ICBA Coffee & Construction

Jordan Bateman
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The news that matters to the people who build British Columbia and Alberta. ICBA Coffee & Construction is a fast, no-spin briefing for construction and resource business owners — the projects, the politics, and the policy decisions that hit your job site and your bottom line. Hosted by Jordan Bateman of ICBA, Canada's largest construction association, from a free-enterprise point of view. Inflation, pipelines, megaproject overruns, housing, labour, red tape — we cut through the headlines and tell you what it actually means for your business. Sharp, useful, and under ten minutes. New episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Subscribe, and send it to one person who builds for a living. Learn more at icba.ca. For the economics behind the headlines, subscribe to ICBA's twice-weekly EconoBot briefing at icba.ca/economics.

  1. 9h ago

    Am I Dreaming? New Massey + Roberts Bank | C&C #47

    Same podium. Same Friday. Ottawa put Roberts Bank Terminal 2 on the national-interest list — a $5.9-billion container terminal with a final investment decision by mid-2027 and operations four years sooner than planned. Then Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon turned to the Massey crossing and said the feds support "crossing that river, whatever way the Premier tells us to." Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson: "We have committed to a bridge." Episode 47 of ICBA Coffee & Construction — the news that matters to the people who build British Columbia and Alberta, with ICBA's Jordan Bateman. On today's show: ☕ THE BIG ONE: Roberts Bank Terminal 2 is now a project of national interest — $5.9 BILLION, 2.4 million more containers a year, 17,000 supply-chain jobs, FID mid-2027, operations in 2035 instead of 2039. TerraMarine (Aecon-led) stays the preferred builder. And at the same Delta podium, Ottawa backs Doerkson's 10-lane Massey bridge "in principle." The history: a funded, under-budget bridge cancelled by the NDP in 2017; a tunnel that went from $4.15 billion to $8.5 billion; nine years, zero lanes, double the price. Eby called the bridge "the stupidest idea." What was stupid is that his government cancelled it. 🛢️ The tanker-ban repeal bill is dead — C-264 voted down Oct. 28 on party lines. Doerkson didn't back it: "Our government's focus is on the project in front of us." Pacific Link — a million barrels a day, September 2027 construction target. 🇺🇸 No steel deal before the U.S. midterms. Trump says the two countries have "the concept of a very good deal" — and tossed in Keystone XL. Until then it's 50 PER CENT on steel. Your rebar invoice doesn't care about concepts. 🚧 Where the work is: Cariboo Gold is 28% built, $355 million spent, 400-plus on site, and JDS Energy & Mining has the underground development contract — first gold Q1 2029. Ledcor breaks ground on Calgary's $170-million Northeast Athletic Complex. The Green Line's first bridge is finished. 🏠 Doerkson will scrap the NDP's municipal housing targets and amend the multiplex law. The Victoria builders say pump the brakes — missing-middle homes up 47%. Our line: local control is fine, local delay is not. Permits in months, not years. We will hold him to it. 🖥️ Alberta's data-centre boom needs electricians, not pauses: a 920-MW gas plant approved for Beacon's Sturgeon County campus, a province-commissioned report warning of an 8,000-to-17,000 trades shortfall, and a Calgary motion for a 12-month moratorium. Plus the education property tax locked for three years — $98.7 million back to owners. 📊 Get the ICBA Economics briefing — the most helpful email you'll get all week: https://icba.ca/economics

