‘Significant Support’ for Trades Apprenticeships
The government’s new $6-billion skills development initiative, titled Team Canada Strong, is meant to address a long-standing shortage of skilled tradespeople that is expected to deepen as older workers retire, the Globe and Mail reports.
“This is a smart investment in the future of our country,” Canadian Labour Congress President Bea Bruske said in a statement. “At the same time, we need to see the government invest in building physical and social infrastructure so these skilled workers can be put to work in good, unionized jobs.”
“Think of it as a human resources strategy to go alongside the major projects capital investment strategy,” Marc Desormeaux, vice-president of policy at the Business Council of Canada, told the Globe. “A major challenge for our economy over the long run, particularly to our building ambitions, is to get the right people with the right skills able to fill labour shortages.”
The plan includes:
• $2 billion over five years, including wage subsidies of $10,000 per employee, to help workers aged 15 to 30 get entry-level trades experience;
• $3.4 billion over five years to help apprentices complete their training.
The federal government estimates its plans for new housing, infrastructure, and large resource projects will require 1.4 million additional trades positions by 2033, a far cry from what the economic update funding will support.
Deloitte economist Trevin Stratton called the announcement “definitely a step in the right direction”. But he told the Toronto Star the government has “very ambitious building targets and objectives, and so more will probably be needed for us to fully meet those.” A report last October, which he co-authored, warned that Canada’s economy could look like Alberta and B.C. in the early 2000s when a “perfect storm” of energy projects created “bidding wars for electricians, welders, crane operators, and concrete crews, schedule delays, and spiralling costs.”
When that happened, the report added, “it was not a shortage of money or projects holding back activity, but the lack of available workers.”
Efficiency Canada cited Team Canada Strong as one of the highlights of the economic update, along with a permanent capital gains tax exemption for employee ownership and several other measures. Social Capital Partners Chair Jon Shell praised the employee ownership announcement as “huge news”, noting that the provision is now a permanent part of Canada’s tax code.
“The exponential growth of employee ownership in both the UK and the U.S. has been driven by policies exactly like the one the Canadian government just announced,” he wrote on LinkedIn. “It’s going to be a tonne of fun to watch the same thing happen here.”
$13B Over Five Years for Climate Finance
The economic update also earned praise for pledging $13 billion over five years for international climate finance.
“The government’s move to scale up and reorient $13 billion in international climate finance is… welcome, helping emerging economies cut emissions while opening markets for Canadian clean technologies and crowding in private investment,” Canadian Climate Institute President Rick Smith said in a release.
“There haven’t been many wins for climate action lately, but Canada’s renewed and increased climate finance commitment is one worth celebrating,” agreed Climate Action Network Canada Executive Director Caroline Brouillette. “Amid other countries’ devastating cuts and delays, this move illustrates what Prime Minister Carney meant by a principled and pragmatic approach to international relations. It shows that Canada remains committed to its Paris Agreement obligation to provide climate finance, and reinforces that international cooperation is in Canada’s interest.”