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Mechanical and electrical contractors will be essential to converting investments into completed projects

OTTAWA, November 5, 2026 – The Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada (MCA Canada), representing mechanical and electrical contracting businesses across Canada, welcomes the direction of Budget 2026 and its focus on business investment, infrastructure, energy, housing and building Canada’s skilled workforce. At the same time, MCA Canada is reiterating the need to build industry capacity in order to turn these investments into completed projects.

“This is fundamentally a budget about productivity, building, and growth; Canada’s mechanical and electrical contractors are ready to build,” said Tania Johnston, Chief Executive Officer of MCA Canada. “Whether we are talking about housing, hospitals, energy infrastructure or major nation-building projects, Canada needs capable contracting firms and their skilled employees to turn those investments into completed projects.”

The mechanical and electrical contracting sector also welcomed the recently announced Productivity Mega Deduction, reiterated in today’s release, which allows businesses to immediately expense a much broader range of eligible capital investments and makes it easier for businesses to invest in equipment, technology and productivity-enhancing assets. MCA Canada raised this issue directly with the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance earlier this year, calling for accelerated depreciation for construction-critical businesses investing in productivity-enhancing equipment and technologies.

Additionally, MCA Canada was pleased to see measures introduced to support scaling of small businesses, including the Canada Growth Incentive.

“Improving productivity and industry capacity is one of MCA Canada’s central advocacy priorities, and we are pleased to see the federal government recognize that construction must be part of that solution,” added Johnston. “These Budget measures will give contractors a stronger incentive to invest in equipment, technology and innovative construction methods will help our industry build more with the workforce we have today.”

MCA Canada also welcomes Budget 2026’s emphasis on growing Canada’s electricity system and nuclear industry through investments in the National Electricity Strategy and ongoing funding to advance Canada’s nuclear research, supply chains, workforce and regulatory capacity. These investments will require significant mechanical and electrical contracting expertise and workforce capacity as Canada builds and maintains the energy infrastructure needed to support economic growth.

Mechanical and electrical contractors are also pleased to see the budget’s continued emphasis on recruiting, training and hiring the next generation of Canadian skilled workers, building on the previously announced $8-billion Team Canada Strong initiative, which aims to recruit, train and hire between 80,000 and 100,000 new Red Seal skilled-trades workers by 2030-31. MCA Canada has consistently urged the federal government to ensure an industry-informed labour market strategy accompanies infrastructure and housing investment, particularly in growth-critical mechanical and electrical trades.

“Announcing projects is one part of the equation. Having the people and businesses capable of building them is the other,” added Johnston. “Government and industry need to work together to ensure we are developing the right trades, in the right numbers, in the right regions to meet the construction demand ahead.”

MCA Canada looks forward to working with the government to support the implementation of these measures, as well as to continue work on further measures to unlock the industry’s capacity and productivity, increase workforce participation, improve contractor cash flow and support the ability of Canada’s construction industry to deliver major projects at speed and scale.

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About MCA Canada

The Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada (MCA Canada) is Canada’s largest trade contractor association, representing mechanical and electrical contracting firms across the residential, commercial, institutional and industrial sectors of Canada’s construction industry. The sector accounts for approximately 40 per cent of Canadian construction activity, supports more than 440,000 jobs and contributes more than $63 billion annually to Canada’s GDP.