As tariffs, AI and supply chain shocks batter key sectors, federal government rolls out new Workforce Alliances and training grants to keep employers competitive
The federal government is significantly expanding its sector-focused workforce alliances as part of a broader push to protect Canadian workers from tariffs, skills shortages and economic disruption.
Speaking at Unifor Local 444, Employment Minister Patty Hajdu said Ottawa is moving beyond its initial Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Alliance to launch five new alliances in key sectors: housing and construction, transportation and supply chains, energy and electricity, mining and minerals, and the care economy.
Together, the six Workforce Alliances are intended to bring governments, employers, unions, industry groups, post-secondary institutions and Indigenous partners to the same table to “identify and address pressing labour market challenges” and coordinate public and private investment in skills development in sectors that make up more than one-third of Canada’s GDP and employ roughly eight million people, according to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).
The measures were first signalled in September 2025 as part of the federal response to tariffs and global trade disruptions, and reinforced in Budget 2025. The Windsor event marked the formal rollout of the expanded alliance model and additional worker supports.
“Canada’s workforce is strongest when employers and training partners work together,” said Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario. “As external pressures continue to affect key sectors, these investments will help empower Canadian workers with the skills they need to adapt.”
Six-sector alliance model
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Alliance earlier this month, focused on high‑value manufacturing and technology adoption in sectors such as automotive, aerospace and clean tech. The five additional alliances announced by Hajdu extend that model across the economy:
- Housing and construction: addressing workforce needs in residential construction, affordable housing and infrastructure projects, including green building and advanced construction technologies.
- Transportation and supply chains: strengthening the workforce that keeps goods moving by road, rail, air and marine, along with warehousing and logistics hubs.
- Energy and electricity: ensuring enough skilled workers to meet growing clean energy and power demand, including in conventional and renewable energy and grid modernization.
- Mining and minerals: supporting the critical minerals strategy and major projects by tackling aging demographics, skills shortages and new technology adoption in exploration, extraction and processing.
- Care economy: focusing on workers providing paid and unpaid care to children, older adults and people with disabilities, with an eye to relieving pressure on caregivers and boosting labour force participation and gender equity.
Each alliance will be backed by a dedicated delivery organization and a broader network of sector stakeholders, including small and medium‑sized businesses and equity‑deserving communities. Ottawa says it will work closely with provinces and territories, including through the Forum of Labour Market Ministers, to align national and regional actions.
“Canada works best when we work together. This alliance brings industry, labour, and training partners together to remove barriers, support workers, and build a stronger Canada,” said Labour Secretary of State John Zerucelli.
New grant to keep workers on the job and in training
Alongside the alliance expansion, Hajdu announced that applications are now open for the new Worker Retention Grant for Work‑Sharing Employers.
The federal government is committing about $102.7 million over two years to top up income for employees covered by Work‑Sharing agreements, a program that allows businesses facing temporary downturns to avoid layoffs by reducing hours while workers receive Employment Insurance benefits for lost time.
Under the new grant, employers with active Work‑Sharing agreements can receive funds to support workers as they upskill during off‑hours and maintain income closer to normal wages — up to 70 per cent of their full‑time pay — while in training.
To help employers find appropriate training, Job Bank has created a dedicated section for Work‑Sharing participants, including a new Training Finder and direct links to upskilling platforms with thousands of courses, many at low or no cost.
The move comes as Work‑Sharing demand has surged: applications roughly doubled in 2025, with more than 2,000 submissions, about 80 per cent of them tied to tariffs. More than 1,400 tariff‑related agreements have been approved, helping prevent approximately 20,000 layoffs and affecting over 52,000 workers, according to ESDC.
Tariffs, technology and care crunch
The government is positioning the alliances as a coordinated response to multiple, overlapping pressures: tariffs and trade tensions, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, supply chain disruptions and demographic change.
ESDC notes that:
- Construction already employs over 1.6 million workers and contributes about $162 billion, or 7.5 per cent, to GDP, with Canada needing more than 1.4 million new trades workers by 2033.
- The transportation and warehousing sector supports nearly one million direct and indirect jobs and contributed $96.5 billion to the economy in 2024.
- Energy, including oil, gas and electricity, contributed $232 billion to GDP and employed more than 316,000 workers in 2024, with clean energy jobs projected to grow sharply by 2050.
- Mining contributed $112 billion to GDP in 2024 and directly employed about 438,000 workers, with Canada producing 60 minerals and metals at 200 mines and thousands of pits and quarries — critical to clean energy and national defence.
- The care economy’s value is estimated at $97.1 billion annually, with Canadians providing 5.7 billion hours of care each year and one in two people aged 15 and over reporting paid or unpaid caregiving in 2022.
With population aging and care needs rising, the federal government describes the care economy as a potential “new economic growth engine” and a key lever for improving gender equity and labour force participation.