    Am I Dreaming? New Massey + Roberts Bank | C&C #47

  2. Oct 26

    LORNE DOERKSON WIN! | ICBA C&C #46

    ICBA Coffee & Construction #46Sixty-four seats. Twenty-two ridings flipped. Nine years of NDP government, over in one Saturday night. Lorne Doerkson is B.C.'s premier-designate, David Eby has quit as NDP leader, and the new premier's first phone calls are to Mark Carney and Danielle Smith about a pipeline. Episode 46 of ICBA Coffee & Construction — the news that matters to the people who build British Columbia and Alberta, with ICBA's Jordan Bateman. On today's show: ☕ THE BIG ONE: Conservatives 64, NDP 27, Greens 2 — 48 per cent of the vote to 37, and the first Conservative government in B.C. in 98 YEARS. Eby called the election two years early, held Point Grey by fewer than 550 votes, and resigned on the spot. Six cabinet ministers lost, including the mining minister. Doerkson's list: first calls to Carney and Smith on Pacific Link, an independent review of the books before any budget, a $1,000 tax cut as the first bill, permits in months not years, double natural gas by 2032, and DRIPA repeal in the spring. ICBA asked for open tendering, 120-day permits, PST off machinery and a Massey bridge. We will hold him to it. 🛢️ KSI LISIMS, SEVEN OF TWELVE: This morning Ksi Lisims LNG signed a binding 20-year deal with Germany's SEFE — one million tonnes a year from the early 2030s. That's 7 of the project's 12 million tonnes under binding contract, two more buyers in talks, a $10-BILLION floating plant on Nisga'a Nation lands north of Prince Rupert, and a final investment decision promised this year. Ten weeks left. 🚢 THE TANKER BAN CRACKS: A federal Conservative bill to scrap the north-coast oil tanker ban goes to second reading this week, and Strathcona's Adam Waterous is pitching a rail-fed crude terminal at Prince Rupert — 250,000 barrels a day, "in under two years." Carney's July deal to keep the ban "without alteration" was signed with a premier who resigned Saturday. 🏗️ WOODFIBRE, THREE-QUARTERS BUILT: The Squamish LNG plant is 75 per cent complete and set to finish in mid-2027. The company's own study puts construction at $13.6 billion in economic output, 15,000-plus jobs, and about $11.6 billion in government revenue over 40 years — $6.8 BILLION of it to B.C. 🚧 ALBERTA: Calgary broke ground on the $34.2-MILLION Walden fire station and library (opening 2028), and the legislature is back with data-centre protections, road-building rules and merit-based hiring on the fall list. 📊 Get the ICBA Economics briefing — the most helpful email you'll get all week: https://icba.ca/economics Read more on today's stories:B.C. election results, riding by riding (Open Data Canada): https://opendatacanada.ca/articles/bc-election-2026-resultsHow election night unfolded, Eby resigns (CTV/CP24): https://www.cp24.com/politics/2026/10/25/bc-conservatives-win-majority-eby-resigns-as-ndp-leader-recap/Doerkson and Eby speeches, full text (Daily Hive): https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/lorne-doerkson-david-eby-bc-ndp-conservative-election-night-speeches-full-textNDP cabinet ministers who lost their seats (CBC via Yahoo): https://ca.news.yahoo.com/b-c-ndp-cabinet-ministers-075708661.htmlDoerkson's first order of business: the pipeline (Canadian Press): https://www.cp24.com/news/canada/2026/10/25/bcs-premier-designate-says-supporting-new-pipeline-is-first-order-of-business/Ksi Lisims finalizes SEFE deal (BNN Bloomberg): https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/2026/10/26/ksi-lisims-finalizes-supply-deal-with-german-utility-sefe/Federal Conservatives' tanker-ban bill (EnergyNow): https://energynow.ca/2026/10/federal-conservatives-pitch-bill-that-would-end-b-c-s-tanker-ban/Strathcona's Prince Rupert pitch (Bloomberg via EnergyNow): https://energynow.ca/2026/10/the-pitch-oil-firm-strathcona-resources-pitches-exemption-to-canadas-thorny-bc-tanker-ban-robert-tuttle/Woodfibre LNG economic study (EnergyNow): https://energynow.ca/2026/10/new-economic-impact-study-highlights-woodfibre-lngs-benefits-for-canada-and-b-c/Calgary's Walden fire station and library (ReNew Canada): https://www.renewcanada.net/calgary-begins-construction-on-walden-fire-station-and-library/Alberta's fall legislative agenda: https://www.alberta.ca/announcements.cfm?xID=979981CF5A498-C580-F56D-64356A3C9B640D81 ICBA Coffee & Construction drops every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe, hit the bell, and send this one to somebody who builds for a living. ICBA is Canada's largest construction association — the voice of B.C. and Alberta's open-shop builders: https://icba.ca #construction #bcpoli #abpoli #BCElection #Doerkson #LNG #PacificLink #PrinceRupert #Squamish #ICBA

