Nestled on the shores of Gander Lake in central Newfoundland, Canada, the Town of Gander has long carried a reputation shaped by its storied airport and its role as a crossroads community. Historic, welcoming, and strategically positioned, the town has served as a service hub for the region for decades. In recent years, however, Gander has evolved considerably – and that evolution is still ongoing. Currently, the town is reshaping its neighbourhoods, diversifying its housing stock, and attracting new residents, businesses, and industries at a steady and sustained pace. Justin Collins, the town’s development and control inspector, has been watching – and helping guide – Gander’s evolution for about a decade now. He came to the town after a varied career that moved through civil engineering, CNC machining, and consulting work. It was while working for a local consulting firm that he spotted an opportunity with the town and jumped at it. More than 10 years later, he has not looked back. According to Justin, what’s kept him in town is partly the professional variety of his role, but mostly the momentum of the community itself. “It’s a very evolving town,” Justin says. “Gander has been a growing community for as long as I can remember. Prior to my arrival here, we were getting 100-plus new builds a year. We went through an enormous expansion, and we’ve seen continuous growth – even during COVID.” When the pandemic arrived, he recalls that many communities braced for stagnation in their construction sectors. Gander experienced the opposite. Where the town might have expected a slowdown to one or two residential builds, activity barely paused. In fact, it accelerated. AUGUST 2026
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