Wednesday, February 25, 2026 Pushing Ahead in the Prairies: March 2026 Report CLAC advances member success across Alberta and Saskatchewan through new projects, stronger agreements, and continued advocacy. Guide Magazine By Dennis Perrin, Alberta and Saskatchewan Director As we push forward through 2026, CLAC continues to negotiate and ratify collective agreements in all sectors, bringing about enhanced terms and conditions and positive change. We continue to advance training and workforce development services to the benefit of members and the industry. And we continue to advocate for the interests of members in the halls of power in provincial legislative assemblies. Construction Opportunities Work continues on major projects such as Dow’s Path2Zero, Air Products, and Shell Polaris in the Alberta industrial heartland. In Saskatchewan, work is still progressing at the BHP Jansen potash mine, and more opportunities abound on other projects such as the K+S solution mine in southern Saskatchewan. These projects, along with many others, provide great employment opportunities for thousands of Local 63 and Local 151 members. Retail In late 2025, CLAC successfully negotiated a new collective agreement for Local 301 members employed by Save-On-Foods in Alberta. The contract, ratified by a strong majority of the membership, provides five more years of great wage increases and terms and conditions for the more than 4,000 members working at 49 stores across Alberta. Government Relations CLAC is proud to provide an active voice to governments across Canada on matters that are important to members. While we are fully nonpartisan and do not support any political party, we lobby governments of all stripes on issues that impact the lives of members and all working Canadians. In late 2025, we held lobby days in both Edmonton and Regina where a variety of important topics were covered. We educated both the Alberta and Saskatchewan governments on the importance of dual ticketing, multiskilling, and the need for fair and open bidding provisions on taxpayer-funded projects. Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CBTU) have spared no effort to convince governments across the country of the need for legislative measures that would ultimately give its member unions a monopoly on these projects. They typically do it under the guise of community benefits, investment tax credits, or prevailing wages. While all of these things make sense on the surface, a closer look at the details shows that they continue to lobby governments for monopolies. In reality, it means that only contractors who are CBTU signatories would be given access to the work. CLAC has always promoted the view that all qualified contractors should be given access to work regardless of union affiliation and that unions should compete for the hearts and minds of working Canadians. Our government lobbying efforts in this area are focused on creating fair and open provisions for everyone. Training CLAC’s Career Development College is now offering technical apprenticeship training for welding. CLAC was recently a successful recipient of a union apprenticeship training grant in Alberta, which is allowing us to offer first-, second-, and third-year technical apprenticeship training in welding, creating more career advancement opportunities for members. As 2026 moves into full swing, CLAC is driving progress and creating new possibilities for members throughout Alberta and Saskatchewan. You might be interested in Why We Work Safely 5 Jun 2026 Standing Your Ground, and Staying Steady on the Job 4 Jun 2026 CLAC Partners with Alberta Government to Advance Skilled Trades Training and Accelerate Certification 4 Jun 2026 Strathcona Mechanical Workers Ratify New Agreement Providing Wage, Scheduling Improvements 3 Jun 2026