ICBA Alberta

✨🎉 Happy New Year from all of us at ICBA! 🎉✨ As we step into 2025, we’re excited for another year of building stronger communities, supporting our incredible members, and advocating for the construction industry. Thank you for your hard work, innovation, and resilience—you inspire us to keep pushing boundaries. Let’s make this year one of growth, success, and opportunity! Here’s to a bright and prosperous 2025! 🏗️💪🎆 #HappyNewYear #ICBA #2025

🎄✨ Merry Christmas from all of us at ICBA Alberta! ✨🎄 As we reflect on 2024, we’re grateful for the hardworking people in the construction industry who build and shape our communities. Your dedication inspires us every day. Wishing you and your loved ones a season filled with joy, warmth, and relaxation. Here’s to a bright and prosperous 2025! 🎅🔨🎁 #MerryChristmas #ICBA (Photos from our ICBA Alberta team's Christmas party!)

Kerry and Jordan wrap up 2024 with a slight existential crisis about how old they are, how Y2K was a quarter century ago, and (of course!) a look at ICBA’s latest featured course. Practical Tools for Less Stress and More Joy Over the Holidays Tuesday, Dec.17, 2024, 11AM-Noon Pacific (LIVE ONLINE) FREE! https://lnkd.in/gkHbvnbm Missed this one? Check out icba.ca/courses The Holiday Season is often a mixed bag of emotions for many people. On one hand, every family has many traditions and ways to celebrate the season that make it special. On the other hand, the season is filled with stressors: long lines, busy traffic, too many social events for some, loneliness for others, buying gifts yet being conscious of overspending, eating, and drinking too much, and the stress that can result when families come together. All on top of the usual race to the "finish line" at work. It's a lot. What We’ll Cover: • Understand the neuroscience behind holiday stress and its impact on well-being. • Identify common stressors during the holiday season. • Learn practical tools and techniques to manage stress and increase joy. • Cultivate mindfulness and self-awareness to navigate holiday challenges more effectively. • Foster meaningful connections and relationships during the holiday season. • Develop strategies for maintaining balance and self-care amidst the busyness of the holidays. Join us for this practical, neuroscience-based look at why this can be hard for many people and some simple tools you can implement to bring less stress and more joy to your Holiday Season.

👷♂️ Alberta’s Construction Industry Needs Smarter Immigration Policies 🇨🇦 ICBA Alberta is sounding the alarm: we need 22,000 more workers by 2033 to keep Alberta’s construction industry running. Our latest Construction Monitor highlights glaring mismatches in Canada’s immigration system—only 2% of permanent immigrants pursue construction careers, despite a massive and growing demand. Alberta is building Canada’s future, but outdated immigration policies are holding us back. Ottawa’s failure to prioritize construction skills costs Canada $9.6 billion annually in lost work. It’s time to shift from biased, gatekeeping policies to ones that match global talent with our industry’s needs. 📄 Read the full report: https://lnkd.in/gnT3V-n8 Let’s align immigration policies with our economic priorities and make Alberta the global leader it’s meant to be. #ICBAAlberta #ConstructionIndustry #EconomicGrowth #SmarterImmigration

Bill C-59 is a blatant attack on free speech and an insult to Canadian democracy. This federal government is trying to silence Alberta businesses and restrict their ability to speak out on environmental issues or criticize Ottawa’s flawed policies. Alberta will not stand by while the Feds trample on our rights or our energy sector. We stand firmly with the Alberta Enterprise Group (AEG) and the Independent Contractors and Business Association (ICBA) in their constitutional fight against this draconian legislation. Read their statement: https://lnkd.in/gpbj7xwG

📣 Protecting Open Debate and Economic Growth Freedom of speech isn’t just a principle—it’s the cornerstone of democracy and innovation. That’s why ICBA and the Alberta Enterprise Group are taking bold action against the Trudeau government's Bill C-59, a new federal law that unfairly targets businesses while letting activists off the hook. Bill C-59 requires businesses to meet “government standards” for environmental claims or face harsh penalties. Yet activists and critics of resource development can make unsubstantiated claims with zero accountability. This creates a dangerous imbalance in public discourse, stifling private sector voices while encouraging unchecked misinformation. Why does this matter? 💵 Economic Growth: Businesses are the drivers of innovation, jobs, and prosperity. Silencing our voices discourages investment and slows economic progress. 🏥 Infrastructure and Resource Development: Resource industries make up nearly one-fifth of Canada's economy and fuel community development. These sectors need fair representation in policy debates. 🗣️ Charter Rights: Bill C-59 violates Section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which protects free expression. We’re fighting back to restore balance, protect Canadian businesses, and ensure a robust, open marketplace of ideas. Join us in this critical fight for fairness and democracy. 🔗 Read our legal challenge here: https://lnkd.in/g6p7yHdW #FairDebate #CharterRights #ICBAInsights #EconomicGrowth

🚨 ICBA Opposes Federal Emissions Cap 🚨 The Trudeau government’s proposed oil and gas emissions cap threatens one of Canada’s most vital industries. This sector supports high-paying jobs and accounts for 20-25% of the country's merchandise exports. Forcing a 35% reduction in emissions by 2030-32 could come at an unsustainable cost—billions in economic output lost and thousands of jobs at stake. Let’s prioritize smart, economy-wide solutions that work. Expert reports forecast massive economic losses due to production cuts under the cap. ICBA is urging the Prime Minister and Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault to reconsider this harmful and ineffective policy. #EnergyMatters #ConstructionLeadership #ICBA Read our letter opposing the cap at https://lnkd.in/gPYyx2rS

Canada's public infrastructure is showing signs of significant deterioration. 🚙 Statistics Canada estimates that replacing roads rated in poor or very poor condition would cost $250 billion. 🚰 10%+ of water infrastructure assets are deemed to be in disrepair. 📈 Local and regional governments, responsible for more than 70% of these assets, face escalating replacement costs, which have increased by over $100 billion between 2020 and 2022. This growing infrastructure deficit underscores the urgent need for strategic investment and policy action to maintain and enhance the nation's essential services. Read ICBA Chief Economist Jock Finlayson's analysis here: https://lnkd.in/gupxK9Az

🇨🇦 Canada's housing capital stock has reached $4 trillion, accounting for 54% of the nation's total physical assets. Despite this substantial investment, the country faces a significant housing shortage, necessitating at least a doubling of homebuilding efforts to meet current and future demands. But it's more than just housing that's a challenge, as ICBA Chief Economist Jock Finlayson points out: "If policymakers are serious about tackling Canada’s 'productivity emergency' and reversing the country’s eroding global competitiveness, they have no choice but to adopt a different economic growth model… one that prioritizes investment over consumption." Read Jock's analysis: https://lnkd.in/gqJ9Kapr

It was a pleasure joining Alberta Enterprise Group and Acheson Business Association at Supreme Steel office in Acheson, hearing from Premier Danielle Smith talk about the hard work her Government is doing to support companies, entrepreneurs and Alberta's economy. 18 ICBA Alberta members and friends joined us for dinner and conversation. Thank you Catherine Brownlee for your hospitality and partnership. And thank you Chris Gardner CEO of ICBA | Independent Contractors and Businesses Association for joining us! JEN COL Construction Strike Group III Fluor Driver Inc Paul Chalcraft TNT Crane & Rigging, Inc. A Few Good Lads Tyler R. Brock Group Tony Bagga Daniel Engel, MBA, CPA, CMA, CPHR, SHRM-SCP Profound Construction Abalone Group of Companies Norpoint Sandblasting and Painting Ltd.