Happy New Year to all! Here’s our recap of our top content from 2025. It was a wild year but our innovative and resilient industry coped well.
Ontario launching new 12-year rebate program – Jan. 7
The Ontario government has announced the new Home Renovation Savings Program. » Read More…
Retaliatory tariffs to avoid most fenestration supplies, hit imported windows and doors – March 4
U.S. 25 percent tariffs (10 percent on energy resources) on all goods imported from Canada took effect March 4. The federal government has immediately applied retaliatory tariffs to $30 billion worth of American imports, with an additional $125 billion on an unspecified additional list threatened for later in the month. » Read More…
Paquette named president of Everlast – March 31
Dallas Paquette has been named president of Toronto’s Everlast. Mike Bruno stays on as CEO of Everlast Group. A number of other Everlast executives have been given broader responsibities. » Read More…
Mazerolle tapped to lead Atlantic Windows – April 9
Atlantic Windows has announced the appointment of Roland Mazerolle as its new president, effective April 28. » Read More…
WestLab sold to Veridis Solutions – May 14
Fenestration test labs Veridis Solutions and WestLab are now sister companies. Described as “a strategic alliance to enhance service delivery and innovation,” Veridis Solutions and WestLab are now operating under a unified ownership structure. » Read More…
Trump planning to shut down U.S. Energy Star: reports – May 14
According to multiple U.S. news outlets, the Trump administration is planning to shut down the office at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that administers the American Energy Star program, presumably ending that program in the United States. » Read More…
Edger moves to Everlast – Sept. 5
The Everlast Group of Companies has announced the appointment of Ron Edger as director of technical services, reporting to president, Dallas Paquette. The Everlast group manufactures vinyl and aluminum windows and doors in Toronto and Calgary. » Read More…
Canada Greener Homes Loans to shut down Oct. 1 – Sept. 17
Natural Resources Canada says the Canada Greener Homes Loan (CGHL) has been successful throughout Canada. As a result, the program’s funding will soon be fully allocated and the application portal will close. » Read More…
Brad Fevold has retired after an accomplished 36-year career with Marvin and more than a decade of significant contributions to Fenestration Canada and the fenestration industry. » Read More…
Fenestration Canada thermal calculator now available online – Nov. 27
After two and a half years of work, Fenestration Canada has launched its new, size-specific thermal calculator for certified fenestration products. » Read More…
Fenestration manufacturers are all under pressure to promote their products or services as “greener”: more insulating and made without materials or processes that contribute to climate change or toxins in the environment. But as stated recently by the Osler law firm, “When these environmental claims are misleading or unsubstantiated, businesses are considered to be engaging in ‘greenwashing’ and expose themselves to liability under the deceptive marketing provisions of the Competition Act.” » Read More…
A modest proposal to refocus Canada’s sustainable construction policy. » Read More…
The editor gets new windows and doors
After 13 years in this industry, your editor has finally upgraded his 30-year-old wood Dashwood windows, patio door and front door that were original to his house. » Read More…
The Professional Way – Increase sales with a return to fundamentals
One suggestion on how to fight and survive is to increase company sales. Most companies will require more sales to be able to stay afloat. Our efforts must include harder work, innovative selling ideas, much better inventory control and the improvement of many of our past practices. » Read More…
Fenestration Conversations Episode #69 – Verifying VIG – David Cooper, VacuumGlass
David Cooper has been researching and developing vacuum insulating glass for over a decade and chairs multiple international standards committees that will define how it can be used, how its quality can be assessed and how to test its performance. With demand for VIG growing and producers multiplying, specifiers and contractors need guidance on what to look for in these products – guidance that may be coming soon in the form of balloted ASTM standards for durability and load tolerance. Cooper joins The Conversation to explain where these efforts are at and to update us on the state of VIG technology and availability. » Listen now…
Fenestration Conversations Episode #71: The next hot topic – Robin Urquhart, RDH Building Science
High-profile wildfires doing substantial property damage to urban areas in B.C. and Alberta have spurred NRCan to look at creating Canadian building standards for wildfire resistance. The consultation process has just begun, but it seems likely that some day soon we may see new codes requiring resistant windows, doors and other components in wildfire-prone areas. What might these rules look like? How do we determine if a product is sufficiently resistant to external fires? And what is the science behind making frames and glass that resists fire and prevents heat transfer to the home interior? Robin Urquhart has worked on rebuilding communities destroyed by wildfires and joins the Conversation to share his deep knowledge of this topic. » Listen now…
Fenestration Conversations Episode #72: One Number – Jonathon “JoMo” Layton, Layton Consulting
How would it be if all the databases and charts and spreadsheets and regulations and tiers defining whether our products comply with sustainable building laws just…went away? Replaced by one number: – the only number that matters – the amount of carbon dioxide emitted over a building’s lifetime as a result of its manufacture, construction, use and disposal. Partner at Layton Consulting, Jonathon “JoMo” Layton joins the podcast to chew over this radical idea and lend his expertise to the question of whether it could work and how it would affect us all. » Read More…
Our business is making things, not talking about them. So it’s no surprise that many of us struggle with the demands of promoting our businesses to potential clients and customers. Alison Simpson, president and CEO of the CMA, has been helping major corporations do just that throughout her career and she joins Pat Flannery for a lively conversation chock full of good advice. She also has details of an exciting program enabling small businesses to obtain government funds to hire digital marketing experts and to upskill their existing IT staff.» Listen now…