Building Trades Council applauds Mark Sutcliffe’s commitment to a Fair Wage Policy

Workers prepare to celebrate on Labour Day weekend

Sept., 4, 2026 (Ottawa, ON) // The local Building Trades Council today applauded Mark Sutcliffe’s commitment (https://marksutcliffe.ca/media/2026/09/fair-wages) to implement a Fair Wage Policy in 2027 for City construction projects, if re-elected Ottawa’s mayor.

“Sutcliffe’s election commitment to prioritize skilled, local labour, ensuring apprentices are a key part of City projects, and that everyone is fairly paid on the job, will help make our economy more resilient in the face of turbulent trade negotiations that create economic uncertainty,” said Braydon Potter, President of the Unionized Building and Construction Trades Council of Eastern Ontario & Outaouais Region.

Sutcliffe also committed to implementing a Community Benefits Framework, and to work with the Building Trades Council to develop a Workforce Development Plan to provide apprenticeship opportunities for Ottawa residents, especially communities underrepresented in the skilled trades.

“These are the priorities Ottawa needs, and they are priorities our colleague and dear friend Richard Hayter championed for many decades,” said Potter. “The Mayor’s promise to name a City landmark after Richard is very much appreciated.”

“Richard passed away in June and is missed greatly,” Potter added. “That said, we know Richard had tremendous moral fibre and integrity. While grateful for this recognition, Richard would be laser focused on achieving meaningful results and would not have rested until a strong Fair Wage Policy, Community Benefits Framework, and Workforce Development Plan were realities,” Potter continued. “The Building Trades Council will continually push for these positive changes, and we believe that, if re-elected, Sutcliffe will be very committed to achieving these outcomes, meaningfully honouring Richard’s legacy.”

In the past eight months as mayor, Mark Sutcliffe has visited the over 100,000 square feet of training and education centres that our affiliated unions operate in Ottawa. Our training facilities deliver a highly skilled workforce to building and construction job sites across the National Capital Region daily, in partnership with the local contractors and business owners who employ these important workers.

“We look forward to celebrating this announcement over the Labour Day weekend,” Potter said. “The fact all three leading mayoral candidates have committed to implementing a Fair Wage Policy if elected is worth celebrating.”

Fair Wage policies help to prevent the exploitation of vulnerable pools of labour and level the playing field for bidding on construction projects. The City of Toronto has had a Fair Wage Policy since 1893. Numerous additional municipalities have Fair Wage policies, including Brampton, Hamilton, Oshawa, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Vaughan.

"We will be informing our 35,000 members of the unionized skilled trades of the policy commitments being made by Ottawa mayoral candidates and will urge our members to get out and vote," Potter said.

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For more information, please contact: 

Trevor Haché, Director, Community Relations

Unionized Building and Construction Trades Council of Eastern Ontario & Outaouais Region 

Cell: 613-789-0604

Email: trevhache.buildingtradesunions@gmail.com

www.buildingtradesunions.ca