    LORNE DOERKSON WIN! | ICBA C&C #46

  3. Oct 23

    60,000 Jobs Gone. Tomorrow, BC Votes. | C&C #45

    Tomorrow BC votes. A $14-billion deficit. Zero growth in new homes. A PST hike that's "paused." So Jordan brought in the boss — ICBA president Chris Gardner — for one story and one story only: what Saturday's vote means for the people who build this province. Episode 45 of ICBA Coffee & Construction — the news that matters to the people who build British Columbia and Alberta, with ICBA's Jordan Bateman and special guest Chris Gardner. On today's show: ☕ THE STAKES: Construction and its supply chain are about 30 PER CENT of BC's economy, and Chris says it's flipped — companies that were turning down work a few years ago are now laying people off. His count: 60,000 jobs lost in BC since January, and ICBA's phones ringing with laid-off apprentices asking what to do. 💸 THE TAX RECORD: Chris on David Eby and the NDP — every problem answered with a new tax, a bigger tax or a higher tax, until BC's top earners sit in the highest-taxed group of all 60 Canadian provinces and U.S. states. Jock Finlayson's verdict, as Chris puts it: the worst fiscal record of any premier in Canadian history. 🛣️ THE ALBERTA STORY: Two years ago, three young workers at an ICBA member company left for Alberta. The company went with them. Today it has 100 EMPLOYEES in Calgary and Edmonton. Chris on why — faster approvals, lower taxes, optimism. 👷 FAIR TENDERING: Only 15 per cent of BC construction workers can work on the province's biggest public projects under union-only deals — projects that are over budget by hundreds of millions, some by billions. Chris: every contractor and every worker should have an equal shot to bid and win. No special deals, no special favours. 🗳️ ELECTION NIGHT: The ridings to watch — Surrey, the Tri-Cities and Burnaby, including the NDP seat won by 22 votes in 2024. Plus Chris on Lorne Doerkson, and on last Saturday's municipal results: new pro-growth mayors in Surrey, Langley Township, Richmond, New Westminster and West Vancouver — and a Vancouver council that just took a hard turn left. 📊 Get the ICBA Economics briefing — the most helpful email you'll get all week: https://icba.ca/economics

