Contractors Need Work: ICBA Advocacy on the economy, DRIPA & pipelines

KEY POINTS

• ICBA’s Wage and Benefit Survey is out – and, in yet another sign of the struggling economy, contractors have switched from seeking workers to seeking work.
• Following another disastrous court decision, ICBA has called on the NDP Government to change its approach to Indigenous rights and title.
• ICBA called on David Eby to quit opposing a nation-building oil pipeline.

WAGE AND BENEFIT SURVEY

Today, ICBA releases its 2026 Wage and Benefit Survey (see our news release HERE) to members and the public. We surveyed hundreds of our member companies to get their sense of the market and what they are paying their teams for 2026.

This year’s survey should be a wake-up call for every decision-maker in B.C. Construction has turned a dangerous corner: for the first time in years, contractors are scrambling for work, not workers.

Just 40% of firms expect more work in 2026, while one in five expect less – and those expecting a drop are bracing for an average 25% decline in workloads. Nearly half of contractors are unsure what this means for their staffing, and almost one-quarter have already made – or are planning – layoffs.

Securing new projects is now the number one challenge, followed by shrinking margins and ongoing people shortages. Confidence in government is extremely weak – only 6% of respondents believe provincial and federal leaders are on the right track.

Construction has carried B.C.’s economy for years. Unless governments cut red tape, speed up approvals, and lower costs, this slowdown could turn into something much worse.

We Must Find a Better Way on Indigenous Rights and Title Issues

The B.C. Court of Appeal’s Gitxaala decision is a game-changer for every builder, employer and investor in this province. It confirms that the NDP’s DRIPA legislation and UNDRIP are now hard law in B.C. – an open-ended “interpretive lens” that judges can use to rewrite statutes, permits and project approvals after the fact.

In response, ICBA called on Premier David Eby to recall the Legislature, repeal DRIPA, and repeal section 8.1 of the Interpretation Act. We are also urging government to restart serious treaty negotiations with First Nations and to firmly protect private property rights. Read our full statement and recommendations HERE.

Layering DRIPA, UNDRIP and section 8.1 over top of all laws in B.C. has created exactly what B.C. cannot afford: regulatory roulette, legal uncertainty, and a chill on the investment we need to build homes, hospitals, roads, ports and energy projects.

For more, read this Canadian Press piece featuring ICBA President Chris Gardner, or watch his interview on CTV News HERE.

BUILD THAT PIPELINE!

While there is some skepticism around the recent Canada-Alberta memorandum of understanding that could facilitate another oil pipeline to the B.C. coast, ICBA sees the biggest hurdle to Canadian energy independence and national prosperity as David Eby – not the federal government.

That’s why we focused our response to the MOU on pushing Eby to drop his kneejerk opposition to pipelines. Replaying the Trans Mountain saga – court fights, NDP grandstanding and years of needless delay – would drive away investment and undermine a truly national economic strategy.

Done right, a new corridor to the B.C. coast means billions in private capital, tens of thousands of family-supporting construction jobs, and more revenue for health care, education and infrastructure. Contractors in B.C. and Alberta are ready to build. Our message is simple: we need prosperity, not roadblocks.

ICYMI

Other news and notes from ICBA’s advocacy over the past couple of weeks:

• Chris was on The Jill Bennett Show, talking about why the Pattullo Bridge replacement was 2.5 years late and hundreds of millions of dollars over budget. (CKNW, starts at 13:10)
• ICBA Chief Economist Jock Finlayson analyzes export jobs in Canada (ICBA Economics)
• ICBA wrote Metro Vancouver asking them to scrap their planned January 1, 2027, Development Cost Charge hikes (ICBA)
• Jock, and consulting economist Ken Peacock, have a piece looking at how B.C.’s economic decline began before the Trump tariffs were in place (ICBA Economics)
• Chris is a featured panelist at Fairchild TV’s 2025 Economic and Housing Forum, Saturday afternoon, Dec. 13, in Vancouver.

ICBA continues our work on these and other advocacy files on behalf of our members – if there’s a public policy or red tape issue your company is facing municipally, provincially, or federally, that you could use some help with, reach out to jordan@icba.ca.