Ontario’s Economic Foundation
Ontario has ambitious plans for building infrastructure to sustain prosperity. The organized construction sector – made up of owners, contractors and unions – is improving skilled trades analytics to spotlight upcoming peaks in demand and take early action to keep building projects on track.
Ontario has ambitious plans for building infrastructure to sustain prosperity. The organized construction sector – made up of owners, contractors and unions – is improving skilled trades analytics to spotlight upcoming peaks in demand and take early action to keep building projects on track.
Today's Environment
Ontario has many large-scale and critical projects on the horizon with overlapping timelines in clean energy, transit, roads and highways, as well as schools and hospitals. The number one success factor in completing projects is the supply of skilled trades.Currently, the number of building trade retirements is outpacing the recruitment of new entrants. Ontario needs a strategic approach to building, sustaining and deploying the skilled trades workforce it needs for its portfolio of major projects.
Historic Demand for Construction Services
Construction enables Ontario's economic diversification and shapes its future growth trajectory. In the coming years and decades, the construction sector will continue to be essential to Ontario’s plans for clean energy, electrification of transportation, mass transit, electric vehicle manufacturing, and health care infrastructure.
Construction enables Ontario's economic diversification and shapes its future growth trajectory. In the coming years and decades, the construction sector will continue to be essential to Ontario’s plans for clean energy, electrification of transportation, mass transit, electric vehicle manufacturing, and health care infrastructure.
Ontario’s Infrastructure Priorities
With each annual Ontario Budget, the government is announcing continued investments in ambitious capital plans. This includes expanding and rehabilitating roads and highways, improving transit connections, increasing health care capacity with hospitals and long-term care homes and supporting opportunity with new schools and post-secondary facilities.
OPG
As the Darlington Refurbishment Project progresses, planning is underway for refurbishing Pickering Nuclear’s Units 5 to 8. This project will secure 30-plus more years of clean power for Ontario while maintaining thousands of skilled jobs and avoiding 120 megatonnes of carbon emissions. This is in addition to OPG’s continued work on North America's first Small Modular Reactors and redevelopment of hydroelectric assets critical to maintaining a reliable and low-carbon electricity system.
Bruce Power
Already producing 30 per cent of Ontario’s electricity, Bruce Power is exploring long-term planning for nuclear expansion with the support of the Ontario government. With the important role of nuclear power in Ontario’s clean electricity system, Bruce Power investments are essential to supporting good jobs and economic prosperity for the future.
Electric vehicle manufacturing
All levels of government are supporting the effort to transition Ontario into a global centre for electric vehicle manufacturing. Ontario’s reputation for high quality manufacturing and heavy industry is attracting the world’s top automakers to build electric vehicle plants in several Ontario communities. Governments are also exploring Ontario’s potential for mining and processing minerals critical to the electrification of transportation.
Building on Our Strengths
The organized construction sector includes building trade unions, contractors that hire unionized skilled trades, and the owners of projects. This sector is a cornerstone of Ontario's economic growth and diversification, with decades of expertise bringing together capable contractors and highly skilled, certified, and safety-conscious workers to enhance Ontario’s economic competitiveness.
Owners - owners (buyers of construction, refurbishment, and maintenance services) are experiencing an ever-increasing demand for skilled trades and other human resources to work on, and efficiently complete, large projects. They require experienced workers that are highly trained, skilled, safe, and productive.
Contractors - for capital projects, owners generally are not directly hiring workers. Owners invite large construction companies to bid on the management of the project and delivery of the asset. These contractors will invite competitive bids from sub-contractors specializing in specific construction functions. They are represented by employer associations which, among other things, negotiate collective agreements with affiliate unions.
Local Unions - building Ontario’s infrastructure and capital projects requires the contributions of a wide variety of skilled trades. The organized sector relies on unionized skilled trades workers for the certainty they provide in competency, safety training, and the commitment of union locals to reliably meet skilled trade labour needs.