial, and institutional (ICI) buildings.
BuildForce Canada released its 2025–2034 Construction and Maintenance Looking Forward report for the province today. The forecast calls for strong growth in residential construction to offset a moderate contraction in non-residential construction activity.
Across the outlook period, growth in the residential construction sector is projected to proceed steadily. Demand is strongest for new housing construction, as starts for both single-detached and multi-unit dwellings rise in response to a young and growing population. Renovation growth is more modest, given the province’s comparatively newer housing stock.
The outlook for the non-residential sector is more moderate, as investment declines slowly from its 2024 starting point into the early 2030s. Activity slows in both the engineering construction and ICI buildings components, but is underpinned by work on the Jansen S2 Potash Mine Development project.
These trends combine to elevate overall construction employment in the province. A gain of 20% in the residential sector more than offsets a contraction of just under 4% in the non-residential sector.
It is important to note that the investment trends and employment projections presented in this scenario were developed with industry input prior to the emergence of potential trade tensions between Canada and the United States. This forecast therefore does not take into account the possible application of tariffs on Canadian exports to and imports from the United States, nor does it account for any resulting changes in trading patterns between Canada and its other key trading partners.
“The combination of a comparatively young population, high levels of in-migration, and a more affordable cost of living relative to other provinces has created strong demand for residential construction in Saskatchewan,” says Warren Douglas, Executive Director of the Construction Labour Relations Association of Saskatchewan Inc. “We’re seeing these factors combine into the middle years of our forecast scenario to really elevate demand for new housing construction. Meanwhile, activity in the non-residential sector is directly linked to ongoing work on major projects, including the two phases of the BHP Jansen Potash Mine Development.”
Meeting rising demands and replacing retiring workers will require Saskatchewan’s construction industry to recruit an estimated 10,700 workers over the forecast period. This figure is driven largely by the expected retirement of some 9,000 workers, or 23% of the 2024 labour force.
“Saskatchewan is fortunate to have a population that is generally younger than the national average and therefore better equipped than most provinces to withstand the coming generational shift,” says Bill Ferreira, Executive Director of BuildForce Canada. “BuildForce expects that as many as 9,300 new-entrant workers under the age of 30 will join the construction labour force from the local population. This could leave the industry with a shortfall of 1,400 workers that it will have to recruit from outside traditional channels.”
Keeping pace with demand will require a combination of strategies, including maintaining local recruitment and training efforts, particularly from groups traditionally under-represented in the construction labour force, the hiring of workers from other industries with the required skills sets, and the recruitment of immigrants to Canada with skilled trades training or construction experience.
New registrations in Saskatchewan’s 17 largest construction apprentice programs have seen a significant recovery since the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, new registrations increased by nearly 30% from the previous year, marking the highest number of new registrants since 2014.
“The recent growth in new apprenticeship registrations in Saskatchewan is positive news for the industry,” says Douglas. “But we cannot rest on those laurels. With competition for youth talent increasing across all sectors of the economy, construction must continue to ensure it offers a positive and welcoming environment to help support workforce development and worker retention in the years ahead.”
Meanwhile, efforts are ongoing to enhance the recruitment of individuals from groups traditionally under-represented in the province’s construction labour force, such as women, Indigenous People, and newcomers to Canada.
In 2024, there were approximately 4,090 women employed in Saskatchewan’s construction industry. Of them, 44% worked on site, directly on construction projects. As a share of the 36,200 tradespeople employed in the province’s construction industry, women made up 5% in 2024.
The Indigenous population is the fastest growing population in Canada and therefore presents recruitment opportunities. In 2023, Indigenous People represented 12.4% of Saskatchewan’s construction labour force – more than the 11.3% represented in the provincial labour force as a whole, and more than double the share employed in the construction labour force nationally. As the Indigenous population continues to grow, the sector must continue to work with Indigenous communities to promote career opportunities to their youth and invest in initiatives that foster long-term retention and a welcoming workplace environment where they can build fulfilling careers.
The construction industry is also committed to the recruitment of newcomers to Canada. Based on historical settlement patterns and adjusted federal immigration targets, the province is expected to welcome more than 165,900 new immigrants between 2025 and 2034, making these individuals, if successfully recruited, a key and growing part of the industry’s future labour force.
“Increasingly, diversification will be the key to ensuring construction’s labour force remains robust and sustainable,” says Douglas. “Our industry must look to augmenting its efforts to recruit and retain workers from among these three key under-represented groups if it is to continue to grow and continue to build the infrastructure Canada needs.”
About BuildForce Canada
BuildForce Canada is a national industry-led organization that represents all sectors of Canada’s construction industry. Its mandate is to support the labour market development needs of the construction and maintenance industry. As part of these activities, BuildForce works with key industry stakeholders, including contractors, proponents of construction, labour providers, governments, and training providers to identify both demand and supply trends that will impact labour force capacity in the sector, and supports the career searches of job seekers wanting to work in the industry. BuildForce also leads programs and initiatives that support workforce upskilling, workforce productivity improvements, improvements to training modalities, human resource tools to support the adoption of industry best practices, as well as other value-added initiatives focused on supporting the industry’s labour force development needs. Visit www.buildforce.ca.
Contact
For further information, contact Bill Ferreira, Executive Director, BuildForce Canada, at ferreira@buildforce.ca or 613-569-5552 ext. 2220.
This report was produced with the support and input of a variety of provincial construction and maintenance industry stakeholders. For local industry reaction to this latest BuildForce Canada report, please contact:
Paul de Jong
President
Progressive Contractors Association of Canada
403-620-3781
Warren Douglas
Executive Director
Construction Labour Relations Association of Saskatchewan Inc.
306-352-7909
Dennis Perrin
Prairies Director
CLAC
587-785-1836