Government of Canada seeking input on strengthening Canadian workforce

“Canada is home to the smartest minds, the most talented workers and a strong education, training, and employment system. Building on these strengths will help us adapt to a changing global economy and get ahead. This online engagement is step one of that process and will help us identify all the ways we can build a more innovative, productive, and competitive
labour force that benefits Canadian workers and employers alike.”

– Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages

• The discussion paper outlines three priorities for building the workforce for the 21st century:
  • Ensuring better alignment between workforce strategies, training institutions, labour groups, employers, and economic priorities
  • Eliminating inefficiencies and barriers in Canadian labour markets
  • Maximizing labour productivity through strategic skills development and lifelong learning
• Labour market trends and key drivers of change
  • Canada had one of the fastest employment recoveries in the G7 following the pandemic, with total employment in Canada reaching 20.5 million in June 2024.
  • According to IBM, Canada had a rise of 1.1% in real gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023 and projected GDP growth through 2025. According to the Conference Board of Canada, generative AI has the potential to add almost 2% to Canada’s GDP.
  • Between 2019 and 2023, the participation rate for women 25 to 54 years old with children under 6 years old increased by 3.8 percentage points to 79.7%, representing over 51,000 additional women joining the labour force.
  • In 2021, 3.2 million persons with disabilities aged 15 to 64 were employed. However, in 2022 over 1 million persons with disabilities aged 15 to 64 have potential for paid employment in an inclusive, accessible, and accommodating labour market.
  • Many older workers are choosing to remain in the labour market. According to Statistics Canada, the participation rate for people over 55 was 37% in 2023, compared to 25% in 1998.
  • Youth have experienced rising unemployment rates (13.5% in June 2024) and Indigenous people at all education levels had higher unemployment rates in 2023 (7.7%) than the non-Indigenous population aged 25 to 54 (4.5%).
  • 600,000 skilled trades workers are set to retire over the 2022-2031 period. This trend will drive both loss of skills and opportunities for restructuring labour demand with tighter labour supply.
  • According to the Royal Bank of Canada, the transition to a sustainable economy is driving demand for new skills. Over the next 10 to 20 years, this demand could see up to 400,000 jobs added where an enhanced skill set will be critical.