Ontario Construction News staff writer
Facing a confluence of challenges ranging from unprecedented housing market shifts and regulatory hurdles to persistent productivity issues, leaders from Ottawa’s construction sector remain cautiously optimistic, banking on local resilience, innovation, and a uniquely collaborative environment to navigate current uncertainties and capitalize on future opportunities.
Insights emerged during a wide-ranging Industry Leaders Panel at the Ottawa Construction Association (OCA) symposium last Wednesday (April 16). Moderated by Bruce Thomas, President of RECL, the discussion brought together perspectives from residential development (Josh Kardish, eQ Homes), architecture (Rod Lahey, Rod Lahey Architects), infrastructure (Graziela Girardi, Tomlinson Infrastructure), electrical contracting (Johannes Ziebarth, Ziebarth Electrical Contractors), and federal project delivery (Sylvain Blais, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC)).
Navigating unprecedented market shifts and systemic hurdles
A dominant theme was the challenge of adapting to rapidly changing market dynamics and overcoming systemic obstacles. Josh Kardish, senior vice-president of eQ Homes, highlighted the significant downturn in the new home market.
โIn my 25 year career, this is the first time we’ve seen prices drop in the City of Ottawa, and we are still living through that challenge,โ Kardish said. He detailed how eQ Homes has responded proactively.
โWe’ve changed the specification of our homes. We’ve found ways to be a little bit more economical in how we’ve constructed the houses,โ he said. This strategy aims to โmeet the market where it is,โ acknowledging that homes sold in 2024/2025 fetched lower prices than in 2022/2023. ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Compounding the issue is a segment of potential buyers โsitting by the wayside, holding a pile of money, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.โ Despite these local pressures, Kardish found a silver lining in Ottawa’s relative market strength compared to southern Ontario. โOur market is stronger than Toronto,โ he said, noting the near-zero new residential sales in that city. Ottawa, he argued, has found “some measure (of) stability.โ
Architect Rod Lahey voiced concerns about the municipal approval process, particularly site plan approvals, which significantly impact project timelines and costs.
โWhen I started, it used to take between three to four months to have site plan approved. Today, I tell my clients to plan on (12) months.โ
Lahey noted that efforts ostensibly aimed at increasing efficiency often have the opposite effect. Obtaining the final legal agreement after approval can add another six to 12 months. This lengthy process applies even to office-to-residential conversions where the building footprint doesn’t change, a stark contrast to Calgary’s two-month turnaround for similar projects. These delays have โhuge cost implicationsโ and risk pushing developers to other jurisdictions. Rezoning processes can also take years, sometimes forcing appeals to the Ontario Land Tribunal.
Graziela Girardi, vice-president, construction at Tomlinson Infrastructure, focused on the industry’s lagging productivity.
โOne of the challenges … is the lack of productivity. It’s being a decline over the years in the construction,โ she said. Girardi attributed this to a โsnowball effectโ of regulations, red tape, specification complexities, labour shortages requiring extensive training, and a heavy paperwork burden despite digitalization.
Critically, she noted, construction remains one of the slowest sectors to adopt new technologies. This inefficiency extends to project initiation, with municipalities sometimes lacking the engineering capacity to prepare projects for tender even when funding is available.
Johannes Ziebarth, president of Ziebarth Electrical Contractors, spoke to the inherent volatility of the Ottawa market. โBecause of the size of the market space that we have here, it’s always been a challenge to maintain your consistency of size.โ
He stressed the need for companies to โreally learn how to be resilient across the different market spacesโ, shifting focus between large projects, high-rise residential, and other sectors as needed. He encouraged embracing change: โYou really have to sort of get excited about handling the changes, otherwise you’ll just be at your desk, something sad.โ
Sylvain Blais from PSPC acknowledged the constraints of operating within federal fiscal frameworks and managing cost and schedule pressures on complex government projects.
