Edmonton’s Dave Filipchuk discovered the joy of building at an early age.

When he was around 13-years-old, he helped his father, Cornel, construct a lake house roughly two hours northeast of Edmonton. Each hammering of a nail gave him a greater appreciation for the craft he would eventually make his lifelong career.

“I certainly wasn’t a credential carpenter but I was presenting to be one,” he said. “We had hired one skilled carpenter but other than that it was us doing the framing, doing the finishing work, putting the cedar shakes on the house. I got an early taste for the value of hard work and physically putting things together.”

Filipchuk’s interest in construction led him onto a path to further his education by enrolling at the University of Alberta where he graduated from the civil engineering program. He landed a job with PCL Construction soon after and never left. After 32 years with the company, Filipchuk became the president and CEO in 2016.

Filipchuk said Alberta was in a tough spot when he entered the working world in 1984 following the implementation of the controversial National Energy Program four years earlier.

“There were not plentiful opportunities out there in the marketplace (but) I was fortunate to get a job of any kind, frankly,” he said. “I fell into, fortunately, a good job with a great company and it fits so well with things that I liked to do. Construction is a very purposeful pursuit … you’re building a better future together.”

Founded in 1906, PCL Construction, Canada’s largest general construction company, operates across the globe. Some of the company’s major projects include Edmonton’s ICE District, Rogers Place and a $1.7-billion hospital project in Vancouver. PCL employs nearly 4,500 workers and handles $8 billion in annual construction volume.

PCL, which became employee-owned in 1977, has offices not only in Canada but in the United States and Australia, but Edmonton has remained PCL’s headquarters since 1932.

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