Ottawa Construction News staff writer

The Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association (GOHBA) showcased the city’s top residential designs and construction innovations on Oct. 18 during the 2026 RenoTour Parade of Homes.

The self-guided event opened the doors to some of Ottawa’s most impressive custom homes and renovations, while introducing a new feature this year: exclusive access to the showrooms of local RenoMark suppliers.

The annual event connects the public directly with local builders, designers, and suppliers to experience their craftsmanship firsthand. Participating builders included Amsted Design-Build, Lagois Design-Build-Renovate, RND Construction, and ARTium Design Build.

For industry professionals, the tour served as an interactive portfolio.

“The RenoTour is a great opportunity to experience exceptional homes in person,” a representative from Amsted Design-Build shared with All Things Home in the lead-up to the event. “While photos are inspiring, nothing compares to walking through a space, seeing the craftsmanship up close, and experiencing how the layout, natural light and design come together. … And for us, it’s a fun way to show off the craftsmanship, creativity and care that our team puts into every project.”

Amsted featured two properties on the tour, including a forever custom home designed for future accessibility. “While it’s brand new, it already feels warm, lived in and uniquely personal,” the builder noted. They also showcased a split-level home transformation, which a company spokesperson, Haw, described as demonstrating a “balance between luxury and livability, with thoughtful details, quality craftsmanship and functionality considered throughout.”

Sustainability was a major theme at RND Construction’s tour stop, an all-electric, Net Zero-certified contemporary custom home that maximizes a narrow urban lot. The project is a multiple finalist in this fall’s Ottawa Housing Design Awards, including the All Things Home People’s Choice Award.

“As a certified net zero, all-electric custom home, it demonstrates that exceptional energy performance can be achieved without sacrificing comfort, style or livability,” RND Construction told All Things Home, which also published an edited version of their coverage in the Ottawa Citizen on Oct. 2.

Meanwhile, Lagois Design-Build-Renovate showcased a home featuring a seamless primary suite addition. “We chose this project because it beautifully demonstrates how a thoughtfully designed addition can blend seamlessly with an existing home, making it feel as though it has always been there,” the company stated. The Lagois project is also a finalist in the upcoming Housing Design Awards.

ARTium Design Build rounded out the residential stops with a sophisticated kitchen renovation featuring premium finishes and thoughtful aging-in-place integrations.

The addition of supplier showrooms this year gave tourgoers a hands-on look at the materials and manufacturing processes behind the homes. Participating showrooms included Accurate Stairs and Rails, Spectrum Kitchen & Bath Design, and Laurysen Kitchens.

Laurysen Kitchens opened its extensive design centre, which recently won a National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) innovation award. Spectrum Kitchen & Bath Design showcased fully built kitchens and bathrooms, noting its team’s dedication to “delivering elevated spaces that honour your vision.”

Accurate Stairs and Railings used the event to open their milling and production facility, inviting visitors to see how their custom components are made. Billing themselves as “your real-life Pinterest board for custom stairs and railings,” the company also used the tour as an opportunity to support the community by collecting non-perishable donations for the Ottawa Food Bank on-site.

While the in-person event has wrapped up, GOHBA is ensuring the projects remain accessible. The association has launched 3D virtual tours of most of the homes and showrooms on its website for those who missed the event.

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Ontario Construction News staff writer

Ottawa’s new home market posted another strong month in September, recording 521 sales, up 81.5 per cent from 287 in September 2025. Sales increased 12.3 per cent from August’s 464 homes, while year-to-date sales reached 4,078, a 53.8 per cent increase compared with 2,652 at this point last year.

“September’s sales are encouraging, but CMHC’s latest report shows Ottawa still faces a widening housing supply gap, with much of its construction activity concentrated in rentals,” Jason Burggraaf, executive director of the Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association (GOHBA) said in an Oct. 20 statement. “Improving affordability means supporting more ownership housing too. Finalizing the development charge reduction agreement is an immediate opportunity to lower building costs, and we’re pushing for a timely resolution so some 2026 construction can benefit.”

