Monday, November 9, 2026
Canada’s major infrastructure push is well underway, and the projects now being planned and delivered need people truly prepared to lead them.
For many organizations, those people are already on the team, bringing with them 10 to 15 years of experience, a strong track record running projects, and the ambition to take the next step.
Now, a new program is poised to prepare those leaders. The Canadian Infrastructure Leadership Academy, launched by the University of Toronto’s Infrastructure Institute at the School of Cities and the Rotman School of Management, is the only executive program built specifically for major project leaders in Canada. Applications are now open, and are being reviewed on a rolling basis.
The academy offers what neither an MBA nor a project management certification does: a specialized focus on infrastructure leadership, from building teams across the many organizations that share a major project to negotiating the conflict that so often arises. Developed in collaboration with industry and government leaders, the program brings public and private sector participants together, so each cohort leaves with a national network of senior peers.
Over six months, the hybrid program combines three three-day in-person modules at Rotman in Toronto with monthly live online sessions, mentorship and a capstone project. Participants work through a real issue from their own professional contexts with mentor support, so the value builds as the program progresses. Graduates earn a certificate from the Rotman School of Management.
For leaders outside Ontario, the in-person portion comes down to three three-day modules, with the rest of the program delivered online. The academy is designed to grow into a national program, delivered locally across the country. The first cohort, launching April 13, 2027, will bring together an intentionally diverse group of leaders from civil infrastructure, energy, natural resources, and industrial projects, so a participant from Calgary or Vancouver leaves with connections well beyond their own market.
“A lot is being staked right now on being able to build big things,” says Matti Siemiatycki, Academic Co-Director at the Canadian Infrastructure Leadership Academy. The projects themselves have grown more complex, too. In Siemiatycki’s words, today’s major project is “an IT project wrapped in steel,” involving ever more parties, and ever more technology.
That pressure is especially visible out West. Insights from Altus Group’s 2026 Canadian Cost Guide found overall construction costs in Calgary and Edmonton rose 4% or more year over year, even as they fell in Toronto and Vancouver. Further, BuildForce Canada projects that 43,700 of Alberta’s construction workers — or, about 21% of the province’s 2025 construction labour force — will retire by 2035, just as non-residential construction is expected to grow. All the while, the Canadian Construction Association’s summer 2026 economic report points to growing use of sector-specific tariffs and local procurement measures, along with the domestic requirements that come with them.
These aren’t easy conditions, but they’re exactly the conditions the curriculum is built for. Alongside leadership and negotiation, participants work on commercial leadership, procurement, and governance, as well as the behavioural biases that lead projects to underestimate costs, all skills that matter more when budgets are under pressure and experienced people are leaving the industry.
For the companies delivering those projects, much of that complexity turns into risk. The way today’s contracts are written, Siemiatycki says, companies take on a huge amount of it — especially in construction — and when a project goes badly, they absorb the cost. That makes training the people in charge a strategic business decision. Giving leaders the most modern techniques to guide projects of this nature, he says, “is a risk mitigation strategy.” With tuition priced in line with comparable academies in the UK and Australia, it’s an investment in the people carrying that risk.
For organizations deciding who will lead their next major project, the inaugural cohort is a chance to prepare that person now. Leaders can apply directly, and organizations can nominate a member of their team to apply.
Spots are limited. Apply by November 30th to secure a 20% discount.
To learn more and apply, click here.
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This article was produced in partnership with the SiteMedia Content Studio.
