Investing in people: Ottawa bets on training to steady the labour market

In a year when growth has faltered and hiring has cooled, Ottawa is placing its biggest economic bet not on infrastructure or industry, but on people. The federal government’s preview of Budget 2025 outlines a significant expansion of training programs, wage supports, and skills investments aimed at keeping Canadians employed (and employable) through what increasingly looks like a long adjustment period for the labour market.

At the core of the plan is a $570-million commitment over three years through the existing Labour Market Development Agreements (LMDAs), the cost-shared framework between Ottawa and the provinces that funds training for unemployed and under-employed workers. The budget also introduces a new tax credit for personal-support workers, expanded apprenticeship incentives, and $97 million for foreign-credential recognition, designed to speed up the entry of skilled newcomers into regulated professions. Together, the measures signal a shift in tone; from managing unemployment to rebuilding capacity.

The timing is deliberate. After months of economic stagnation and an unemployment rate hovering around 7.1 percent, policymakers are using training as a stabilizer, a way to prepare the workforce for structural shifts rather than cyclical shocks. Healthcare, construction, and energy transition projects are all short on qualified labour, while industries tied to consumer spending or real estate have slowed. Bridging those gaps has become both a social and an economic necessity.