Alberta’s Building Trades Unions Discuss Aligned Goals with Premier Danielle Smith
On April 22nd, 2026, the Building Trades of Alberta (BTA) met with Premier Danielle Smith to advance a shared agenda focused on economic growth, faster project delivery, and ensuring Alberta’s skilled trades workers are ready to build and sustain major projects across the province
SOURCE & PHOTOGRAPHY: Building Trades of Alberta
The meeting brought together BTA leadership, Affiliate representatives, and key industry partners, including NOVA Chemicals Turnaround Leader, Marc Wahl and Connect Group Inc. CEO, Jesse Johnson. The group discussed practical steps to strengthen Alberta’s ability to deliver projects on time and on budget.
“The Building Trades of Alberta — alongside our 60,000 members — is a growth-focused partner in building Alberta’s economy,” said Terry Parker, Executive Director of the BTA. “We appreciate the Premier’s leadership and her government’s focus on investment, reducing red tape, and ensuring Alberta has the workforce to get major projects built.”
During the discussion, participants highlighted strong alignment between the Government of Alberta’s priorities and the BTA’s Strategic Action Plan, particularly in workforce development, productivity, and labour mobility. The Government of Alberta’s recent investments — including support for union-led training, the Alberta Trades Exploration Centre, expanded opportunities for Indigenous participation in the skilled trades, and legislative efforts to support Albertans’ workforce participation — were recognized as important steps toward strengthening the province’s labour market.
Building on this foundation, the BTA outlined two key priorities to support Alberta’s continued growth:
Strengthening the Workforce Pipeline
The BTA proposed working with the Government of Alberta to develop a coordinated Workforce Development Strategy, including shared demand forecasting and alignment on training capacity to ensure Alberta is prepared to meet current and future project needs.
Improving Productivity Through Partnership
The BTA emphasized the importance of closer collaboration between government, contractors, owners, and the Building Trades to improve project outcomes. This includes establishing structured working groups and adopting integrated project planning to reduce delays, improve scheduling, and enhance overall efficiency.
“Our focus is simple: making it easier to do the hardest work out there,” said Parker. “We want to be a reliable delivery partner for government and industry by ensuring the right people are in the right place at the right time.”
Both the Government of Alberta and the BTA expressed support for continued collaboration, including the potential establishment of a senior-level partnership table to advance workforce planning, productivity improvements, and major project execution. The Building Trades of Alberta represents 18 affiliated unions and more than 60,000 skilled tradespeople across the province.
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