Canada is betting big on nation-building projects, from housing and infrastructure to mining and energy. These are major projects and public investments that would help jump start Canada’s lagging productivity. Each project depends on the same thing: a skilled workforce ready to build Canada’s future.
Turning these plans into reality will take massive capital investment and time for construction, creating unprecedented demand for skilled tradespeople. A recent report from the Centre for Civic Governance estimates that meeting Canada’s 2050 net-zero commitments alone will require 6.3 to 9.5 million additional job-years of construction work — the equivalent of 235,000 to 350,000 new jobs per year for the next quarter-century. Another 60,000 to 90,000 workers will be needed for operations and maintenance longer-term. The scale of this opportunity is enormous, but so are the risks if we fail to prepare.
Canada has seen what happens when industries shift without a plan for workers. When the cod fishery collapsed in the 1990s, entire communities across Atlantic Canada were left behind. Similarly, the coal phase-out demonstrated the challenge of the energy transition without adequate foresight and support for workers. Today, the global economy is rapidly moving toward clean energy and electrification. If Canada does not prepare its workforce, we risk repeating the same mistakes that leave workers stranded and prosperity on the table.
This is why Parliament passed the Sustainable Jobs Act in 2024 to ensure workers are treated fairly while building a stronger Canada. The lawrequires the federal government to publish a Sustainable Jobs Action Plan by the end of 2025, setting out how workers and communities are included in the transition to a low-carbon economy. This plan must be the cornerstone of Canada’s workforce strategy, ensuring that every nation-building project creates new jobs and builds a low-emissions economy for communities.
To succeed, the action plan must be ambitious and informed by evidence, backed by workers who can hold the plan accountable. It must be a comprehensive strategy for workers and communities, matching the scale of the nation-building and energy transition opportunities. And it must draw on real-time labour supply and demand data, as well as sectoral trends. It must also secure funding and political will so that workers and communities can count on long-term support, not just short-term promises.
The right plan must include income support and retraining to give people in emissions-intensive sectors a bridge into the good jobs of the clean economy. We must also work to provide training and job security as we work to reduce emissions and maintain jobs in existing industries.
The plan must be developed in consultation with Canada’s labour unions and lead to the creation of union jobs in sustainable industries. This is all the more urgent as workers are caught up in global market shifts and shocks, such as the recently announced 20 per cent workforce downsizing announced by Imperial Oil in September. Pembina’s Drilling Down report cautions that these announcements may be more common given current industry forecasts.
Canada must also grow its skilled workforce. Construction firms across the country are already struggling to find workers, costing billions in lost productivity; unemployment among young people is growing. The action plan can connect the dots by scaling up training, apprenticeships and retraining so young Canadians can meet the labour demands of tomorrow’s economy.
The plan must work as a green industrial strategy to diversify the economy across all of Canada’s regions. In Northern British Columbia, critical mineral mines are expanding. On the Prairies, farmers are supplying local crops to support clean-fuel projects. Coastal communities are exploring offshore wind.
Each innovation builds strength and vulnerabilities for Canada’s low-carbon economy, but a one-size-fits-all approach will not work. The plan must also support Indigenous leadership and equity in clean energy. Indigenous communities are already leading clean-energy projects that create jobs and revenue in their own communities and are central partners in shaping Canada’s energy future. Tailored strategies can build resilience and ensure no part of the country is left behind.
An action plan would do more than just fill immediate labour gaps; it would build a skilled, resilient workforce ready to meet Canada’s economic needs and achieve Canada’s climate goals.
Canada’s nation-building ambitions are bold, but they will fail without considering the workers who deliver them. The Sustainable Jobs Action Plan is Canada’s chance to turn massive investments into lasting prosperity and prepare our workforce for the clean economy the world is already shaping.
If we meet this moment, Canada’s workers will be at the centre of building homes, powering communities and securing prosperity for generations to come.
Meg Gingrich is the president of Blue Green Canada
Chris Severson-Baker is the executive director of the Pembina Institute.
