JULY 13, 2023 – OTTAWA, ONTARIO
BuildForce Canada is pleased to announce the election of Sean Strickland, Executive Director of Canada’s Building Trades Unions, as the Chair of its Board of Directors for a two-year term beginning in the 2023–2024 operating year.
Mr. Strickland brings a wealth of experience to the Board. He has served in his current role with Canada’s Building Trades Unions since 2020, and prior to that as the Director of Business Development and Industry Relations with Pomerleau Inc. He has also held various executive roles with such organizations as the Ontario Construction Secretariat, and the Waterloo Wellington Building Trades.
In addition to his years of experience with the construction industry, Mr. Strickland is devoted to community building through public service. He served as a Regional Councillor with the City of Waterloo between 1997 and 2022.
He joined the BuildForce Canada Board of Directors in 2020.
“The labour-market information produced by BuildForce Canada is essential to ensuring that Canada’s construction industry has access to the robust information it needs to make informed labour-market development decisions, particularly at this time with construction demands rising along side industry retirements,” said Strickland. “I look forward to working collegially with my fellow colleagues on the board and the staff at BuildForce to advance the organization’s strategic priorities and to ensure BuildForce continues to support the construction sector with its labour-market information, development and training needs.”
Joining Mr. Strickland on the Board of Directors are:
- Vice-Chair Warren Douglas, Executive Director of the Construction Labour Relations Association of Saskatchewan Inc.
- Immediate Past Chair Clyde Scollan, BuildForce Canada
- Member Marc Arsenault, Business Manager and Secretary Treasurer, Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario
- Member Brynn Bourke, Executive Director, BC Building Trades Council
- Member Cole Carson, Labour Relations Manager, Supply Management, Irving Oil
- Member Todd Cumiskey, Vice President – Workforce Development, Independent Contractors and Businesses Association
- Member Paul de Jong, President, Progressive Contractors Association of Canada
- Member Bill Earis, Director – Program and Contract Management; General Manager, BC Hydro
- Member Darin King, Executive Director Trades NL: Building Trades of Newfoundland & Labrador
- Member Kevin Lee, Director, Canadian Home Builders' Association
- Member Alex Lolua, General Manager, Electrical Power Systems Construction Association
- Member Darryl Metz, Vice President, Project Execution, Suncor Energy
- Member Graham Polischuk, Non Routine Execution Supervisor, Shell Canada
- Member Wayne Prins, Executive Director, CLAC
- Member Mary Van Buren, President, Canadian Construction Association
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 Bill Ferreira, Executive Director, BuildForce Canada, at ferreira@buildforce.ca or 613-569-5552 ext. 2220.