Question Period Note: WORKFORCE SUPPORT MEASURES IN RESPONSE TO TARIFFS

Following the release of Budget 2025 and announcements of supports for tariff impacted sectors, how is the Government of Canada continuing to support workers and businesses to adapt to new economic realities? Economic uncertainty from our changing relationship with the US exacerbates economic trends, such as demographic shifts, technological change, global supply chain disruptions, and energy transitions which, taken together, pose profound challenges for Canada’s economy and labour market.

The unemployment rate increased by 0.2% from January 2026, bringing the national rate to 6.7% per cent.

To weather the uncertainty resulting from the ongoing trade-dispute, the Government of Canada implemented a series of measures to help workers and businesses in trade-exposed sectors. Through Budget 2025 and other recent announcements, the Government of Canada introduced broader supports to invest in workers so that they can drive Canada’s economic transformation with new skills and training.

The Government of Canada is committed to protecting and supporting workers in this period of uncertainty and change with one labour market. We will advance new opportunities among a one economy agenda and invest to ensure Canadians have the skills for in demand jobs.

To build a strong, confident workforce to support this, the Government is implementing a suite of new workforce measures, complementary to existing tariff measures, aimed at supporting both workers and employers.

These measures will benefit workers from coast to coast, including mid-career, long-tenured workers affected by tariffs from the United States and global market shifts, as well as underrepresented groups, such as persons with disabilities, women and Indigenous Peoples.

To weather the uncertainty resulting from the ongoing trade-dispute, the Government of Canada implemented a series of measures over the last several months to help workers and businesses in trade-exposed sectors.

These measures included temporary Employment Insurance (EI) flexibilities for income support and enhanced access to EI Work-Sharing. Temporary EI measures are enhancing income supports for Canadian workers whose jobs have been impacted by the economic uncertainty caused by foreign tariffs while the temporary flexibilities to EI Work-Sharing are helping employers avoid layoffs while supplementing employees reduced income with EI benefits.

In addition, the Government invested in the Labour Market Development Agreements to provide training and employment services for affected workers in the steel and softwood lumber industries.

Through Budget 2025 and other announcements, our Government has built on these existing measures by implementing a new reskilling package for workers, making Employment Insurance more flexible and with extended benefits, and will launch a new digital jobs and training platform with private-sector partners to connect Canadians more quickly to careers. Measures that complement ESDC’s existing tariff response include:

investments of $570M/3 years starting in 2025-26 for a comprehensive employment assistance and training package through Labour Market Development Agreements with provinces and territories to support training and employment assistance for up to 66,000 workers impacted by tariffs and global market shifts. The Government has worked with provinces and territories to develop a tariff response framework to guide the development of associated agreements and ensure that funds are effectively targeted to tariff-exposed sectors.

Two agreements have been signed to date, with others to follow:

In March 2026, the Government of Canada announced two agreements with the provinces and territories, including the Canada-British Columbia Workforce Tariff Response ($70.4M/3 years), and the Canada-Ontario Workforce Tariff Response ($228.8M/3 years). These joint initiatives will support more than 8,000 workers in British Columbia and 27,000 workers in Ontario from tariff-affected industries to build new skills and seize emerging opportunities.

$50M/5 years, starting in 2026-27, +$8M ongoing to implement a new digital tool to facilitate job search and applications, and launch a national online training platform in partnership with the private sector through the acceleration of Job Bank’s AI transformation to modernize job matching;

$382M/5 years, starting in 2026-27, +$56M ongoing to launch new Workforce Alliances and Sectoral Workforce Innovation Fund to bring together employers, unions, and industry groups to work on ways to help businesses and workers succeed in the changing labour market and coordinate public and private investments in skills development;

In February 2026, the Government of Canada announced the creation of six Workforce Alliances, including Advanced Manufacturing, Housing and Construction, Transportation and Supply Chains, Energy and Electricity, Mining and Minerals, and Care Economy. Leadership and priorities for all six Workforce Alliances will be announced in the coming weeks.

$594.7M/2 years, starting in 2026-27, for Canada Summer Jobs to support around 100,000 summer jobs in summer 2026;

$307.9M/2 years, starting in 2026-27, for the horizontal Youth Employment and Skills Strategy to provide employment, training, and wraparound supports (e.g., mentorship, transportation, mental health counselling) to an additional 20,000 youth facing employment barriers annually;

$635.2 million/3 years, starting in 2026-27, to ESDC for the Student Work Placement Program to support around 55,000 work-integrated learning opportunities for post-secondary students in 2026-27;

six-month extensions of two of the three temporary EI measures to April 2026: suspending the rules on separation payments ($423.8M over two years) and waiving the one-week waiting period ($417.6M over two years). (Analysis supported ending the third temporary measure that adjusts EI unemployment rates upwards in light of recent, gradual increases to unemployment rates);

In March 2026, the Government of Canada announced that it will further extend these two measures beyond April 2026. Both extended measures would apply to claims established between March 30, 2025, and October 10, 2026, with the suspension of rules on separation payments also applying to any allocations that commence during the extension period.

introducing a new six-month EI measure that will provide 20 extra weeks (scalable) of EI income support to long-tenured workers, providing them with a longer bridge to unemployment in a challenging economic environment. 

