The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) marked its second-ever National Construction Day on November 3.

Although the day’s activities were forced into the virtual world because of the COVID-19 pandemic, its goal—to recognize and celebrate those who build, maintain and connect Canada’s communities through vital infrastructure—was unchanged.

CCA invited industry members and partner associations to draw attention to the day through social media and using the #Construction4CDNs hashtag. Its social campaign attracted more than 900,000 impressions from companies and associations across the industry, as well as federal and provincial parliamentarians.

“We garnered support from a great breadth of the industry,” says CCA president Mary Van Buren. “We’re proud of how strongly the industry came together during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic to share best practices, and ensure that sites remain safe for workers, their families and their communities.”

CCA released a wide variety of content throughout the day to sustain momentum and interest in the initiative. Federal infrastructure minister Catherine McKenna, for example, delivered a special message of thanks and support. She praised the industry for the measures it took to keep worksites open during the pandemic, and keep workers safe from the spread of the virus.

“Your work will be key in the country’s economic recovery,” she said, adding that the federal government has launched a number of initiatives to keep businesses running during the pandemic, and to get shovels in the ground to get projects built.

CCA also hosted a webinar on maintaining health and safety standards during the pandemic. It also opened calls for submissions to its national awards, which will be presented during the association’s virtual annual conference next spring.

Finally, the day marked the official launch of CCA’s advocacy week, where members from across Canada will meet virtually with parliamentarians. A key message is that increasing investment in infrastructure and maintenance is sound economic policy that will benefit communities for years to come.

“Of course, one of the messages we will bring forward during our advocacy week is to ensure infrastructure investment is rolled out, and new stimulus money is available to ensure provinces and municipalities can participate in the economic recovery,” said Van Buren. “Our focus will also be on attracting and retaining new people into our construction workforce.”

Although immigration figures are low and could remain so in the next year, construction is upping its efforts to bring newcomers to its sites and get them retrained to help fill the industry’s workforce gap.