Unions, educators and government shared a roundtable discussion at Confederation College Thursday, focusing on northwestern Ontario’s implementation of a proposed $6 billion skilled trades investment nationwide.

Announced in April, the proposal would support Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Team Canada Strong initiative, aiming to attract up to 100,000 Red Seal-certified trades workers over the next five years.

“We wanted to start here in my own riding to talk about the investments that Canada is going to make to attract people to the trades, to help them get through the training pipeline, and finally to help employers hire those apprentices so they can gain those hours,” said Thunder Bay MP Patty Hajdu, also Ontario’s Minister of Jobs and Families.

Hajdu said Canada is facing a shortage of about 30,000 skilled trades workers per year.

“Part of the challenge is people just haven’t thought about a career in the skilled trades,” she said. “They don’t necessarily know what it’s like to pick up a hammer and participate in a housing project.”

The investment was proposed during the spring economic update. While the proposal is still going through the House of Commons and later the Senate, Hajdu says it will soon get passed and the government can start providing financial supports for the trades.

“There’s no question all of the provinces want to make this happen. The question is, how can we work most efficiently together? And the union voices are very important in helping design this program,” Hajdu said.

She says Ontario will focus on attracting tradespeople aged 15 to 30 and creating more opportunities for them to gain hands-on experience and complete apprenticeships.

Proposed incentives discussed at Thursday’s roundtable include:

• Boosting Employment Insurance to $400 a week during training
• Increasing supports for those laid off while in training
• Ensuring a $5,000 bonus upon Red Seal certification
• Offering grants to employers for first-year apprentices
• Improving digital tools to connect people with apprenticeship pathways

“We’ve got major energy projects happening in northern Ontario,” Hajdu said. “In order to get all these things built, we need the skill.”

Hajdu said more information is on the way once Ottawa approves the proposal and the funding distribution starts to take shape.