This measure was also extended in March 2026 and would apply to claims starting on or after June 15, 2025, until October 10, 2026.

Investment of $102.7M/2 years starting in 2025-26 to bolster the Work-Sharing program and provide income top-ups to workers taking training, benefiting up to 26,000 workers in all sectors, including those who are working in highly tariff-exposed sectors, such as steel, softwood lumber and auto sectors.

Employers with active Work-Sharing agreements can now apply for the new Worker Retention Grant and use the funds to support their Work-Sharing employees to upskill and adapt to changing labour market needs. The top-up will allow them to maintain their income while training during lost work time at levels closer to their normal wages, up to 70% of their full-time pay.

These measures will provide training and income support to workers laid off due to tariffs so they can acquire new jobs as quickly as possible; work with businesses to support workforce development in impacted sectors; and create a modern digital platform to help job seekers find new opportunities.

The investment in Canada’s National Employment Service, Job Bank, will make it easier for users to find jobs by integrating AI on the Job Bank platform including by automatically enrolling EI claimants and aligning their jobs matches align with their skills profile.

The investment will also launch a national online training platform to help adults find short-duration training courses by skill type, location, and format. The Government of Canada is working in partnership with companies like Indeed, Jobillico, Career Beacon and Zip Recruiter, as well as online learning and digital training leaders like eCampus Ontario and the Skills Council of Canada. Job seekers will be able to apply to jobs via the Job Bank mobile application.

The Workforce Alliances and the Sectoral Workforce Innovation Fund will directly help businesses and industry leaders navigate the workforce and training systems and ensure federal, provincial and indigenous-led work is complementary and aligned to strategic outcomes.

Businesses and sector associations face challenges in navigating up to 14 jurisdictions with programming to meet their business needs and the federal government has no targeted mechanism to bring the parties together. As a result, businesses are duplicating efforts and lack the capacity to have national reach on their outcomes.

Canadian and international experience shows that federal convening power alone to bring workforce ecosystem partners together is not enough. A spending envelope is needed to move ideas into action and leverage and coordinate private investments.

Ministers’ quotes / Quotes by key stakeholders

“Our government understands the uncertainty and concerns many Canadians are feeling as a result of the tariffs imposed by the U.S. That is why we remain committed to continue using every tool at our disposal to support Canadians and Canadian businesses.”
The Hon. Dominic LeBlanc, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy

“Canadian industry is the backbone of our country’s economy. Our government is investing strategically in our workers and our industries to build the most resilient economy in the G7. Today’s announcement is another big step in our mission to build one Canadian economy, strengthen our global competitiveness, and diversify our trade. This is a pivotal moment for all Canadians as we build long-term prosperity in all regions of our country.”
The Hon. Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions

“Canada relies on strong steel and lumber sectors, and so do Canadians across the country. Supporting these industries is about protecting good jobs, strengthening communities, and reinforcing our made-in-Canada industrial capacity. With the actions announced today, along with existing supports, we’re committed to keeping these key industries strong and backing the workers who power them.”

The Hon. François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue

“British Columbia, in partnership with the federal government, is investing $70.4 million through our BC government to retrain and upskill more than 8,000 workers affected by global tariffs. This investment supports our Look West strategy, ensuring British Columbians have the skills to step into meaningful career opportunities in a changing global landscape.”
Jessie Sunner, British Columbia’s Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills

“Ontario’s workforce is among the most talented and highly sought after in the world, with deep capabilities across the steel, manufacturing, lumber, and automotive industries. As global supply chains undergo unprecedented realignment, the Canada-Ontario Workforce Tariff Response will equip workers with the skills and resources necessary to build a more competitive, resilient, and prosperous economy.”
The Honourable Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade

“Canada’s unions are ready to work with government to make sure today’s announcement delivers for workers and for our economy…To succeed, we need we need a clear industrial strategy that coordinates across industries, regions, and different levels of government while bringing workers into the heart of decision-making… Workers welcome enhancements to Employment Insurance — this is a great move that if done right is an essential piece of building a resilient economy.”
Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress

“Taken together, these measures show progress, but this is the time for bold action to make transformative change in our economy,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “Workers in auto, aluminum, steel, forestry, energy, and beyond need permanent protections, ambitious industrial strategies, and a sustained Buy Canadian approach that puts our jobs and communities first.”

Unifor National President Lana Payne

“Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) welcomes today's announcements by the Prime Minister to support Canada's industrial economy…CME applauds the federal commitment to retrain 50,000 workers. To succeed, this program must prioritize employer-led, on-the-job training and reduce barriers for manufacturers seeking to retain and upskill their workforce…We welcome the opportunity to work with the federal government to deliver urgently needed support to Canadian workers.”

Statement from Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters regarding new federal measures to support Canada's strategic industries