    60,000 Jobs Gone. Tomorrow, BC Votes. | C&C #45

  4. Oct 21

    Alberta Stays. Let's Build! | C&C #44

    Three in four Albertans voted to stay in Canada. Lumber duties just dropped ten points. And BC's advance polls close tonight. Good news for anyone who loves Alberta — and the excuse for a stalled project just disappeared. Episode 44 of ICBA Coffee & Construction — the news that matters to the people who build British Columbia and Alberta, with ICBA's Jordan Bateman. On today's show: ☕ THE BIG ONE: About 75 PER CENT of Albertans voted to remain — 1.9 million ballots, counted by hand. Every riding in Calgary and Edmonton came in above 75 per cent. Danielle Smith: no second referendum while she's premier, and she pointed straight at the Pacific Link pipeline (permitting targeted for September 2027). Everybody from Mark Carney to the Business Council of Alberta said the same word: certainty. That's our word too. Our test is the same as Monday's — the first Pacific Link contract. A name and a dollar figure. 🗳️ BC VOTES, THREE DAYS OUT: 338,000 people voted in the first two days of advance polls. The Conservatives' costed platform bets on 3.2 PER CENT growth by 2029 (the Bank of Canada has the whole country at 1.8) — which means it's really a permitting promise, and we'll hold them to it. ICBA Economics on the NDP platform: it skips a $14-billion deficit and debt headed to $236 billion. And the Massey canon, one more time — a $3-billion bridge cancelled in 2017, a $4.15-billion tunnel now at $8.5 billion. Nine years, zero lanes, double the price. 🌲 LUMBER: Washington cut duties on most Canadian softwood to 24.75 per cent, down from about 35 — 34.75 all-in with the 10 per cent national-security tariff. West Fraser lands near 20, Canfor just over 31. Not a deal. An annual review of 2024 shipments. The real fix is fibre. 🚧 WHERE THE WORK IS: The $37-MILLION Airport Trail / Stoney Trail interchange northeast of Calgary is open to partial traffic. Graham Infrastructure built it; Alberta put in $23.8 million and Genesis Land the rest. Province and private developer splitting a road that serves both — the right order. 📊 Get the ICBA Economics briefing — the most helpful email you'll get all week: https://icba.ca/economics ICBA Coffee & Construction drops every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe, hit the bell, and send this one to somebody who builds for a living. ICBA is Canada's largest construction association — the voice of B.C. and Alberta's open-shop builders: https://icba.ca

  5. Oct 19

    The People Who Approve Projects in B.C. Just Changed | ICBA Coffee & Construction #43

    Vancouver fired its mayor. So did Surrey. So did Langley Township. Nine of ten Vancouver council seats went to the Greens, COPE and OneCity. Doug McCallum is back in Surrey at 82, promising a zero per cent tax increase and a SkyTrain to Newton. And on the same weekend, oil touched $110 while Alberta's barrel sold $26 under the benchmark. Episode 43 of ICBA Coffee & Construction — the news that matters to the people who build British Columbia and Alberta, with ICBA's Jordan Bateman. On today's show: ☕ THE BIG ONE: BC's cities turned over Saturday. Pete Fry beat Ken Sim by about 31,000 votes with turnout up 36 per cent; ABC went from seven council seats to ONE. McCallum took Surrey by 11,000. Jay Lundgren beat Eric Woodward in Langley Township, 18,302 to 15,459, and Langley Strong took six of eight council seats. Kamloops, Prince George, Richmond, Delta, New West, Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, West Van, Port Moody — new mayors. Every one of them now sets your DCCs and your permit timeline. 🚧 Where the work is: Aecon wins the Bow River package on Calgary's Green Line — three bridges, Ogden Road, the Bow and Deerfoot — inside a $6.248 BILLION Phase 1. Contract value: not disclosed. Plus Terracap breaks ground on a 50,000-square-foot airside cargo building at the Edmonton airport. 🛢️ Alberta votes today on ten questions — with Brent at $110 and Alberta heavy crude selling $26 under WTI, the widest gap since 2023. Premier Smith says Pacific Link will be shovel-ready by fall 2027: "Very much so." Our test isn't the date. It's the first contract award. 👷 Ottawa's $430 MILLION for trades training goes through the Union Training and Innovation Program. In BC, open-shop contractors sponsor well over 80 per cent of apprentices. Fund the apprentice, not the hall. 🏠 Five days to the BC election: Stewart Muir takes apart the "LNG is 150 jobs" line: 9,400 workers on site at peak at LNG Canada, 59 million construction hours on Coastal GasLink.

    The People Who Approve Projects in B.C. Just Changed | ICBA Coffee & Construction #43

  6. Oct 16

    Construction Rallies for Lorne Doerkson | ICBA C&C #42

    Special edition of the show today as Jordan Bateman was live with 500+ construction professionals at this morning's rally in Port Moody for BC Conservative Party leader Lorne Doerkson.   Includes clips of ICBA President Chris Gardner on the state of the BC economy and industry, and Lorne sharing his vision for the future.   Election Day is Oct 24!

