Canada’s economic success depends on builders within our borders, and we are quickly running out of time to train them. The federal government’s newly announced multi-billion-dollar defence spending plan requires more construction workers, engineers, and technical trades than Canada is currently prepared to supply. Yet, within our borders lies a largely untapped resource: the growing Indigenous youth population.
The talent pool within Indigenous communities has been underutilized for too long, and the consequences have been far-reaching. BuildForce Canada's 2024 annual report stated that by 2033, employers will need to hire 351,800 workers to keep pace with construction demands and retirements. That estimate came before the federal government’s commitment to raise defence spending to five per cent of GDP, a massive jump that will see a major portion of more than $150 billion every year spent on defence infrastructure construction. This generational investment will accelerate timelines and further stretch Canada’s skilled labour pool across a variety of key sectors.
The solution lies in a fundamental shift in our approach. According to Statistics Canada, in 2021, more than a quarter of all Indigenous people in Canada were 14 or younger. That’s nearly 460,000 future workers coming of age now and in the near future, ready to train for jobs that Canada urgently needs. Training and workforce planning must begin with Indigenous inclusion as a core principle when major projects are conceived.
Several trade unions in Canada have recognized the importance of Indigenous workforce development and are actively engaging in initiatives to support it. These efforts are rooted both in reconciliation, and the recognition that without more trades people, Canada’s building sector will face catastrophic shortages and delayed projects.
Canada's Building Trades Unions (CBTU), an alliance of 14 international unions in the construction, maintenance, and fabrication industries, has demonstrated a significant focus in this area. CBTU supports initiatives like the Trade Winds to Success Training Society, which is currently training over 290 Indigenous individuals in Red Seal trades. Unifor, Canada's largest private sector union, representing 310,000 workers across various sectors, including health care, energy, and manufacturing, also prioritizes Indigenous issues, and Unifor formally endorsed all 94 Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA) has implemented several programs to support Indigenous workforce development focusing on training, employment opportunities, and partnerships with Indigenous communities. Beyond these specific unions, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), the national voice of the labour movement in Canada, has an Indigenous Rights and Justice Resource Centre. These examples illustrate a growing trend within Canadian trade unions to engage in Indigenous workforce development.
Government training programs, however, are often short-sighted and misaligned. Training should be treated like infrastructure – a long-term strategic investment that enables everything else. Without it, the risks are obvious: delayed projects, rising costs, and deeper inequity. Taking a smarter approach to Indigenous workforce development will be essential as governments implement mandates to build.
Indigenous youth are one of the fastest-growing demographics of our nation’s population. In many regions, especially in remote and northern areas, they are the future workforce. But they can’t be expected to fill roles that don’t yet exist in their communities or access programs that are launched too late. For a young adult in a remote community, the gap between her potential and the systemic barriers she faces is a daily reality, shaping her identity and limiting her options.
The path forward requires a collaborative effort. Governments, industry, unions, and Indigenous communities must work together to identify future investment pipelines and economic development priority projects. Together, they must pinpoint the specific roles that will be needed, and proactively develop training programs that equip Indigenous youth with the skills to fill those jobs in target regions. This necessitates better data collection, robust long-term planning, and a commitment to treating workforce development as an essential investment.
Canada doesn’t have the luxury of wasting time or wasting labour, and we cannot afford to commit to defence, infrastructure, and energy ambitions without a parallel commitment to the workforce that will build them.
Canada must embrace the great potential of Indigenous communities and establish pathways to meaningful employment to build our shared future. Indigenous youth have shown that when they are given the tools to succeed, they do. The opportunity is right in front of us. The next generation is ready, and we need to be ready for them.
Michael Fox is the President of Indigenous and Community Engagement (ICE) Inc. and a member of Weenusk First Nation.