The threat of tariffs from the Donald Trump administration clearly cast a pall over the proceedings during the recent Hamilton-Halton Construction Association 2025 Construction Forecast conference.

But HHCA members and construction community who attended the January 30 event were reminded there’s still billions of dollars’ worth of projects in the local pipeline to be delivered by regional public sector owners regardless of the tariff squabbles.

Representatives from Hamilton Water, the Halton Region capital projects division and Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) outlined scores of near-term infrastructure projects to be tendered in 2025 and 2026 and offered glimpses into upcoming megaprojects.

Projects cited included the $2-billion Juravinski Hospital reconstruction and Hamilton’s Phase 2 Woodward wastewater treatment plant expansion and north secondary treatment plant rehabilitation, valued at $445 million.

HHCA general manager Sue Ramsay acknowledged the anxiety in the sector created by the Trump tariff aggressions but said, “construction is resilient.”