The Deconstruction Podcast

If you're a contractor in Canada and your pipeline has been slower than usual, this episode explains why. Daniel Foch breaks down the condo collapse, what caused it, how long it lasts, and what the recovery actually looks like — using hard data and the only real historical comp we have.

We get into the 90% drop in condo starts, the 30,000+ unsold units sitting in Toronto, why developers are shelving land instead of building, and what the shift to purpose-built rental actually means for trade companies. Daniel also talks through the Alberta migration, capital leaving the country, and how to read the signals that tell you when work starts coming back.

We close on AI, and this part matters if you're running a small crew. Daniel lays out exactly how trades companies should be thinking about automating their businesses right now, and why small operators have a real window that bigger companies don't. If you want software to help you track jobs, manage invoices, and stop losing time on admin while you wait for the market to turn, that's what Jobtable is built for. 👉 Learn more at https://www.jobtable.com

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Chapters / Timestamps

00:00 – Intro + Listener Review
03:00 – Meet Daniel Foch, Valerie.ca
06:25 – The Condo Collapse: Who's Building and Who Stopped
15:30 – Unsold Inventory, the Rental Pivot, and What CMHC Is Driving
20:45 – When Does the Construction Pipeline Come Back?
36:00 – Capital Flight, Alberta Migration, and Government Incentives
48:09 – Tariffs, CUSMA, and How to Prepare for the Worst Case
01:07:00 – AI for Trades: Start Automating Before Your Competitor Does