For the past 15 years or so the home building and renovating industry of Prince Edward Island has struggled to evolve with no formal representation, but recently the opportunity to change that has been extended by the Canadian Home Builders Association of New Brunswick.

In light of the fact that PEI is the smallest province in Canada with the smallest population it would be very difficult for a totally independent provincial Local to get up and running on it's own, so in recognition of this the New Brunswick Provincial Association offered to assist some key stakeholders of the residential construction industry in PEI to get a sustainable presence under the wing of their already strongly established Association. The motivation of the New Brunswick involvement is for the betterment of the industry nationwide as well as to promote the Canadian Home Builders Association in a currently unrepresented area. The hope is that the PEI Association will get to the point that it can stand on it's own as an independent Provincial Association and operate side by side with the New Brunswick.

Having a professional organization to represent the interests of the residential building construction industry on PEI is paramount to Scott Costain. Scott is the newly elected president of the Canadian Home Builders Association-PEI Local and says he has high hopes for the new organization from his perspective as a small residential contractor from Summerside.

The founding board of this newly formed CHBA-PEI is comprised of individuals from various facets of the housing industry from all across Prince Edward Island, and Costain notes that “a member from Tignish or RolloBay will be equally as important to the success of this Association as someone from Charlottetown or Summerside will be”.

“The recent formation of this first PEI Local of the Canadian Home Builders Association was certainly a long time coming. It’s been many years since Island home builders had any type of official representation and we definitely need that. We also need to have a medium which will allow our industry professionals to have a voice in the development of Island building codes and standards, something which has been sadly missing for a long time,” Costain said.

The formation of an Island Local of the CHBA will also provide opportunities for the distribution of educational resources and the sharing of industry information with counterparts across the country, he said.

“Members of the Canadian Home Builders Association New Brunswick have told me that builders on PEI don’t realize what we’re missing out on. There’s all of this information, this coming together of members to discuss problems and share information that until now we haven’t had,” he admits.

He says he looks forward to helping organize and participate in a variety of activities and events which will benefit Island builders in many ways. He also believes the benefits to member’s credibility will pave the way to a more solid future for the entire residential building industry.

“This is a big step toward the continued professionalization of the residential building and renovation industry here on PEI. It’s high time that Island builders had the opportunity to come in line with the rest of Canada with regards to building codes and standards. As builders, we have a responsibility to our customers to provide a top quality product; and that’s a responsibility that we should be taking seriously,” Costain noted. “Builders on PEI have a lot to offer to the home building industry nationwide and by associating ourselves with an organization such as CHBA we will have the opportunity to give to the industry just as much as we take”

President of the Canadian Home Builders Association New Brunswick, Karsten Curtis said recently he is pleased to see the formation of the new Island Local of CHBA.

“It’s a positive step for the residential construction industry on PEI. We’re very pleased to see the creation of this new Local and we look forward to helping in any way we can to establish this newest member of our Canada-wide organization. One of the mandates of the CHBA is to work towards the continued professionalization of our industry and to this end we hope to work alongside the PEI Association in the years to come,” he said.

Members hosted our first official membership meeting in Charlottetown on May 20, 2009. Everyone was invited to this first of its kind event for the residential construction industry on the Island. We also host dinners and other events such as our annual golf tournament which are designed to bring industry professionals and stakeholders together to network and gain valuable information pertinent to their everyday business.

For more information on the Canadian Home Builders Association, Prince Edward Island and the services we offer, please contact President Scott Costain at office@scotcor.com or Executive Officer , Lori Pearce at 1-902-886-3445 or email chba.pei@gmail.com.