Credence Construction Turned a Layoff Into Local Jobs—and a Frozen Lake Into Hope
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Founded by 13 people displaced from work in 2019, the Yorkton company grew through a difficult first year and built an ice-fishing fundraiser that gives back to regional health care.
September 3, 2026 · By Justin Plosz · Yorkton, Saskatchewan · Business · 6 min read read
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Yorkton, Saskatchewan — September 3, 2026
Credence Construction’s story did not begin with a polished launch. It began with 13 people out of work.
SaskToday reported that the Yorkton company formed in 2019 after the closure of EMW displaced a group of workers. Instead of allowing their shared experience to scatter, they banded together and started a new construction and maintenance venture serving agriculture, mining and other industrial work across the Prairies and into Northern Ontario.
Before the company had completed its first year, COVID-19 arrived. Financing, finding work and learning how to operate a new company were suddenly joined by changing rules across provinces and industries. Credence adapted. Some clients were connected to food production and continued operating, giving the young company a path through an extraordinary first year.
Jobs That Came Back Home
By the time of SaskToday’s April 2024 report, Credence employed 70 people full time and surpassed 100 workers during the busy summer construction season. Company spokesperson Dustin Brears said most were local and roughly 80 per cent lived in the area.
Those numbers were a 2024 snapshot, not a current audited workforce count. Their human meaning is still clear. A business born from job loss became an employer of millwrights, welders and other skilled workers. Earnings from projects across the region returned home through families spending in and around Yorkton.
The company’s official site describes work in repairs, maintenance, structural steel, conveyance equipment and material handling. It is industrial work, but its impact is personal: livelihoods rebuilt by people who understood exactly what losing one feels like.
Building on Ice for a Cause That Stays Close to Home
Credence’s community story reaches beyond its job sites. The company organizes an ice-fishing fundraiser at Theodore Dam supporting The Health Foundation. Brears told SaskToday that the event takes months of planning and includes an on-ice shelter built by the construction firm.
In 2024, the event drew a record number of anglers and raised a record amount, according to the report. No dollar figure is repeated here because the cited article did not state one. The achievement is better understood through the effort: workers using their planning and building skills to create a winter gathering that turns a Saskatchewan pastime into support for regional health care.
The accompanying event photograph was published by Yorkton This Week/SaskToday and credited to Calvin Daniels.
Recognition That Points Back to the Community
At the Yorkton Chamber of Commerce’s 2024 Celebrate Success Awards, Credence received a Community Merit Award for the ice-fishing charity and was named Large Business of the Year. The Chamber’s past-recipient list also records Credence as its 2024 large-business honouree.
Brears described the recognition as unexpected and humbling. That reaction fits the company’s origin: people who had lost work built a new employer, then used the new company’s capabilities to help a community health organization.
Yorkton’s unsung heroes do not always wear a uniform associated with public service. Sometimes they wear welding helmets and winter boots. They keep Prairie facilities moving, employ neighbours and spend months preparing a day on the ice so health care close to home can be stronger.
Key takeaways
- Credence Construction began in 2019 when 13 displaced workers chose to build a company together.
- The young Yorkton business faced the disruption of COVID-19 before completing its first year.
- A 2024 report counted 70 full-time employees and more than 100 workers in the busy summer season.
- Most employees were local, with the company reporting that roughly 80 per cent lived in the area.
- Its annual ice-fishing fundraiser at Theodore Dam supports The Health Foundation.
- The Yorkton Chamber recognized Credence for both community merit and large-business achievement in 2024.
Frequently asked questions
- What is Credence Construction?
- Credence Construction is a Yorkton-based construction and maintenance company serving industrial clients in sectors including agriculture and mining.
- How did Credence Construction begin?
- SaskToday reported that the company began in 2019 when 13 people displaced by the closure of EMW banded together to start a new venture.
- How does Credence support the Yorkton community?
- The company organizes an ice-fishing fundraiser at Theodore Dam that raises money for The Health Foundation, including building an on-ice shelter for the event.
- What awards has Credence Construction received?
- The Yorkton Chamber recognized Credence with a 2024 Community Merit Award and named it the 2024 Large Business of the Year.
- How can someone contact Credence Construction?
- The company lists 306-786-7000, info@credencegroup.ca and credencegroup.ca as public contact channels.
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