The Construction Record Podcast™ – Episode 353: immigration and the labour shortage

On this episode of The Construction Record Podcast™, digital media editor Warren Frey speaks with both BC Building Trades executive director Brynn Bourke and British Columbia Construction Association (BCCA) president Chris Atchison about Canada's immigration system and how it intersects with an ongoing labour shortage in the construction industry. Bourke addressed what she said is an "addiction" to temporary foreign workers in the construction industry and advocated for changing the immigration system to both reflect modern labour needs and provide an easier path to permanent residency for skilled tradespeople looking to work in Canada. Atchison said he also supports not only trying to make skilled tradespeople into new Canadian citizens as a priority but also praised British Columbia's provincial nominee program, which prioritizes getting skilled workers into the right roles in the province. He also said BCCA is collaborating with the Canadian Construction Association to pool resources and learning as immigration is in the end the domain of the federal government. You can listen to our recent interview with Alastair Hayfield about the state of construction in the UK in 2024  here and our episodes are available at the Daily Commercial News and Journal of Commerce websites, on Libsyn and at  Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music's podcast section. Thanks for listening. DCN-JOC News Services