The construction industry in Canada is hungry for more workers, and they are happy to hire new immigrants, according to a recent survey. With potential growth being held back by labour shortages, industry leaders are calling on the government to increase immigration and to improve recruiting strategies to bring individuals with much-needed construction skills to Canada.

Construction is a major industry in Canada, employing over 1.1 million men and women in Canada, and with annual revenues of over $170 billion. According to a national poll of the industry conducted in April however, 86% of construction managers felt that if they had more skilled workers available they would be able to take advantage of opportunities that could lead to significant growth. Yet two thirds of those surveyed reported having difficulty finding workers to operate their businesses at full capacity.

In response to the hurdle of labour shortages, the construction industry managers who responded to the survey were eager to turn to hiring foreign workers to comework in Canada . Many in the industry had already hired new immigrants to Canada or were making use of thetemporary foreign worker program . Yet nearly all the businesses surveyed were willing to hire new immigrants with skills learned overseas. To meet their demand for workers they called on the federal government to make it easier for workers in the industry to immigrate to Canada, and to speed up the process.