    Construction Rallies for Lorne Doerkson | ICBA C&C #42

  7. Oct 14

    Approval in July, Shovel in October. | ICBA Coffee & Construction #41

    Two thousand jobs. $2.9 billion. And a shovel in the ground. ATCO broke ground on the Yellowhead Pipeline this week — approved by the regulator in July, fully booked by customers before the paperwork was done, in service by late 2027. That's what getting to yes looks like. Meanwhile Alberta's top court just told Ottawa, for the second time, that its project-review law is unconstitutional. Episode 41 of ICBA Coffee & Construction — the news that matters to the people who build British Columbia and Alberta, with ICBA's Jordan Bateman. On today's show: ☕ THE BIG ONE: ATCO breaks ground on the $2.9-BILLION Yellowhead Pipeline — 235 km from Peers to Fort Saskatchewan, 1.1 billion cubic feet a day, 2,000 construction jobs, and a pipe that was full before the regulator finished. ⚖️ Alberta's Court of Appeal rules 4–1 that the federal Impact Assessment Act is STILL unconstitutional. ICBA was an intervener the first time this law went to the Supreme Court in 2023. Same court. Same answer. 🛢️ Pacific Link: 77 per cent of oilpatch firms and investors expect a yes — but only 24 per cent expect construction next year. Ottawa's target is September 1, 2027. The gap has a name. Certainty. 🗳️ BC Votes: the three leaders pitch the Board of Trade — PST off machinery and a 120-day clock on $250-million-plus projects, a shipyard with no site and no price, and tonight's one televised debate. Listen for one word: permit. 🖥️ Enerflex lands a gigawatt-plus data-centre power contract, and Alberta's technology minister says $100 BILLION in data-centre investment is coming within five years. 📊 Get the ICBA Economics briefing — the most helpful email you'll get all week: https://icba.ca/economics

    Approval in July, Shovel in October. | ICBA Coffee & Construction #41

  8. Oct 9

    $8 Billion for Alberta Bases, a Lawsuit Against the Pipeline | #40

    Eight billion dollars for Alberta's military bases. And the first court challenge to the West Coast pipeline. Same week. A tale of two Canadas.   Episode 40 of ICBA Coffee & Construction — the news that matters to the people who build British Columbia and Alberta, with ICBA's Jordan Bateman. On today's show:   ☕ THE BIG ONE: Cold Lake First Nations take Ottawa to Federal Court over the Pacific Link pipeline listing. A 1-MILLION-barrel-a-day line, $35 to $44 billion, and a construction target of September 1, 2027. Why certainty is the whole game. 🚧 About $8 BILLION in military projects for Alberta: nearly $4 billion at Cold Lake, $550 million for a Husky base, $580 million in base repairs. No contractors named yet, so the bids are still ahead. 🛢️ LNG Canada Phase 2: $33 billion, 4,000 jobs, and the big modules built in China. About 15,000 tonnes of Canadian steel goes to the Coastal GasLink compressor work. 🗳️ B.C. VOTES: a $1,000 Conservative tax cut, Eby's three-year ICBC freeze, and the calendar to October 24.   📊 Get the ICBA Economics briefing — the most helpful email you'll get all week: https://icba.ca/economics

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About

The news that matters to the people who build British Columbia and Alberta. ICBA Coffee & Construction is a fast, no-spin briefing for construction and resource business owners — the projects, the politics, and the policy decisions that hit your job site and your bottom line. Hosted by Jordan Bateman of ICBA, Canada's largest construction association, from a free-enterprise point of view. Inflation, pipelines, megaproject overruns, housing, labour, red tape — we cut through the headlines and tell you what it actually means for your business. Sharp, useful, and under ten minutes. New episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Subscribe, and send it to one person who builds for a living. Learn more at icba.ca. For the economics behind the headlines, subscribe to ICBA's twice-weekly EconoBot briefing at icba.ca/economics.

Information

  • Creator
    Jordan Bateman
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    45
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Jordan Bateman
  • Show Website
    ICBA Coffee & Construction

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