Question Period Note: GROWING THE HOUSING WORKFORCE

What is the Government of Canada doing to help grow the housing workforce?

• The Government is working to meet Canada’s growing housing demand by investing in a trained workforce pipeline ready to build more affordable homes, including prefabricated and modular homes.
• This is why the Government is taking action by investing almost $130 million over the next five years into the construction workforce - benefitting approximately 33,000 Canadians. These important investments will support workers across the country, including skilled tradespeople, youth, and groups underrepresented in the industry.
• Federal programs continue to make key contributions necessary to grow the workforce to support Canada’s Housing Plan. However, more will need to be done to accelerate a modern housing industry that creates new careers and ensures a strong talent pipeline that is ready to meet demand.

ESDC supports Canada’s Housing Plan by contributing to objectives under Pillar One: Build More Homes, including Growing and Training the Workforce and the Industrial Strategy for Homebuilding.

ESDC helps the construction sector by providing support to:
• Individuals, including young people and newcomers, helping them access training for well paying jobs in construction.
• Employers, to attract and retain a skilled and diverse workforce.
• The sector more broadly, building workforce planning capacity and creating talent pipelines to meet demand and capitalize on opportunities.

The two largest federal investments that broadly seek to increase the skills and supply of available workers in Canada’s construction industry are:
• The Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy:
o Support a trades workforce that is skilled, inclusive, certified, and productive that includes a suite of programs to support skilled trades workers
• Labour Market Agreements:
o Partner with the provinces and territories to help individuals access training and employment supports.

Other ESDC programs that support the residential construction sector, include: the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program, Skills and Partnership Fund, Foreign Credential Recognition Program, Temporary Foreign Worker Program, Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program, Future Skills Centre, Skills for Success Program, Community Workforce Development Program, and the Sustainable Jobs Training Fund.

Budget 2024 provided new funding commitments for existing measures on housing workforce development:

IF PRESSED (on labour shortages in the skilled trades / federal implementation plan that supports housing)
• The Government of Canada recognizes the important role skilled trades workers play in building homes, powering communities, and maintaining infrastructure.
• That’s why it is investing in a skilled workforce to support Canada’s Housing Plan and speed up the pace of housing construction, including:
o Up to $46.5 million over the next five years in projects across Canada that support trades related to homebuilding, including efforts to get more women and underrepresented groups into the construction industry benefitting approximately 6,000 participants;
o $8.5 million over two years for crucial programming to help Canadians explore, and prepare for, careers in the skilled trades by, for example, accessing vital work experience in the construction industry. This programming will benefit approximately 15,000 pre-apprentices, including youth and other groups facing barriers to entering the trades.
o Up to $39.9 million in training ending March 31, 2028 for trades and non-trades workers in green buildings and retrofits benefitting up to 9500 participants; and
o $34.6 million in foreign credential recognition, where it is anticipated over 2,900 construction sector participants will directly benefit from improved processes.
• The Government is committed to creating more investment opportunities by facilitating greater collaboration and resource sharing between colleges, unions, and other stakeholders, in order to reduce red tape, produce better quality labour market information and improve the alignment of training programs with on-the-ground demands.

Despite tariffs understandably dominating headlines, housing is still a top-of-mind concern for Canadians. It will be extremely important for the incoming government to build on its commitments to market-rate housing supply and affordability during its most recent term, and to continue to engage with our industry to address the challenges of the home building sector to unlock the door to homeownership and help restore affordability for Canadians.”

• Kevin Lee, CEO, Canadian Home Builders’ Association.

Reference (link): CHBA Congratulates Mark Carney and the Liberal Party of Canada on Its Fourth Mandate - Canadian Home Builders' Association (April 28, 2025)