The GOHBA/PMA Brethour Ottawa New Home Sales Report shows that September continued to show strong gains with 521 new home sales, up 12.3 per cent from the 464 sales reported in August.

Year-over-year growth remained high with 521new home sales recorded, up 81.5 per cent from the 287 sales reported in September 2025.

Year-to-date sales peaked with 4,078 sales recorded in September 2025, up 53.8 per cent from 2,652 at the same point in 2025.

Ottawa’s west end led new home sales in September, accounting for 43 per cent of the market, with the south following closely at 40 per cent. Together, these two areas represented 83 per cent of all new home sales, while the east captured 15 per cent and Central Ottawa accounted for the remaining two per cent.

Townhomes remained the most popular housing type in September, accounting for 44 per cent of new home sales, followed by single-detached homes at 35 per cent. Condo townhomes maintained a strong share of the market at 20 per cent, while condo apartments represented just two per cent of sales.

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Ottawa Construction News staff writer

Ottawa’s mayoral candidates squared off on Sept. 24 over how best to partner with the construction industry to address the city’s housing crisis, tackling contentious issues including the urban boundary, development charges and permitting delays.

The debate ahead of the Oct. 26 municipal election was co-hosted by the Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association (GOHBA) and the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB), GOHBA executive director Jason Burggraaf and OREB CEO Nicole Christy moderated the debate.

For the construction and development sectors, the stakes of the 2026 municipal election were brought into sharp focus as candidates Alex Lawson, Jeff Leiper, Neil Saravanamuttoo and incumbent Mayor Mark Sutcliffe pitched their visions for the city’s growth.

Alex Lawson, a framing contractor, painted a stark picture of the current business climate for the local construction industry. He noted that smaller and medium-sized builders are leaving Ottawa for municipalities like Brockville, where approvals are easier to secure and development charges are less financially prohibitive.

“It’s going to be that builders and businesses feel good about doing business in Ottawa again,” Lawson said when asked how his success should be measured. He also highlighted the need for transit networks that serve construction sites, pointing out that tradespeople currently need a vehicle just to access their jobs.

Incumbent Mayor Mark Sutcliffe defended his record, arguing that he is fighting to keep the dream of homeownership alive by making it easier and more affordable to build homes in Ottawa. Sutcliffe pledged to put the industry in a position to build 75,000 more homes by the end of the decade. He emphasized the need to improve the elements the municipality can control, specifically citing the speed of the approval process, fees, land supply and property taxes.

The debate also exposed sharp divides on where and how the city should grow.

Jeff Leiper pushed strongly for intensification over suburban expansion, warning that urban boundary expansions impose massive environmental and economic costs on future generations, primarily through long-term infrastructure maintenance. To facilitate infill and density, Leiper promised to implement correct zoning with “as of right permissions” so builders can bypass lengthy secondary plan changes and rezonings, allowing them to proceed directly to site plans.

Neil Saravanamuttoo agreed that the city cannot afford the future liability of expanding the urban boundary, pointing out the existing infrastructure gap. To speed up construction and assist the industry, Saravanamuttoo proposed modernizing City Hall’s highly manual administrative processes. He advocated for using artificial intelligence for automated code and zoning compliance, alongside a public real-time tracking dashboard for development applications.

While Sutcliffe noted that no urban boundary expansion had been approved during his last term, he cautioned that a balanced approach is necessary. Not every new resident wants to live in a downtown apartment, Sutcliffe said, adding that many families will still want space and a backyard in the suburbs.

Lawson echoed this sentiment, arguing that the city must evaluate urban boundary extensions based on the lifestyle preferences of its growing population.

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Ottawa Construction News staff writer

Ottawa’s construction community brought the ultimate show-and-tell to the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) last Saturday, lining the hospital’s Ring Road with heavy equipment for the sixth annual Construction Community Cares Parade.

Organized by the National Capital Heavy Construction Association (NCHCA) and the Ottawa Construction Association (OCA), the Sept. 19 event allowed pediatric patients and their families to experience excavators and other heavy machinery up close. Children were able to watch the big rigs from the curbside, as well as from the windows of the hospital, Rotel, Ronald McDonald House and the Roger Neilson Children’s Hospice.

