For Mark and Michelle Young, Canadian Fence is not just a company. It’s a concept that encompasses quality, innovation, corporate culture and entrepreneurship. The result? One brand where clients know dependability and top quality are always assured, and one workplace where employees feel empowered and know they can grow their skills.
In 2011, Mark moved from the UK to Edmonton for work. Seeing some gaps in the industry got his entrepreneurial drive going. By 2014, Mark had Canadian Fence up and running. About a year later, Michelle joined the business to handle the administration and bookkeeping. Despite rapid growth, this business stays proudly family owned, with founder Mark still at the helm of every project.
Mark says. “We treat all our customers the same – no job is too big or too small. Each one gets the same level of quality service.”
Canadian Fence has built its reputation on materials and workmanship that outlast the elements and the passage of time. The team uses heavier gauge steel across every project, with intermediate posts at 23/8 inches and terminal and gate posts set 12 inches wide and four feet deep below the frost line. Fences hold firm through every spring thaw and fall freeze.
“We build it strong enough so when a homeowner adds slats, it won’t collapse or blow over, and we stand behind what we put in, so we don’t have to go back and fix it,” Mark says.
That reliability extends to how the crews work in the field. When Ledcor called needing crews on site the next day for Trans Mountain panels in Fort McMurray, Canadian Fence pulled its team together and finished the job in two weeks – a level of responsiveness that has earned the company steady, repeat business.
“Our crews stay on site until the job is done,” Mark adds, noting they dig and set posts even at -30°C, so seasonal weather rarely slows a project.
To protect that quality and speed, the company now fabricates its own gates in house.
“That was pivotal for us,” Michelle adds. “It’s a reputation we’ve earned. We are at a point where our main clients do not even ask for a quote. They just ask us to do the work, knowing they can count on the end result.”
Few projects carry the responsibility of securing an international airport, and Canadian Fence has earned that trust at EIA – twice. The first contract called for 3,000 feet of fencing, which the team completed in just six weeks. That work opened the door to a far larger contract: 13,500 feet—roughly four kilometres—now underway and expected to take about three months to finish. Once the new fence passes Airport Canada inspection, the older barrier will be removed as part of a comprehensive security upgrade.
Internally, Canadian Fence’s culture is built on mutual respect – something on which Mark and Michelle will never compromise. Evidence of this is seen in the annual Christmas party. What started as a gathering of five people now partially takes over their favourite restaurant, where about eight tables are pushed together to seat 30 to 40 staff and their partners.
“It’s mind-blowing to sit back and look at how many people we have now,” Michelle smiles, “and to know every one of those people has a good job and is appreciated by us.”
That sense of responsibility shapes how they lead, which includes competitive wages and overtime. More than that, Mark refuses to manage through fear.
“I don’t believe in yelling and screaming to get people to work,” Mark notes. “Whatever respect you show the people who work for you, you want the same back.”
They also accommodate single parents on the team by matching jobs to schedules, and they work hard to make sure people genuinely want to show up each day.
That same generosity shows up in the community. When a non-profit daycare in Sherwood Park was given a play park but couldn’t get it installed behind their existing fence, Canadian Fence stepped in and handled everything at no charge – removing the fencing and posts, helping assemble the play park and repairing the fence afterward, with a crew on site all day. Canadian Fence also backs local sports, providing community teams with branded hoodies and gear.
With an eye to the future, Canadian Fence will always keep its mainstay top-of-mind: chain link. It remains the company’s point of pride, anchoring a full range of services that spans residential, commercial and industrial fencing, custom in-house gates and large-scale security projects.
The next chapter is automation. While the team currently subcontracts that work, they’re bringing it in-house after completing a LiftMaster course in Chicago, building toward a full circle of care where they install automated gates and access systems themselves – and eventually offer those services, along with select fencing work, to other contractors.
None of this would have been possible without the people who believed in Mark and Michelle early on – especially the company who extended credit for materials when every bank turned them away.
“When no one else would help, they did, and I’ll never forget it,” Mark says. “With their help, we’ve come such a long way.”
Today, pulling up to his own shop after leaving his acreage each morning and seeing the Canadian Fence sign lit up still stops him in his tracks—a deliberate name chosen by an Englishman proud to call Canada home, and a daily reminder that the dream came true.
What’s next for Canadian Fence? Mark and Michelle have big dreams – including expansion and a new chain link manufacturing machine. After 12 years of building something from a dream to reality, Canadian Fence isn’t slowing down.