Construction trade shows and training in Quebec: attracting the right audience

Choosing the date: construction holiday and slow periods

First of all, identify the industry's mandatory holidays. The CCQ (Commission de la construction du Québec) publishes the dates of the construction holiday. They are set by the collective agreements, with special rules for some sectors and possible agreements on some job sites.

For the rest of the year, do not assume: ask a few contractors in your region which months and times they can get away. A job site in full swing and a slowed-down job site do not have the same availability. Test an early morning, late afternoon or evening time slot before setting it.

In person, online or hybrid: choosing based on your goal

Frequency matters as much as format. A regular, predictable event whose date is known well in advance fits into a calendar better than a single large event. To broaden your audience, see also our ways to build a construction network.

Writing an event page that gets people to decide

Your page must answer six questions: for whom, what, when, where, how much and why now. In Quebec, according to Québec.ca, business advertising and websites must be available in French.

1. A title that names the audience and the topic, for example "Reading a public call for tenders: a workshop for specialty contractors".
2. The date, start and end times, the address or the login link, at the top of the page.
3. The hour-by-hour program, with the name and role of each speaker.
4. What the contractor leaves with: a tool, a list, a specific answer.
5. The cost, what is included and the cancellation policy.
6. Accessibility: parking, site access, language of the session, online captions.
7. A single registration button, visible without scrolling.
8. A human contact: a name and an email address that actually replies.

Topics that give a real reason to come

A contractor will make the trip for content that affects their next month of work. Here are five ideas, with the sources to cite.

• The CCQ rate update. The most recent annual increase takes effect on April 26, 2026. A workshop on how these rates affect a payroll or a quote is useful: cite the CCQ and refer to our CCQ 2026 guide.
• Public calls for tenders. A session on reading a SEAO notice and preparing a compliant bid, starting from our SEAO guide.
• Health and safety. The ASP Construction 30-hour course requires full attendance and a final exam. If you offer regulated training, say clearly who delivers it.
• Local funding. A meeting with the advisor from the MRC's Réseau Accès PME, whose services are free.
• Tool demonstrations. Showing how software like SubmitX applies the ACQ/CCQ schedules in effect since April 26, 2026 to a payroll sheet is worth more than a slide presentation.

Registrations, personal information and follow-up

A registration form collects personal information. The Commission d'accès à l'information (Quebec's privacy regulator) states that consent must be clear and given for specific purposes, and that the title and contact information of the person in charge of the protection of personal information must be published. It specifies that the law applies to enterprises, meaning the carrying on of an organized economic activity: a non-profit organization must assess its own case.

1. Ask for the useful minimum: name, email, company.
2. Say what the data is used for, in one sentence, before the submit button.
3. Offer a simple way to unsubscribe from your reminders.
4. Publish the name or title of the person in charge of the protection of personal information.
5. Do not keep the list without a reason: decide in advance how long you will keep it.

After the event

• Send the summary and the documents presented within the week, while the topic is still fresh.
• Ask three short questions: what was useful, what was missing, what topic to cover next.
• Announce the next date in that same message, taking the CCQ calendar into account.

Where SubmitX Network fits for an event or training

SubmitX Network includes an "event or training" profile type: trade show, training, networking or demonstration. In it, you describe the format (in person, online or hybrid) and the frequency. The network is on a waiting list and will open region by region, once there are enough profiles for a first search to return results.

While you wait, you can register your event or training and prepare the profile. Signing up is free and requires no SubmitX account. For the big picture, read what SubmitX Network is.