Building community: Caliber’s holistic vision for construction

In 2008, Justin Bontkes was on top of the world. Raised in a life steeped in construction, he was on track for the career of his dreams. As a child, he loved playing in the sandbox and building forts. As he grew older, his summers were spent on the job site, learning the ins and outs of multiple trades.

By 21, he had earned a degree in construction management, was newly married, and was working as a project manager on a major six-storey wood-frame housing project in Surrey, B.C. His career was soaring, and he couldn’t have been happier.

“I was loving it and on top of the world. I had this feeling of invincibility around me. Life was good,” he said.

But just days before Christmas, everything came crashing down. A global financial crisis had gripped the market, and his boss laid him off. Not long after, tragedy struck. He lost one of his brothers, shaking his foundations to the core. In the aftermath, Bontkes began reflecting deeply on life and what truly mattered. He poured himself into his community, volunteering at a kids’ camp and his church. He also earned a master’s degree in psychology and clinical counselling.

It was during this time that Bontkes realized he had a second passion besides construction: Building people. He came to see that, over time, he could merge both passions. With that in mind, he started Caliber Projects and began steady work on custom builds and renovations.

However, Justin soon moved on to larger-scale projects, landing a major contract to lead the construction of Latimer Village, the centrepiece of Latimer Heights—a 75-acre master-planned community with over 2,000 homes. As Caliber grew, Bontkes refined his approach to construction, focusing not only on building projects but also on Building People and Building Process. From 2019 to today, the company scaled from 10 employees to nearly 100.

“We are a well-managed, well-oiled machine now,” said Bontkes. “And we have been able to define who we are and what we do.”

This vision extends far beyond the job site. Bontkes sees Caliber as an opportunity to build into communities and create generational change.

“The vision for us is infinite,” he explained. “This business that we are in, this game we are playing is only for a time. But, as time goes on, others will play it and we want to be able to influence them for good and to really impact communities.”

For Bontkes, this means helping the team become the best version of themselves. This often involves challenging people’s assumptions, beliefs, and actions.

“We don’t just want to give young people jobs,” said Bontkes. “We want to give them careers. Help them understand their purpose in life. Come up with some goals and strategic plans for them to reach.”

At Caliber, this includes encouraging employees to lead healthy lives—through healthy bodies, healthy diets, and strong, healthy relationships. It’s a holistic view of both life and business.

“I see a world where people are inspired, where people are healthy – physically, mentally, and spiritually. And they have lifestyles which are conducive to growth. Where healthy families have strong relationships,” said Bontkes. “I could see Statistics Canada doing a study on all the different neighbourhoods throughout Canada and the influence that we have. Success for me would be them noticing that there’s something different about the community that we’re operating in: Stronger marriages, the kids are doing better in school, there’s fewer homeless people, there’s just a sentiment of general well-being, elevated within these communities.”

He’s not alone in this vision. Over the years, Bontkes has seen a new generation of builders who share the same ambition to create a company culture that elevates the lives of workers and the communities they serve.

“If we want to have an engaged workforce, we need to do these things,” he said. “We need to build into our people. We can’t think of people just simply as a resource anymore. I believe Caliber is part of that movement,” he said.