Question Period Note: APPRENTICESHIP AND THE SKILLED TRADES

What is the Government of Canada doing to support apprenticeship and the skilled trades?

Canada needs more skilled trades workers to build millions of new homes and to speed up major national projects. We will advance new opportunities among a one economy agenda and invest to ensure Canadians have the skills for in demand jobs.

That’s why the Government of Canada announced $75 million over three years, starting in 2026-2027, to double the Union Training and Innovation Program, which supports union-based apprenticeship training in the Red Seal trades.

This is on top of our current investments of nearly $1 billion per year to support apprentices through the Red Seal Program, loans, tax credits, Employment Insurance benefits and project funding to unions and other stakeholders.

This also includes investments through the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy. In 2023-2024, the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy supported over 102,900 individuals investing approximately $336.6 million , which helped ensure Canada has the workforce it needs to drive economic growth and productivity.

If pressed on how the federal government is supporting skilled trades labour shortages in housing

The Government knows how vital tradespeople are — they build our homes, keep our cities running, and take care of the infrastructure we all rely on. This is why the Government of Canada is investing in Canada’s skilled trades workforce in support of housing, to support the Build Canada Homes plan and speed up the pace of housing construction.

The Government also recently committed to investing $40.5 million over the next five years through the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy to support trades related to homebuilding across Canada, including efforts to get more women and underrepresented groups into the construction industry.

ESDC is also investing $8.6 million over the next two years to provide crucial programming for pre-apprentices, including youth and other groups that face barriers to entering the trades, to help Canadians explore and prepare for careers in the skilled trades, including accessing vital work experience in the construction industry.

Lastly, the Government is committed to creating apprenticeship opportunities for the next generation of skilled workers through the Apprenticeship Service, which will help create placements with small and medium-sized employers for apprentices, in Red Seal trades to support residential construction.

If pressed on the sunsetting of the Apprenticeship Grants

The last day to apply for the Apprenticeship Grants was March 31, 2025. ESDC is exploring options to fulfill the new Government’s plan to remove financial barriers to skills training through a new Apprenticeship Grant.

Apprentices continue to be supported through individual financial supports including the interest-free Canada Apprentice Loan, Employment Insurance income support during technical training, the Tradesperson’s Tools deduction, the Apprentice Mechanic Tools deduction, the Tuition Tax Credit, the Canada Training Credit, and the Labour Mobility deduction. Apprentices may also be eligible to receive additional measures offered by their province or territory.

The Red Seal Program, formally known as the Interprovincial Standards Red Seal Program, is a program that sets common standards to assess the skills of tradespeople across Canada. Industry is heavily involved in developing the national standard for each trade. It is a partnership between the federal government and provinces and territories, which are responsible for apprenticeship training and trade certification in their jurisdictions.

Implemented in 2022, the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy (CAS) aims to support a trades workforce that is skilled, inclusive, certified and productive. It provides funding to help pre-apprentices, apprentices, employers, unions, and other organizations and tradespeople participate in apprenticeships and succeed in skilled trades careers. Recent investments under the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy include:

In fall 2022, ESDC launched the Women in the Skilled Trades Initiative, which supports women in the skilled trades by funding projects that recruit, retain, and help women apprentices succeed in any of the 39 eligible Red Seal trades found predominately in the construction and manufacturing sectors.

To date, approximately $55.3M has been invested in thirty projects, expected to support approximately 11,666 women between 2023-2024 and 2027-2028.

Budget 2024 announced $100 million to bolster the labour force in support of housing for the following initiatives under the CAS:

$90 million for the Apprenticeship Service to help create placements with small and medium-sized employers for apprentices.

This follows the time-limited pilot, which operated between 2022 and 2024, that funded over 11,000 employers across Canada who created jobs for more than 14,000 first-year apprentices in the construction and manufacturing sectors.

$10 million for the Skilled Trades Awareness and Readiness Program to encourage Canadians to explore and prepare for careers in the skilled trades.

Budget 2016 announced $110 million over five years, from 2017-2018 to 2021-2022, and $25 million per year ongoing for the Union Training and Innovation Program (UTIP). This initiative provides annual funding to support union-based apprenticeship training, innovation, and enhanced partnerships in the Red Seal trades across Canada through two permanent streams of funding for investments in training equipment, and innovation in apprenticeship.   

Budget 2025 announced $75 million over three years, starting in 2026-2027, to double the UTIP, which supports union-based apprenticeship training in the Red Seal trades.

In summer 2024, the Government launched a call for proposals to support unions in leading the development of green training for workers in the Red Seal trades through the new Sustainable Jobs Stream under the CAS. This stream is expected to benefit up to 30,000 Red Seal trades workers with over $67 million across ten new projects.

To account for specificities in Quebec’s apprentice training system (where unions are not involved), the CAS is implemented in Quebec through a separate agreement with the provincial government.

KEY FACTS

Demand for skilled trades workers is expected to remain strong, with over 593,000 projected job openings in Red Seal trade-related occupations between 2024 and 20331.

Apprenticeship is a proven industry-based method of training, combining on-the-job (about 85%) and in-class technical training (about 15%) that leads to certification in a skilled trade.

Apprenticeship is a provincial/territorial responsibility. However, the Government plays a key role by making significant investments through various initiatives, including the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy (CAS), to support apprenticeship and the skilled trades. The CAS, delivered by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), aims to support a trades workforce that is skilled, inclusive, certified and productive.

Employers play a fundamental role in apprenticeship and effective apprenticeship systems rely on their active participation.

Unions also play a critical role in apprenticeship. They provide quality training and upskilling opportunities to apprentices and journeypersons in the Red Seal trades. They also provide required occupational health and safety training and mentorship opportunities for apprentices with experienced journeypersons. Which is why Budget 2025 announced the doubling the Union Training and Innovation Program as part of the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy (CAS).

“A strong skilled trades workforce builds a strong Canada. That’s why the Government of Canada is investing nearly $1B in apprenticeship supports through loans, tax credits, Employment Insurance benefits during in-school training, project funding, and support for the Red Seal program.”

Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families