Question Period Note: Labour shortage in Quebec

Labour shortage in Quebec

• Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions helps entrepreneurs turn their business projects into reality and overcome labour shortages by investing in the adoption of new technologies.

• Since November 2015, Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions has supported 1,326 projects sustaining productivity and digitization for authorized assistance of 633 million dollars, generating investments of more than 5 billion dollars.

• Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions will continue to invest in technology adoption to aid businesses in their recovery efforts.

• CED supports the growth of SMEs at all stages of their development, whether it be for their startup, or for innovation, productivity or growth projects or projects targeting the development of foreign markets.

• According to a study by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) in 2021, Quebec is the most difficult place in the country to hire. In fact, more than 60% of Quebec companies are having difficulty finding workers.

• For Quebec SMEs, the impact of the labour shortage is felt in many ways: reduced ability to meet customer orders, reduced competitiveness, reduced product quality, increased training costs, increased employee overtime, and increased wages, which can result in reduced profitability and growth.

• Some industry sectors are more affected than others by hiring difficulties, particularly manufacturing, retail trade, construction, health care, professional services, and transportation and warehousing.

• According to Statistics Canada, in the 3rd quarter of 2022, the number of vacant positions in Canada was 991,680. Quebec had 246,230 vacancies, for a vacancy rate of 6.1%.

• Improved productivity through new technologies and automation benefits employees by freeing them up to do more interesting work.

• Companies that have automated some of their functions are 2 times more likely to find it easy to hire workers while improving their productivity and competitiveness.

For Quebec SMEs, the impact of labour shortages is felt in many ways and can result in reduced profitability and growth. Some industrial sectors are more affected than others by the hiring difficulty, including the retail and manufacturing sectors. Productivity improvements through new technologies and automation are helping to address this issue.