Moderator Bruce Thomas added another layer, emphasizing the challenge of effective knowledge transfer. โHow do we dump all that’s in our heads, into the young people so that they can benefit from all that experience?โ
He also stressed the importance of teaching patience and precision: โYou got to do it right… teaching people the right amount of time to do it right the first time.โ
Success forged in sustainability, people, and partnership
Despite the headwinds, the panel highlighted significant successes and adaptive strategies. Girardi pointed to tangible progress in sustainability within the infrastructure sector. Tomlinson utilizes recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) and recycled concrete aggregates, diverting materials from landfills and preserving natural resources. There’s also a push towards low-carbon concrete and exploring innovations like insulated concrete forms (ICFs) and modular construction, though initial costs can be a factor.
For Ziebarth, success is fundamentally rooted in people and relationships. While his company embraces technology like BIM modelling and drones, he emphasized low employee turnover as critical. ย ย ย ย โIt takes 10 years to make an electrician … It takes 15 years to turn them into a great electrician … and it takes them 20 years to become a great supervisor.โ This longevity fosters deep expertise and enables strong, decades-long client retention. “We actually want our clients to be successful,” he said, highlighting a company culture that permeates all levels.
From the federal perspective, Blais highlighted the successful implementation of โinnovative procurement methods, such as progressive design build.โ He noted that market sounding confirms industry support for these models on complex projects, as they allow for greater collaboration, innovation, and increased certainty around cost and schedule, essential for long-term infrastructure like bridges.
Lahey celebrated architectural successes, noting that despite bureaucratic hurdles, virtually all the firm’s projects eventually gain approval. He credited the city’s Official Plan and, crucially, the LRT system for enabling significant urban intensification along transit corridors like Scott Street, Montreal Road, and in areas like Little Italy, bringing renewed energy to communities.
Thomas lauded Ottawa’s unique character:ย โThis is the biggest little city on the planet… we talk to each other. We share… I think we’re really fortunate to live in a city where we share because that sharing helps us be better.โ
Gazing into the crystal ball: Urbanization, technology, and housing focus
Looking ahead, panelists saw several key trends shaping Ottawa’s construction landscape. Lahey predicted continued revitalization of the downtown core through office conversions and, significantly, the โurbanization of those suburbs.โ He cited examples of high-density, multi-story residential projects emerging in areas previously dominated by single-family homes, driven by land constraints and the need for amenities closer to where people live.
Kardish echoed this regional view, noting the increasing growth and sophistication of โexurban townsโ around Ottawa, necessitating a broader regional perspective. He expressed optimism about the city renaming its key committee to the Planning and Housing Committee and the formation of a Housing Accelerator committee involving diverse industry stakeholders, signalling a much-needed focus on tackling the housing crisis.
Technology, particularly AI, featured prominently in future outlooks. Girardi detailed potential applications from improving health and safety with object detection, assisting with risk assessment in tenders, analyzing complex contracts, optimizing schedules for major projects, and streamlining internal workflows through integrated software platforms. Tomlinson aims to โequip our people with the best tools.โ
Lahey acknowledged the inevitable integration of AI into design and production workflows, drawing parallels to past technological shifts from pencil and paper to CAD.
Ziebarth expressed confidence in Ottawa’s future stability, underpinned by major upcoming projects like the new Civic Hospital and federal building renewals. However, he issued a stark warning about productivity: โWe really have to take our productivity services on all levels… we really have to get a grip on that… Work smarter, not harder. But we this time, we need to do both.โ
Blais anticipated continued evolution in project delivery, aiming to โoverlap some of the challenges that we typically design, construction, approvalโ to reduce costs and accelerate delivery, building on partnerships with industry.
Ultimately, the panel circled back to people as the crucial element. Thomas concluded with a call for mentorship: โBelieve in our young people, because there’s lots of great ones out there that we can pass our industry on to them.โ
The discussion painted a realistic portrait of an industry adapting to significant pressures while leveraging its inherent strengths โ collaboration, resilience, and a growing embrace of innovation โ to build Ottawa’s future.