Along with bringing smiles to families facing difficult medical journeys, the construction associations presented a cheque for nearly $27,000 to the CHEO Foundation in support of pediatric palliative care.

For families navigating long-term hospital stays, the parade provided a rare sense of normalcy and an opportunity to reunite. Ashley and Alex Letourneau made a nine-hour drive from Timmins with their other daughter to join three-year-old Millie, who is currently receiving treatment for leukemia at CHEO.

“It just provides some enjoyment for our family to be together. It’s the first time the whole family is experiencing the Construction Community Cares parade,” Alex Letourneau told CTV News Ottawa at the event. “It’s very good to finally get together, ’cause you come from a long ways from home and we’re finally here all together as a family and enjoying this nice event.”

Five-year-old Mason was thrilled to see the machinery in person. “I like excavators, those are my favourite,” he told CTV News.

“We just love how much CHEO likes to involve the community and bring everybody together because there’s not always a lot of events like this, so it’s a really special day,” Mason’s mother added. “Events like this just give our family something to do on the weekends when we can’t go anywhere because of medical issues.”

The ongoing support from the industry carries deep historical significance for the hospital grounds. According to the CHEO Foundation, more than 100 local construction firms originally provided $2 million in charitable donations, labour and materials to build the Roger Neilson Children’s Hospice. That massive industry-wide effort was spearheaded by the late Roly Hein, CEO of R.E. Hein Construction.

Today, the parade continues that legacy of community building.

“Construction companies all over and their families have been donating to CHEO in all sorts of different ways, and this is another small donation we do,” an industry representative said during the cheque presentation. “But the primary goal of it is to guarantee some fun and some enjoyment for the kids here today.”

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Ottawa Construction News staff writer

Ottawa’s new-home market recorded 464 sales in August, up 55.2 per cent from the 299 sales reported in August 2025.

Sales were also 9.7 per cent higher than in July, when 423 new homes were sold, according to the latest Ottawa New Home Sales Report from the Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association (GOHBA) and PMA Brethour Realty Group.

Year-to-date sales reached 3,557 through August, a 50.4 per cent increase from the 2,365 sales recorded during the same period last year.

GOHBA executive director Jason Burggraaf said the sales mix suggests affordability continues to influence buyer decisions.

“August’s sales show that demand for new homes remains strong, but affordability is clearly shaping what buyers choose,” Burggraaf said. “With townhomes and condominium townhomes making up well over half of sales, buyers are gravitating toward more attainable housing options.

“Governments need to ensure that the way we fund growth doesn’t add costs that put those homes further out of reach.”

Townhomes accounted for 46 per cent of August’s new-home sales, while condominium townhomes represented 19 per cent, up from eight per cent in July. Combined, the two categories accounted for 65 per cent of sales.

Single-detached homes made up 34 per cent of sales, while condominium apartments accounted for one per cent.

The west end accounted for the largest share of August sales at 40 per cent, followed by the south at 36 per cent. The east represented 20 per cent, while Central Ottawa accounted for five per cent.

The August figures point to a continued increase in new-home sales compared with 2025, while the concentration of sales in townhomes and condominium townhomes reflects the types of housing being purchased in the current market.

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Canadian construction council launches suicide prevention campaign

Ontario Construction News staff writer

The Canadian Construction Safety Council (CCSC) has launched an industry-wide suicide prevention campaign aimed at raising awareness, reducing stigma and making mental health a more visible part of workplace safety.

The campaign, called Looking Out for Each Other, is being rolled out during National Suicide Prevention Month in September. The CCSC is calling on employers, trade partners, unions, industry associations and workers across Canada to participate by sharing mental health resources and creating opportunities for open conversations on jobsites and in offices.

There is growing recognition across the construction industry of the need to address mental health and suicide prevention as critical components of health and safety. The construction industry has made major progress in how it manages physical safety. Now it must bring the same urgency, consistency and leadership to psychological health and safety.

When leaders, supervisors and co-workers make it easier to speak up, listen without judgment and connect people to help, we strengthen the safety culture of the entire industry. The CCSC is made up of 12 of Canada’s major general contractors. Its members are encouraging organizations to take four practical steps as part of the campaign.

