Deloitte: Builders, Baby, Builders? The Half a Million Worker Question
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s ambitious “build, baby, build” agenda could require a one-third increase in the current construction workforce over a five-year period, or as many as 520,000 additional workers by 2030, according to a new analysis from the Future of Canada Centre. Authors Trevin Stratton, Alicia Macdonald and Theo Argitis warn that “the constraint on Canada’s building ambitions isn’t just regulation or money. It’s also people, and in very large numbers,” noting that retirements could push total labour needs above 800,000. They argue that “there will be no successful scale-up of national building plans without a parallel human-resources strategy,” emphasizing urgent collaboration among governments, industry, and educators to recruit, train, and retain skilled tradespeople. “For all the attention on regulatory obstacles, financing tools, and fast-tracking approvals, the true test of this agenda will be people,” they write.
