A Hampton teen is making history as the first New Brunswicker to win a gold medal in cabinetmaking.
Eighteen-year-old Camden Morrell won the top honour in the secondary division at the Skills Canada National Competition on May 30.
He is also the only participant on Team New Brunswick who won a gold medal this year.
Morrell is a senior at Hampton High School and has been woodworking for the past two years.
He said he was introduced to the trade through his Grade 10 woodworking class, taught by his teacher and mentor, Hardy Cameron.
“I fell in love with it right away,” he said.
Morrell said he began competing around the same time. He explained Cameron encouraged him to compete provincially after he won his high school’s regional competition.
Since then, Morrell has won gold twice in cabinetmaking at Skills Canada New Brunswick competitions in 2025 and 2026, and silver at the national competition last year, which took place in Regina.
This year, the Skills Canada national competition was hosted in Toronto and took place May 28 and 29.
The competition saw more than 500 students and apprentices from across the country compete for the title of national champion in more than 40 skill areas.
Top competitors were awarded medals in six skilled trade and technology sectors, including transportation, construction, manufacturing and engineering, information technology, services and employment.
Competitors were evaluated based on strict industry standards and competed against some of the best young skilled talent in the country.
The competition is also divided into two categories: post-secondary — where competitors from colleges compete — and secondary, where high school students compete.
This year, Morrell competed against four other participants.
He said winning the gold medal was a huge accomplishment for him and Cameron.
Cameron “had the honor to come with me both times and coach me through it, and it was pretty big. It still hasn’t set for sure,” he said.
Turning a passion into a career
Morrell is graduating in a couple of weeks and said he is pursuing woodworking as a career.
In the fall, he will attend Conestoga College in Kitchener, Ont., taking a woodworking technician course, and plans to complete a two-year apprenticeship after finishing the program.
After that, he plans to write his Red Seal.
Besides competing, Morrell did an apprenticeship over the summer with The Barn in Bloomfield — a local wood furniture, cabinetry and fine home décor store — and runs his own small business called Crafted by Camden, where he has built cutting boards, coasters, charcuterie boards and other small pieces of furniture.
Morrell said he initially wanted to become an engineer, but the hands-on nature of woodworking drew him into the trade.
“I’m a hands-on learner, so I always wanted to work with my hands,” he explained. “But once I fell in love with it, I knew it was what I was going to do.”
Morrell’s teacher, Cameron, said he is proud that Camden found something he is passionate about.
“It’s kinda cool to see the shift starting and the stigma [over trades] starting to reduce,” he added. “People’s opinions on skilled trades careers are starting to change.”
Cameron, who also volunteers with the national technical committee for Skills Canada in cabinetmaking and facilitates regional competitions, said he noticed Morrell’s talent for woodworking and detail work right away.
Cameron said he particularly noticed Morrell’s potential when he saw his initial joinery work, which, according to him, requires a high level of focus and concentration.
Camden “has a very calm and cool approach to his work, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him getting frustrated, [and] he takes on every challenge very willingly,” he said.
He added that Morrell’s ability to take feedback and willingness to be coached made it “a pleasure” to work with him.
Cameron said Morrell will continue to compete as a New Brunswick apprentice woodworker while he is in Ontario for college.
He added that if Morrell wins next year’s national competition, he will qualify to join the team representing Canada at the next WorldSkills competition in 2028, which is taking place in Japan.
“To my knowledge New Brunswick has not ever won a gold medal in cabinetmaking, and I believe we’ve also never won a silver, so Camden has checked both of those boxes in two years,” he said. “And I think he is only going to get better.”
New Brunswick wins seven more medals
Morrell was not the only New Brunswicker to win a medal in this year’s competition.
Seven other New Brunswickers brought silver and bronze medals back to the province.
The other winners include:
• Tommy Michaud — silver medal in car painting
• Sam Caron — bronze medal in industrial control
• Simon Benoit — bronze medal in electrical installations and RBC Best in the Region award for electrical installations
• Dawson Mazerolle — silver medal in sprinkler fitter
• Roxanne Vidal — bronze medal in graphic design technology
• Noah Allain — bronze medal in precision machining
Besides Morrell, all of the remaining winners competed at the post-secondary level.
The next national competition will take place in Calgary.