They include four practical actions:

• Hold a health and safety moment to review the Suicide Prevention Toolbox Talk with teams on worksites and in offices;
• Share The Mental Health Continuum Model (MHCM) – Canada.ca to help individuals better understand their mental well-being and what actions they can take;
• Make support resources visible and easy to access; and
• Model behaviours that encourage dialogue, openness and connection.

The campaign comes as the construction industry increasingly recognizes mental health and suicide prevention as important components of occupational health and safety.

Construction workers can face a range of pressures that may contribute to mental health and substance-use problems, including physical pain, chronic stress, financial insecurity and isolation.

The CCSC said the industry has made significant progress in addressing physical safety and is now applying the same urgency, consistency and leadership to mental health.

Behind the hard hat, workers may be dealing with pressures that are not immediately visible to colleagues or supervisors.

Through Looking Out For Each Other, CCSC members are emphasizing the importance of recognizing those pressures and creating workplaces where workers feel able to speak up and connect with others.

The campaign’s central message is that improving safety in construction also means looking out for the people working alongside you.

Tools and Resources

International Association for Suicide Prevention

Center for Suicide Prevention

Mental Health Commission of Canada

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)

Construction Suicide Prevention

The Mental Health Continuum Model (MHCM) – Canada.ca

Social Support – Why it is Important and What Does it Look Like? International Association for Suicide Prevention

What’s your Stress Index? – Quiz

Mental Health for Life

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Ottawa Construction News staff writer

The Ottawa Chapter of Construction Specifications Canada (CSC) is hosting an in-depth technical seminar next month examining sound transmission, room acoustics, and evolving health and wellness design requirements.

The three-hour session, titled Sound Transmission, Room Acoustics & WELL Building Standard Requirements, takes place Thursday, Oct. 15, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Stantec office at 1331 Clyde Ave., Suite 300, in Ottawa.

Sponsored by CGC and United Building Products (UBP), the presentation features guest speaker Andrew Schmidt, principal researcher in acoustics at USG Corporation’s Building Science Laboratory.

Schmidt, an acoustical consultant who began his career under the late Chris Jaffe at Jaffe Holden Acoustics, will address the core principles of architectural acoustics, sound isolation, and noise mitigation across commercial and residential projects.

Organizers say the session is structured to provide architects, engineers, specification writers, contractors, and facility managers with a practical understanding of how acoustic performance is tested, specified, and realized in modern construction.

Key topics covered during the seminar include:

• Sound transmission metrics: An examination of laboratory rating systems including Sound Transmission Class (STC), Impact Insulation Class (IIC), and Ceiling Attenuation Class (CAC), alongside field-testing measurements such as NIC, NNIC, and NISR.
• Room acoustics and reverberation: Fundamentals of sound absorption, reverberation time, and calculations involving Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC), Sabins, and Array-NRC ratings.
• WELL Building Standard v2: Specific acoustic criteria mandated under the WELL standard, encompassing sound partition requirements, speech privacy classes, sound-reducing surface areas, and impact noise management.
• Design considerations: Best practices for sound-rated assemblies, performance impacts of clouds and baffles, and common industry misconceptions surrounding sound isolation.

The session is open to design professionals, construction managers, building envelope consultants, acoustic specialists, and students.

Complimentary parking is available in the SmartCentres commercial parking area adjoining the venue. To prevent parking citations, registered attendees must submit their vehicle licence plate numbers by email to ma************@****sh.com at least one business day prior to the event.

Registration details and ticket availability can be accessed online through Eventbrite.

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Ottawa Construction News staff writer

The Ottawa Board of Trade (OBOT) will host the Ottawa Infrastructure Forum on Sept. 15, bringing together industry, government, and community leaders to discuss the critical systems needed to support the capital region’s rapid expansion.

“Ottawa is growing, and the infrastructure decisions we make now will shape our economic strength for decades to come,” the OBOT stated in its event announcement. “Transportation, housing, placemaking and economic development must be planned together if Ottawa is to realize its full potential.”

