<img src="https://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/370e541c-a8ab-425f-8666-4800c50e40a1?size=2" nborder="0" align="left" hspace="5" vspace="5" title="BuildForce Logo - English.png" alt="Buildforce Canada"/>OTTAWA, Ontario, July 20, 2026 <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com" target="_blank">(GLOBE NEWSWIRE)</a> -- Construction activity in New Brunswick recorded modest growth in 2025 as the province’s residential sector reached a new high in residential investment activity, while investment in the non-residential sector was muted. Economic growth in the province was significantly affected by the tariff dispute between Canada and the United States in 2025. Tariffs and countervailing duties on softwood lumber in particular caused a notable contraction in exports in 2025, and may present a further risk to economic growth in 2026. While the outlook calls for modest growth over the decade, the residential and non-residential sectors are expected to follow increasingly divergent paths. BuildForce Canada today released its Construction and Maintenance Looking Forward highlight reports for the residential and non-residential construction sectors in New Brunswick for the period of 2026 to 2035. These reports were funded in part by the Government of Canada's Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program. The residential sector enters the forecast period at an elevated level following several years of rapid population growth and strong levels of new-housing investment. Demand is expected to slow over the decade, with housing start totals expected to contract by 56% below 2025 levels by 2035. Most affected in this period are starts for multi-unit residential buildings, although demand for single-detached units is also expected to contract compared with 2025 levels. In contrast, residential renovation activity is expected to strengthen steadily, surpassing new housing as the primary driver of residential construction investment in 2028. Non-residential construction activity, meanwhile, is projected to remain a key source of growth across the forecast period. Investment is expected to rise significantly beginning in 2027 with the start of core construction on the Mactaquac Hydro Dam Refurbishment project and continued growth in NB Power’s broader capital program. These large-scale engineering projects, combined with elevated levels of construction in the institutional and government buildings component – including a new RCMP detachment in Salisbury, work on the Fredericton Courthouse, and a new Correctional Centre in Minto – are expected to keep non-residential investment elevated into the mid-2030s. “There is a significant number of major projects that BuildForce is tracking for New Brunswick, but which have not been factored into this year’s forecast,” says Irwin Bess, Executive Director of BuildForce Canada. “These include small modular reactors, mines, renewable energy, and energy-transmission projects. If any or several of these reach a final investment decision, they could have a significant impact on growth in the industry.” Employment trends reflect these opposing pressures. By 2035, demand for residential construction labour is expected to decline by nearly 24% compared to 2025 levels, while non-residential employment is expected to increase by approximately 13%. Although overall construction growth across the forecast period is expected to be modest, total industry employment is expected to contract by 1,500 workers to 2035. Additionally, the province is projected to see the retirement of as many as 6,600 workers, or 20% of its 2025 labour force, by 2035. The projected recruitment of some 6,400 first-time new entrants from the local population may create a surplus of as many as 1,300 construction workers in the province. (Note that discrete analyses of the residential and non-residential labour force trends are available in their respective reports.) "The industry will need to carefully manage the changing mix of construction activity over the next decade,” says John-Ryan Morrison, Executive Director of the Construction Association of New Brunswick. “While residential construction is projected to moderate from historically high levels, non-residential construction is expected to remain strong, driven by major infrastructure, energy, and institutional projects. The opportunity will be ensuring workers can transition to where demand exists while continuing to invest in training, recruitment, and immigration strategies. With thousands of skilled workers expected to retire over the forecast period, workforce development must remain a priority for both industry and government." 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 skill sets, and the recruitment of immigrants to Canada with skilled trades training or construction experience. New registrations in New Brunswick’s largest construction trades programs reached a record high of 1,100 in 2023. Although intakes eased slightly in 2024, they remained above 1,000. Completions, however, remain notably lower than the average observed over the past decade. In 2025, there were approximately 3,150 women employed in New Brunswick’s construction industry. Of them, 45% worked on site, directly on construction projects. As a share of the 29,300 tradespeople employed in New Brunswick’s construction industry, however, women accounted for just 5% of the 2025 workforce. The Indigenous population is the fastest growing population in Canada and therefore presents recruitment opportunities. In 2025, Indigenous Peoples represented 2.9% of New Brunswick’s construction labour force. Over the past decade, the share of Indigenous Peoples in the province’s construction workforce has increased modestly. As the Indigenous population continues to grow, the sector must continue its recruitment efforts and invest in initiatives that foster long-term retention. 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 81,000 new immigrants between 2026 and 2035, making these individuals, if successfully recruited, a key and growing part of the industry’s future labour force. Increasing the participation rate of women, Indigenous Peoples, and new Canadians could help New Brunswick’s construction industry address its future labour force needs. 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. For further information, contact James Raiswell, Director of Communications, BuildForce Canada, at <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=1vxKyC4AbTdV53xeCwdqX7gwfexbzBOoZf6zjywyUWFKblQOAPC03-NYND2gfjDLHL5m0z4fKFsBUqwuDxdgQNuGnJUsbSkzGM_tmQWiPvY=" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="raiswell@buildforce.ca">raiswell@buildforce.ca</a> or 343-998-1674. 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: Tom McGinn Executive Director New Brunswick Road Builders and Heavy Construction Association 506-454-5079 John-Ryan Morrison Executive Director Construction Association of New Brunswick 506-459-5770 <img alt="" src='https://ml.globenewswire.com/media/M2IwOTA3MTEtYzgxYS00MmUzLWI1NGItMWE2NmU5ZGEyNGY2LTExMDY3ODctMjAyNi0wNy0yMC1lbg==/tiny/Buildforce-Canada.png' referrerpolicy='no-referrer-when-downgrade' />

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An aging labour force may create challenges as infrastructure investment dominates New Brunswick’s construction outlook

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