The power of ideas is well documented – it is the dreamers who laid the foundation for modern day miracles, from breakthroughs in lifesaving pharmaceuticals to commercial air travel. But vision must be coupled with the resolve to overcome challenges, regardless of how plenty or complex, to realize and build what was once a mere musing.
“From Promise to Project” is both our cover story and theme for this second issue of the Ontario Infrastructure Quarterly, which explores how infrastructure owners and builders are increasingly working together at the conception stage of a project to prioritize its successful completion above all. We see a general broadening of project delivery toolkits that bring builders and designers to the table earlier, while there is still time to shape scope, test assumptions, and resolve constructability before ground is broken.
Progress is also predicated on leadership, and we are both privileged and enthused to have Ontario’s Deputy Minister of Transportation, Bruce Macgregor, lay out his vision and philosophy in this issue. I believe he succinctly articulated our shared thinking: the strongest projects are ones where industry and government see themselves as partners delivering a shared outcome. That is the alignment we have worked hard to build – with the province, with municipal leaders, and with partners across the sector – and it is the foundation on which we must now deliver.
Our members are ready to invest in all of it, but they do so most confidently when project pipelines are credible, procurement calendars are transparent, and risk is assigned to the party best positioned to manage it.
Realizing vision also depends on capacity. In “Room to Build,” Ontario Road Builders’ Association President Mark Mallett reminds us that capacity is about far more than headcount – it is experienced field leadership, asphalt plants and quarries, specialized subcontractors, and the systems that bring them together. Our members are ready to invest in all of it, but they do so most confidently when project pipelines are credible, procurement calendars are transparent, and risk is assigned to the party best positioned to manage it. These are not abstract principles; they are the conditions that allow a company to hire, train, and commit capital years before breaking ground.
On the eve of the association’s 100th year, I find myself consistently reflecting on the vision, leadership, and resolve of those individuals who came together at the turn of the 20th century and dared to visualize a province that leads the country in building world-class infrastructure on which we all depend every day. As we ready ourselves for a year filled with commemoration and celebration, we owe those visionaries a great deal of gratitude, and it is incumbent upon us to carry their vision forward for the next century and beyond.
As always, I hope you find this edition of the Ontario Infrastructure Quarterly captures ideas and topics you find important at this juncture, and sparks conversations our industry should be having today. I welcome your feedback and look forward to connecting with you during our many events in the last quarter of this year.
