Service

Construction Construction

From structuring projects to resolving disputes, our team delivers the legal insight needed to keep Canada’s most significant capital projects moving forward.

Major construction projects in today’s environment present multiple challenges: the capacity and willingness of owners and the contracting market to absorb risk, market timing, regulatory and permitting issues, safety, tariffs, complex financing structures, disputes and other factors that can threaten schedules and budgets. Osler’s Chambers Canada Band 1 ranked Construction practice helps clients anticipate, manage, and resolve these challenges so capital projects are delivered with confidence.

Our industry-focused team supports clients from the earliest stages of project planning through to operations. Beyond developing the appropriate project regulatory approval and stakeholder engagement strategy, our solicitors focus on structuring projects, negotiating contracts, arranging financing and allocating risks in ways that reflect both legal and commercial realities. If disputes arise, our clients rely on our co-located construction litigators in Osler’s Disputes team, whose practices are dedicated entirely to adjudication, mediation, arbitration and litigation. Our lawyers step in quickly with precision and practical strategies to protect our clients’ interests and keep projects on track.

Osler advises across the full spectrum of construction and infrastructure projects in Canada, including energy (wind, solar, storage, natural gas, nuclear, oil and gas), mining, technology including AI and data centres, transportation, healthcare facilities, defence and industrial processes, and public-private partnerships (P3/AFP). With U.S. capabilities, we also support clients whose projects and financing needs extend across borders. 

Construction and Infrastructure Law in Canada Blog

We provide updates on important court decisions, and track legislative and governmental policy developments.

How Osler can help

  • Track record on major projects: We have advised on some of Canada’s most significant projects across energy, mining, technology, healthcare, transportation, defence and industrial facilities and public-private partnerships.
  • Technical depth: Many of our lawyers hold both law and engineering degrees including in geology, civil, mechanical, and engineering science, bringing practical, on-the-ground insight into complex projects.
  • Integrated perspective: Our clients benefit from advice informed by regulatory lawyers, deal lawyers, and litigators, ensuring contracts are designed with potential regulatory and other risks and dispute realities in mind.
  • Cross-border capabilities: We support our clients’ projects wherever they extend, with both national reach and U.S. capabilities.
  • Industry leadership: Our lawyers are active members of leading construction and infrastructure organizations, ensuring our clients benefit from advice informed by the latest developments and industry trends.
  • Efficient dispute resolution: Our litigators act quickly and strategically in mediation, arbitration, or litigation, drawing on deep knowledge of construction law across Canada.

Together, our team delivers the insight, experience, and strategic guidance needed to help our clients navigate every stage of the construction lifecycle with confidence.


Key Contacts

Co-Chair

Paul Ivanoff

Partner, Disputes, Toronto

Co-Chair

Paula Olexiuk

Partner, Energy and Construction, Calgary

Richard Wong

Partner, Commercial, Energy and Co-Chair, National Construction and Infrastructure Group, Toronto, Montréal


Awards and Recognition

  • Recognized in Construction Law (Band 1)

    —Chambers Canada: Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Business
  • Recognized in Construction Law

    —The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory