“There’s a part of me that lives in that last project that I’m never going to get back,” shared Devin Owens, Newfoundland and Labrador’s competitor at the Skills Canada National Competition (SCNC) 2026 and gold medallist for the refrigeration and air conditioning skill area. Over two days, Owens worked for 15 hours on his project, which this year was an evaporator system.
“You had a bucket of water that you were cooling, and then you also had one with a fan that was cooling the air. You had to bend your evaporator to put it down in the bucket, and then you had to build a controller that would change it from, like, freezing temperatures to, say, cooler temperatures,” explained Owens. “Then you had to fully pipe it, do the electrical work, raise it all together, and pressure test it. There was a lot to it.”
He was one of more than 500 students and apprentices from across Canada to compete for the title of national champion in more than 40 skill areas at the Enercare Centre in Toronto, Ont., from May 27-29.
“We’re raising the profile of these occupations. Much of the work in the skilled trades is done in the background. It’s done in factories; it’s done in different work locations where people really don’t get to see what’s involved in it. This gives an opportunity for people to see that and get a better understanding of what’s involved in the occupation,” shared Shaun Thorson, CEO of Skills/Compétences Canada.
“For the competitors themselves, I think there’s a skills development side of this. They’ve put in a lot of extra time working with industry professionals to be prepared for the competition. And what we most often see with these participants is an accelerated skills development pathway. Their skill level goes up much quicker than people who haven’t participated in competitions.”
For some, the honour of earning gold comes not once, but several times. Owens has earned gold in the refrigeration and air conditioning skill area four times since his first competition in Vancouver 2022, and one silver medal. “The silver kind of haunts me,” said Owens.
This will be his last time competing in the event. However, beyond that, he shared that he’d be interested in taking up the position of a judge for Newfoundland and Labrador if the current person decides to retire. “It’ll bring more of a competitor standpoint to the judging,” shared Owens. In terms of future aspirations, he hopes to continue working in the commercial sector and simply pass his final exams. “As for work, I would like to continue working with supermarkets for refrigeration, but CO2 systems are starting to become really big for global warming and ozone-depleting potential. I’d like to eventually specialize in that down the road.”
Best of region award
Each year, Skills/Competences Canada awards the RBC Best of Region award to a competitor from each province and territory with the best weighted score. At this year’s competition, the individual or team to win the RBC Best of Region award received a $1,500 prize.
Owens received the award for Newfoundland and Labrador. For Alberta, Nathan Brehaut, the gold medallist for the sprinkler fitter competition, received the honour.
Brehaut decided to enter the skilled trades because he hated the idea of sitting at a desk all day. “I know the teacher who teaches sprinkler installation; he convinced me to come to his shop one day, and I liked it ever since,” he shared. Currently in his second year, he is attending Red Deer Polytechnic.
Over the two days, he worked for a total of 13 hours. The project involved building a seven ft. pipe stand with a manifold, and it had to be plumb level and square. On the second day, the competitors had to pipe two heads inside of it to a mock-up of a drop ceiling, using 45-degree angles.
He shared that one of his biggest lessons from this year’s competition was to trust his own skills more. As for his future aspirations, he hopes to make a ton of money and eventually go back and teach the trades.
In the plumbing skill area, Parambir Singh, representing British Columbia, earned the gold medal at his first-ever Skills Canada National Competition. When the names of the bronze and silver medallists were announced, Singh was already saying to himself, “Better luck next time,” before his name was announced as the top competitor in plumbing. “It felt great. I wasn’t sure that I was going to win.”
He will be entering his third level of schooling in September 2026. Once he earns his plumbing ticket, his next plans will be to go for his residential builder’s license in B.C. “It’s completely off the track from what I’m doing right now, but I want to have the plumbing ticket on me,” shared Singh. If he gets the chance, he also plans on earning his Gas B ticket.
Try-a-Trade
The competitions might have been the main focus of the SCNC, but for the visitors, there were plenty of opportunities to be able to get their hands on tools themselves.
This year, the event ran its Try-a-Trade and Technology activity, which allowed attendees to try out more than 50 different trades and technology activities.
“You are here at the Olympics for the trades,” shared Mike Gordon, UA Canada’s director of training. “Every competitor that you see here is an advancing champion from their province or territory. Talk about excitement in the air! The bonus is that you have young people coming through, getting engaged, and learning a little bit more about what we do, and it puts the talent on display when we go across the board.”
When it comes to why attendees should put their best foot forward and try a new trade, Gordon shared that he hopes it inspires a little spark of interest and understanding that it’s not as easy as it sounds. “But another part of it is the guidance and mentorship. The Try-a-Trades isn’t just about getting the hands-on experience; it’s actually about learning the process of how we teach in a very short snippet. I mean, thousands of kids are coming through this place.”
The SCNC is supported by the government of Canada as its funding partner, the government of Ontario as the government partner, Home Hardware as the title sponsor, and UA Canada, Cenovus Energy, and Air Canada as the presenting sponsors. The Skills Canada National Competition 2027 will be hosted in Calgary, Alta., at the BMO Centre at Stampede Park from May 26 to 29.