Labour groups welcome federal spending commitments on skilled trades

TORONTO — The federal government’s plan to spend billions of dollars to increase the number of skilled trades workers is being welcomed by labour groups who say it will help bridge gaps in the system.

The spring economic update released Tuesday included a commitment to spend up to $6 billion over five years toward the goal of getting 80,000 to 100,000 new Red Seal certified workers.

The spending comes as the need for skilled workers is expected to increase with the ramp up of major projects, creating a potential shortfall in labour from retirements and barriers to reaching certification.

Much of the money will go toward financial supports for young people to complete their apprenticeships, and to give employers incentives to hire them.

Sean Strickland, executive director of Canada’s Building Trades Unions, said the commitment was historic in proportion.

“We’ve never seen anything like that from any government in terms of support for skilled trades and skilled trades training in Canada.”

Strickland, whose group represents 14 unions and about 600,000 workers, said there’s a lot of effort within the industry to get more workers certified, but that the boost in federal funding is key to prepare for the major construction boom in the years ahead.

“If we don’t get this labour supply equation right now, if we don’t get it correct now, we’re going to have challenges delivering on these projects.“

He said there’s plenty of interest from people in the trades, but it can be hard to navigate the lower starting pay and training of apprentices, and getting them the work experience needed.

“Our union halls are full of resumes and folks trying to get in, one of the challenges we have is … how do we retain them,” Strickland said.

The biggest portion of the funding, $3.4 billion over five years, is earmarked to provide apprentices with a weekly income top up of $400 while attending in-class training, along with a $5,000 bonus for getting certified in a Red Seal trade.

The funding is meant to help address a gap that saw about 100,000 new apprentices registered in 2024 but only 34,000 completed their apprenticeship.

There’s also funding for wage subsidies to help encourage companies to hire early-stage apprentices, providing up to $10,000 in wage subsidies for a first-year salary.

France Daviault, chief executive of the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum, said the spending initiatives are important to help boost the number of apprentices that complete their programs.

“Absolutely needed, and we’ve been asking for them for many years,” she said.

“In general, we lose about half the people that start apprenticeships, so we were happy to see that there was a focus on retention.”

With apprentices being 28 years old on average, many are juggling various financial obligations that make it hard to complete the school portions of the training where they have to rely on employment insurance, she said.

“The barrier to completion for apprentices is financial.”

She said the incentives for employers can also help make up for the extra paperwork needed to take on apprentices, while other announcements about modernizing and streamlining the certification program itself should also help.

Michael Sangster, chief executive of the National Association of Career Colleges, said the government is moving in the right direction, but should go further.

He said he’d like to see programs that also address labour shortages in areas like health care and nursing, while on the construction side he said it’s also important to take a wider look.

“You don’t just need Red Seal electricians, you also need heavy equipment operators that can be on site, and that can be trained quicker. We can see the needs for roofers and other roles that aren’t necessarily Red Seal trades.”

And while funding can go a ways to helping get more people into the trades, Strickland said there will still be the barrier that some people will find the industry just isn’t for them.

“You can make $90,000, up to, you know, $150,000 to $200,000 a year if you work on remote projects, but the important part of that equation, a lot of people forget, is that construction is hard work. It’s not for everybody.“

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 29, 2026.

Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press