Vaughan, ON, Oct. 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The fall Legislative Session at Queen’s Park kicks off today and the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario (RCCAO) will continue leading advocacy for industry to address today’s challenges head on.
With economic uncertainty and challenges being caused by tariffs harming Ontario’s economy, and the housing crisis continuing to have serious impacts on communities across the province, RCCAO will be advancing three key priorities at Queen’s Park for the fall Legislative session:
1 – Faster municipal tendering
Municipalities across Ontario are delaying capital budget tenders. The Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association found that since September 2024, unionized water, wastewater, and road construction workers in the Greater Golden Horseshoe have experienced a 21% decrease in total hours worked compared to the same period last year—equal to almost 1 million fewer hours worked, or approximately 1,000 workers without jobs.
Under-spending of capital budgets: As of June 2025, peak construction season, many GGH municipalities have awarded only 18–35% of their planned annual capital budgets for water, wastewater, and roads.
This is stalling critical infrastructure projects and sidelining workers who could be constructing Ontario’s future. Provincial leadership can help standardize municipal tendering practices to speed up tendering and improve critical infrastructure across the province.
2 – Eliminate HST on new housing
RCCAO research has revealed that nearly a third of the cost of new homes is taxation across all three levels of government. That means that for a $1 million dollar house, over $300,000 of the purchase price goes to taxes. To reduce the financial burden on homebuyers, RCCAO will be advocating for the removal of HST on new housing to help resolve the housing crisis.
3 – Reduce red tape on industry operations
Red tape costs everyone and is slowing down projects large and small down. Reducing the regulatory burden, eliminating duplicative policies across different levels of government and across crown agencies to speed critical infrastructure work is a policy level the provincial government is uniquely situated to act on that will help Ontario during these challenging economic times.
“Enacting these reforms alongside the Ford government’s generational investments in infrastructure will yield dividends for Ontario’s economy and communities for generations to come,” said Nadia Todorova, Executive Director of RCCAO. “RCCAO members will continue working collaboratively with industry and government to help Ontario’s economy weather the current storm and construct a better future for us all.”
RCCAO Executive Director Nadia Todorova is available for interviews.
Background on RCCAO: The Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario (RCCAO) is a labour-management construction alliance. Since its formation in 2005, RCCAO has been a leading industry advocate for infrastructure investment. It has commissioned 63 independent, solutions-based research reports to help inform decision makers.
- RCCAO Fall 2025 Legislative Priorities Infographic