The half-day event aims to examine the investments, partnerships, and policy decisions required to support the National Capital Region’s long-term competitiveness. The discussions will be split across three core pillars:

• Delivering the housing and enabling infrastructure the region needs.
• Building transportation systems that support urban mobility and economic growth.
• Creating vibrant communities and destinations through placemaking.

The forum will feature panel discussions with key figures in the local construction, transit, and development sectors.

The urban mobility panel will include Ron Tomlinson, CEO of Tomlinson Group; Rick Leary, general manager of OC Transpo; and Stephanie McNeely, associate principal at Arup.

A dedicated panel on housing and growth-enabling infrastructure will feature Jason Burggraaf, executive director of the Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association (GOHBA); Hugh Gorman, CEO of Colonnade BridgePort; Michelle Taggart, president of Tamarack Homes and Tartan Homes; and Chris MacKinnon, vice-president of Rohit Group.

The final panel on placemaking will include Tobi Nussbaum, CEO of the National Capital Commission, and Mark Goudie, president and CEO of the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, among other community leaders.

The event’s anchor sponsors include Dentons and Syntax Strategic. Builder sponsors are Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG) and Collège La Cité. Cornerstone sponsors include Architects DCA, BDO, Taggart Group of Companies, and Urbandale Corporation, while Mainspring Agency is serving as the photography and videography sponsor.

The Ottawa Infrastructure Forum 2026 runs from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Registration details and tickets are available through the OBOT’s website.

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Ehsan Momeni, P.Eng. and Christopher Paré, P.Geo.

Dragun Corporation

Implementation of Ontario Regulation 406/19 fundamentally changed the way excess soil is managed across the province. What was once commonly viewed as excavation material requiring disposal is now increasingly being repurposed as a resource and managed according to the requirements that apply.

The industry has developed a better understanding of regional soil conditions, naturally occurring constituents, use of statistical methods, salt-related impacts, and the practical challenges associated with managing large quantities of excavated soil.

What Did We Observe?

One important lesson is that elevated concentrations of certain metals may reflect regional geology (i.e., natural background) rather than contamination caused by human activities.

For example, arsenic and molybdenum may be encountered in native soils in the Windsor-Essex region, while vanadium is commonly identified in the marine clay deposits of eastern Ontario. Today, regional geological information, site history, soil characteristics and available background data are more frequently considered when evaluating these results. However, convincing the Ministry that these naturally elevated metal concentrations are representative of regional background conditions can still be challenging.

Additionally, some reuse sites are reluctant to accept soil containing reported exceedances, even when the results are consistent with natural background conditions within the region.

What Have We Learned from the data?

One notable outcome of the regulation has been the significant increase in soil characterization across Ontario.

This growing database may provide greater confidence in beneficial reuse and support decisions based on the overall quality of the soil rather than isolated results, if accepted by the regulatory community.

Statistical methods can also support this process.  Where the regulatory requirements are met and the dataset is suitable, they may provide a more representative assessment of overall soil quality than relying solely on individual sample exceedances.

Greater familiarity with statistical methods could help practitioners make better use of existing information, support professional judgement, and reduce unnecessary disposal while maintaining regulatory compliance.

What New Challenges Have Emerged?

Salt-related parameters have become one of the more frequent drivers of excess soil management decisions.  Elevated electrical conductivity (EC) and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) are commonly encountered in areas affected by the long-term use of de-icing salts.

On some projects, EC and SAR, rather than petroleum hydrocarbons or volatile organic compounds, determine where the excess soil may be accepted and reused.

What Practical Challenges Remain?

Large, Blended Stockpiles

If the soil is combined before characterization is complete and testing later identifies a limited number of exceedances, it may no longer be practical to determine where the affected material originated or to delineate it within the stockpile.

In these circumstances, Qualified Persons (QPs) must evaluate the overall dataset and use professional judgement to determine an appropriate management strategy.  Better planning before excavation, segregation of soil from different areas, and additional guidance for evaluating blended stockpiles help reduce this uncertainty.

