Canada News Centre
17 Feb 2025

February 17, 2025                 Gatineau, Quebec              Employment and Social Development Canada

Canada's economy relies on skilled tradespeople. We need workers who are ready and willing to build the country's housing supply and grow our clean economy. Yet, demographic shifts and high retirement rates are creating a demand for more skilled trades workers, and an ever-growing need to recruit and train thousands more Canadians in these in-demand professions.

That is why today, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, Steven MacKinnon, highlighted the next phase of the National Skilled Trades advertising campaign to promote the skilled trades as first choice careers. Jobs in sectors such as construction, transportation, manufacturing and service are in demand. That's why we need workers who have the right skills, knowledge, and hands-on experience to fill these jobs. Canadians who are choosing these career paths are on their way to stepping into a career that is valued, respected, and rewarding.

This campaign will target youth and young adults through ads on social media platforms, podcasts, and other digital sources, including connected TV. It will include an experiential component through in-person, interactive displays located in high schools and shopping malls across the country. Through the exhibit, individuals can learn about different skilled trades careers, find in-demand trades in their region, and discover the steps it takes to become a skilled trades worker.

Canada.ca/skilled-trades is a national online repository for information about the more than 300 skilled trades in Canada and the Red Seal trade designation. The site also highlights available financial supports and in-demand trades in each region.

This initiative supports the efforts of the Government of Canada to build a robust skilled trades workforce for the future that is inclusive, certified and productive. The Government invests nearly $1 billion annually in apprenticeship supports through loans, tax credits, Employment Insurance benefits during in-school training, project funding, and support for the Red Seal Program.