Building Materials at DMC Recruitment – 2025 Year in Review
It’s been a big year for DMC, both for our team and for the wider building materials industry.
This was the year we were recognized by The Globe & Mail as one of Canada’s Top Growing Companies—an important milestone for us—and we finished 2025 having placed over 200 people into the building materials sector across Canada and the US. For a specialist firm that still upholds every placement to the standards of the 3 founding Partners, that’s something we’re very proud of.
What We Saw Across the Industry in 2025
If I were to sum up the building materials industry this year in one word, it would be uneven. There were winners and losers, strong pockets and soft pockets, and—more often than not—the difference came down to leadership confidence rather than anything structural.
Some of the forces shaping the market this year:
- Tariffs and trade uncertainty – still a constant backdrop.
- “Buy Canada” pushes – not just talk anymore; it’s influencing purchasing behaviour and product strategy.
- Supply-chain realignment – reshoring, redundancy, and diversification becoming the norm.
- US businesses pulling back from Canadian investment – a noticeable shift.
- PE/VC acquisitions – plenty of deals, plenty of change, and a clear divide between companies that thrive under new ownership and those that wobble.
- New entrants into the recruitment space – both overseas firms and local agencies suddenly “discovering” building materials and throwing resources at it.
- Modular construction quietly gaining momentum – early days, but enough movement to make 2026 one to watch.
Our Own Data Points From the Year
- Our 2024 Canadian Building Materials Salary Survey highlighted something important:
Pay equity between men and women has materially improved across the industry. - Early signals for our 2025 survey (launching Q1 2026) show another shift:
the East/West divide in sales compensation has more or less disappeared—the West has almost fully caught up. - And for the first time ever, we’re running a US-wide Sales Representative Salary Survey, and the reaction to that news has been overwhelmingly positive. The appetite for real data is stronger than ever.
Trade Shows, Conferences & Industry Partners
This was the first year we added Hardlines, METALCON, and ABDSA to our travel calendar, on top of our usual “annual pilgrimage” to:
- Smaller regional events run by the likes of VSID and BuildHer (Supply-Build)
These shows continue to be the best pulse-check on what’s happening in the industry, and they are an important part of how we stay connected to every level of the supply chain.
Inside DMC – How We Evolved This Year
Internally we ended the year with the same headcount we started with, but with revenues up more than 25% year-over-year. Demand still far outweighs our capacity, and that growth opportunity is absolutely still there—but only if we maintain the service quality that defines the DMC Way.
This year we:
- Re-structured the business for growth
- Hired a Recruitment Development Manager (with another on the way)
- Launched a new sourcing platform to increase our reach and speed
- Tightened the specialization of our consultants so they go deeper into their markets rather than broader
- Overhauled our onboarding to raise the investment and standard for new hires
- Built a new leadership training program rolling out in 2026
Stephen Borer moved into a formal CEO role, with Alex Mather and Shawna Wagner leading their respective divisions across; Building Materials, Architecture & Design, and Real Estate & Development.
Our Specialization Going Into 2026
In 2026, our consultants will be structured around the following segments to provide genuinely deep expertise:
- Building Envelope
- Lumber & Engineered Wood Products
- Structural Materials
- Interior Finishes
- Metals
- Plastics, Composites & Piping
- MEP & Lighting
- Site, Civil & Infrastructure Materials
- Specialty, Performance & Commercial Systems
- Home Services (B2C Building Products)
- Tools, Equipment & Safety
This structure reflects where the industry is heading and allows us to remain highly specialized, in a market that rewards expertise.
What Won’t Change
None of our success means anything without the support of:
- Our clients – those who followed us five years ago, and those we’ve met since.
- Our candidates – who continue to let us play a role in their career journeys.
- Our consultants – who buy into who we are, what we stand for, and what we’re building.
We’re committed to offering the building materials industry a best-in-class recruitment service, delivered with long-term commitment and genuine partnership. This industry doesn’t always get its fair share of attention, but the people in it build the cities, communities, and industries we all rely on.
We’re proud to champion it, proud to tell its story to new talent, and proud to represent a sector worth hundreds of billions of dollars that is full of real opportunity for the people who choose it.
And the mission remains the same: to be the dominant building materials recruitment firm in North America.
Canada, the US, and—eventually—Mexico.
Onwards into 2026.
