In 2023, Canada’s federal and provincial governments spent more than $33 billion on building and infrastructure projects. The 2023 spend was about half the $60 billion that Canadians spent on home improvements in our industry.
And that post-pandemic year saw sales drop for most building supply dealers and hardware stores. Not so for the Investing in Canada Infrastructure program, which has so far committed to spend $180 billion over a dozen years.
No wonder Norm Williams, owner of Advanced Building Materials in Sarnia, Ont., would like to increase the amount of government-funded projects that account for around one percent of his current company’s business. “The money is always there,” Williams told Hardlines.
Senso Group Building Supplies in Toronto does a whopping 7 to 12 percent of its annual revenues from government-funded projects, according to its president Cynthia Prazeres.
Like most pro dealers, Senso gets this business through its contractor customers that do the heavy lifting in terms of negotiating contracts with the government for materials and labour. Senso typically provides materials for the building envelope, and the majority of those construction or renovations projects are hospitals and schools.
It helps that Senso has been in business for 35 years, so most of its government-related orders come from word-of-mouth contacts.
Meanwhile, one of the biggest renovation projects in Canada is the heritage rehabilitation of the Centre Block of the Parliament Building in Ottawa. It will cost between $4.5 billion and $5 billion. One of Canada’s primary masonry suppliers, Merkley Supply in Ottawa, is benefiting from the enormous spend.
“Getting government work depends on who lands the contract, and we hope it’s one of our customers,” says Paul Mutter, purchasing manager for the firm. Merkley is working with Atwill Morin, which specializes in masonry restoration, and the general contractors PCL and Ellis Don Construction.
The project, which is scheduled for completion by 2031, is being managed by Public Services and Procurement Canada. Mutter says this project’s biggest challenge is meeting the expectations of its architects—HOK, in association with Architecture49, DFS, and ERA Architects—for bricks that match the building’s 1920s-era exterior.