Reducing Landfill Disposal

On Jan. 1, 2027, section 22 of the Excess Soil Regulation takes effect. In general, excess soil that meets Table 2.1 full-depth potable standards for residential, parkland or institutional use, or is of better quality, will be restricted from disposal at a landfill or dump.

Exceptions remain where the soil is required for operational uses at the landfill, such as cover, roads, or berms. Disposal may also be permitted in specific circumstances where a QP determines and documents that the soil is unsuitable for placement at a reuse site.

The restriction reinforces the need to consider reuse options early in project planning. Project teams may need additional time to characterize soil, identify receiving sites, document their soil-matching efforts, and coordinate transportation.

Looking Ahead

Experience with Ontario’s Excess Soil Regulation suggests that effective soil management requires more than comparison with individual analytical standards. It depends on early planning, appropriate characterization, regional geological knowledge, careful data interpretation and coordination among project owners, QPs, contractors, municipalities and reuse sites.

The growing volume of soil data has improved the ability to distinguish potential contamination from natural background conditions and to evaluate soil quality and reuse more effectively. At the same time, salt impacts, blended stockpiles, limited acceptance by the regulatory community of site-specific metal background values and limited time to identify reuse sites continue to create practical challenges.

The 2027 landfill restriction further emphasizes the regulation’s central direction. That is, soil that is suitable for reuse should be managed as a resource rather than automatically disposed of as waste. Continued technical guidance, regional research, statistical evaluation, and early communication will help improve consistency and cost-effectiveness, conserve landfill capacity, and support practical beneficial reuse across Ontario.

Dragun Corporation: Established in 1988 as an expert environmental services firm. We assist our clients with environmental issues, including Excess Soil, PFAS Assessment/Remediation, Vapour Intrusion Assessments, Phase I and II Assessments, Record of Site Condition, Environmental Compliance, and Expert Services.

Contact information: 519-948-7300 | in**@****un.com | www.dragun.ca

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Ottawa Construction News staff writer

The Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce is warning that northern Ontario communities could face a disproportionate economic impact if the United States proceeds with proposed new tariffs on Canadian imports next month, with construction among the sectors expected to feel the effects.

The White House announced this week that it plans to impose 50 per cent tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of Canadian imports beginning Aug. 19, citing what it describes as Canadian discrimination against American motor vehicles, dairy and alcohol.

The proposed tariff list includes a range of construction-related products, including cement and plywood, raising concerns that building costs could increase and construction projects on both sides of the border could face additional pressure.

Speaking after meeting with Canada’s premiers in Charlottetown on Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said his government remains focused on reaching a trade agreement before the deadline but is prepared to respond if negotiations fail.

“Everything is on the table depending on the outcome of the negotiations,” Carney told reporters, adding that Canada has “a full range of things that we can do” if the tariffs take effect. He declined to outline potential retaliatory measures, saying it would be counterproductive while negotiations continue.

Carney described the Aug. 19 deadline as both a negotiating opportunity and a pressure tactic by U.S. President Donald Trump, saying recent discussions have reflected the importance of the Canada-U.S. trade relationship.

In Sault Ste. Marie, the local chamber of commerce said the latest tariff threat adds to uncertainty for businesses that depend on integrated North American supply chains and cross-border commerce.

The chamber said the city’s economy has already experienced the effects of previous trade disputes, particularly in manufacturing, steel, forestry, transportation and other export-dependent industries. It warned that another round of tariffs could threaten jobs, discourage investment and weaken the competitiveness of businesses on both sides of the border.

For the construction industry, higher tariffs on products such as cement and plywood could contribute to increased material costs at a time when the sector continues to face affordability and supply chain challenges. Contractors, developers and infrastructure projects that rely on cross-border materials could see costs rise if the measures take effect.

The chamber is calling for a measured response that protects Canadian businesses and workers while continuing efforts to diversify export markets and restore a stable trading relationship with the United States. It said it will continue working with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and governments at all levels to advocate for policies that protect jobs, strengthen business competitiveness and support long-term economic growth.

Unless a trade agreement is reached before Aug. 19, the proposed tariffs are expected to take effect next month, adding another layer of uncertainty for industries that rely heavily on cross-border trade, including construction.

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