Shawn Turcotte – Skilled Trades Award 2026

Alumni of Distinction Awards > 2026 > Shawn Turcotte

Regional Vice President, Buildings
EBC

Architectural Technician, 1993
Renovation and Restoration, 1994
General Construction Carpentry Techniques, 1995

Shawn Turcotte says he was born to build. As a young boy in Pembroke, ON, he was already using hand tools to build things like sheds and forts. The satisfaction he got from seeing his finished projects fuelled his passion, and as he got older, he decided to go to college — the first in his family to do so — and pursue a career in construction.

In 1991, Turcotte moved to Ottawa to attend Algonquin College’s Architectural Technician program. The two-year program was a time of intense growth, and he soaked up everything he could about construction. After graduating, he went back to Pembroke and worked as a carpenter with a framing crew during the week. On Fridays, he was a building inspector for the nearby village of Eganville.

He loved working in the construction industry and wanted to keep growing professionally. To accomplish that, he went back to Algonquin College, this time at the Pembroke campus, to get two additional credentials: a Renovation and Restoration certificate (now called Carpentry and Renovation Techniques) in 1994; and, a year later, a General Construction Carpentry Techniques apprenticeship.

“Algonquin College was a game changer for me,” Turcotte said. “If it wasn’t for the programs I completed there, I never would have become who I am today.”

Two years after his apprenticeship, Turcotte earned a Red Seal, an official endorsement that his work met the national standards of excellence in carpentry. With years of construction experience, three distinct Algonquin College credentials, and now a Red Seal, he was poised for a successful career as a carpenter. Yet, he knew he had more to offer.

In 1997, Turcotte moved back to Ottawa to study civil engineering at the University of Ottawa. He worked three part-time jobs to put himself through school, including for David Mailing Architects and the City of Kanata, prior to its 2001 amalgamation into Ottawa. These roles complemented what he learned in class and helped him expand his professional network.

When Turcotte graduated from uOttawa in 2001, he joined Trow Consulting Engineers as an engineer-in-training (EIT). At the time, PCL was leading the construction of the main terminal of the Ottawa International Airport, and Trow had been brought on board as a structural engineering firm. That suited Turcotte, who wanted to work on big projects.

Turcotte stayed at Trow until the airport terminal was finished in 2003. Being part of such a high-impact project for the city of Ottawa inspired him to aim higher in his career. As much as he enjoyed being an engineer, his dream was not just to participate in large construction projects, but to lead them. He wanted to be a constructor.

But first, he needed to pay his dues. Between 2003 and 2010, he worked at Domicile Developments. Initially hired as an estimator, he quickly grew to oversee all of the company’s budgets and tendering. From there, he became the Director and then the Vice President of Development and Construction. These roles helped him understand the full lifecycle of a construction project, from planning to completion and everything in between.

In 2010, he left Domicile to join Laurin as a project manager. One of his main goals with this transition was to deepen his knowledge about general contracting. And like what had happened at Domicile, it didn’t take him long to rise through the ranks at Laurin, eventually becoming the company’s Chief Operating Officer.

Of the many projects Turcotte worked on at Laurin, one stands out to him to this day: Lansdowne 1.0. This ambitious public-private partnership redeveloped Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, turning what used to be a largely unused parking lot into a revitalized entertainment district. Since its renovation, Lansdowne Park has become a beloved destination for Ottawa residents and tourists alike.

Lansdowne Park, post-renovation, in 2017. Source: Laurin.

During his time at Laurin, Turcotte also became a part-time instructor at Algonquin College. Given his expertise, he was asked to teach the College’s first cohorts of the recently launched Construction Project Management program.

“I’ve always stayed connected with the College,” he said. “I taught a few construction management courses for a few years and have since returned to campus numerous times to give lectures and speak to students. The College is vital to our industry, and I’ve worked with many AC graduates over the years.”

By 2018, Turcotte was ready to start a new chapter in his career. His goal was to help regional companies scale up their operations to compete with the industry’s heavyweights. He left Laurin, worked for a year at Tomlinson Group, then joined Mattamy Homes as Vice President of Construction, where he stayed until 2022. At the time, Mattamy was interested in ramping up their production of residential units and establishing a high-rise division. Turcotte accepted the challenge and helped them substantially increase their production during his time there.

After Mattamy, Turcotte accepted an offer to become Vice President of General Contracting at Thomas Cavanagh Construction Limited. Working for Cavanagh brought him back to Algonquin College once again, this time to undertake a major capital project: building a modern health science lab complex at the Ottawa campus with facilities for biosafety, chemistry, analytical instrumentation, and applied research.

Algonquin College learners in the new science lab in 2025. Source: Algonquin College.

Since March 2026, Turcotte has been EBC’s Regional Vice President, Buildings – Ottawa. One of the reasons he has joined EBC is the opportunity to work on Lansdowne 2.0, a full-circle moment from his Laurin days.

Through it all, Turcotte has also stayed committed to giving back to the community. In 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, his family began a new Christmas tradition. Since social gatherings were largely restricted, they wanted to go all out with their holiday decoration. They set up an elaborate display on their front yard that recreated scenes from their favourite Christmas movie, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989).

The display was a big hit and started trending on social media. As tens of thousands of people flocked to their home that December, the Turcottes felt inspired to turn holiday cheer into a community fundraiser. People responded very well. By the end of the season, about $50,000 were raised for the Stittsville Food Bank, the largest single donation in the organization’s history up to that point.

“People are so generous,” Turcotte said. “It was incredible. I was out there every night engaging with people from all over the world. But the biggest thing we got out of it was the life lessons our kids learned about the struggles some people in our community go through.”

The Turcottes’ annual Christmas displays became a staple of their neighbourhood. During a five-year run between 2020 and 2024, they helped raise $195,000 for Ottawa charities. In 2025, the Turcottes had to pause the tradition due to a family illness, but they continue to find ways to spread joy and support their community.

The Turcottes’ Christmas display in 2023. Source: Reddit.

For Turcotte, construction has been much more than a career. It’s his lifelong calling. “Construction is a tough industry,” he said. “We work long. We work hard. Margins are slim. You really have to love it to be in it, which is why I’m a firm believer that you don’t choose the construction industry — it chooses you. You are born to build, and then you figure out where you belong in this crazy business.”