From Quebec to Barrie and Toronto in 48 hours: March Publishers View Point

I just got back from Quebec City and I am trying to reflect back on everything that happened the past few days here at the Canadian Home Builder Association National Conference. Where do I start?

The event ran from Friday February 27th to Sunday March 1st and showcased the leading builders and renovators from across Canada with Ontario represented very nicely. This was the first national event that we have attended and the fact that it was relatively close to our head office in Ottawa it made sense to attend. I hope I can sell the idea of attending the event in Victoria British Columbia to Mark Buckshon the publisher for next year.

The event was a great chance to reconnect and network with members from Barrie such as Sheila Hissa who won the National Executive Office Award, Mark Basciano past OHBA president from Niagara as well as Mark Martin and John Herbert from Ottawa. I also had a chance to meet some other companies such as Pioneer Craftsman and New Horizon Homes who each won awards. As I spoke with Conni Robinson the Director of Marketing for New Horizon Homes, I commented on how funny it was I had to travel over travel hours to meet with her when we are only 40 minutes apart in Ontario. The event allowed everyone a relaxed environment to simply speak.

The conference speakers all delivered interesting takes on the current status of the economy and the home building industry in Canada. My personal impressions from all the people I have spoken with are that the great companies are still busy. By great I mean they have a good reputation and have delivered exceptional quality in the past. Now with the “Great Recession” the companies who took care of their customers are still thriving while those who did not are failing. The next two quarters will effectively see a thinning of the home building industry with the strong and reputable companies remaining.

No sooner did I get off the train did I have to pack up my stuff to head over to the National Heavy Equipment Show at the International Centre in Toronto which ran March 4th to the 5th. As I am submitting this report I am about to head out, so I will report in April my impressions of attending this event for the first time. First quarter is wrapping up and it is only getting busier!

Chase is the Director of Marketing and Client Relations for the Construction News and Report Group as well as the Associate Publisher for the GTA Construction Report and Ontario Construction Report. If you have any recommendations or suggestions on changes you would like to make for the papers please contact him toll free at 1-888-432-3555 ext 211 or email him mailto:chasemarketing@sympatico.ca or visit us online at http://www.cnrgp.com/