‘Canada has what the world wants – capital, talent, resources, strong values, opportunity, and a clear vision for our future,’ writes Pari Johnston, President & CEO, Colleges and Institutes Canada.

Members of Parliament are now back in the House of Commons focused on delivering the promises of November’s federal Budget investments in nation-building missions for housing, major infrastructure, and defence.

But if Prime Minister Carney’s powerful speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos recently was any indication, this Parliamentary session will not be a return to normal.

The Prime Minister evoked a new world order, a rupture (not a transition), and real-time decision making for the future of our country — based on a clear vision of middle power alignment, interest-based global trading relationships, sovereign defence capabilities and a strong domestic economy.

At the same time in communities across the country, Canadians are anxious about their jobs, their homes, their groceries, their children’s future and their elders’ care.

Our job — as trusted place-based institutions that have always responded with resolve in Canada’s moments of crisis and need — is to anchor the Prime Minister’s clarion call for national missions of growth, sovereignty, and unity in what our sector does best in communities across this country, every single day: provide real opportunity, deliver tangible results, partner by default and ultimately inspire hope in the future for Canadian learners, graduates and employers.

Workforce solutions at pace and scale

The government has placed a big bet on the nation-building ambition of the Projects of National Interest (PONIs). The new Major Projects Office will accelerate permitting, regulatory approvals, and financing for the PONIs, but the “people strategy” to deliver them is not in the MPO mandate. The stark reality is that these big projects will not get off the ground without a skilled and ready workforce and an aligned talent pipeline.

Delivering on the promise of the PONIs isn’t just a numbers game — it’s about addressing structural gaps in Canada’s talent plan.

That’s where colleges and institutes come in. They are not just responsive training providers, but serve as regional hubs for workforce coordination, support learner success and completion, and actively engage employers in industry-aligned training pathways.

Look at what Northern Lights College in Dawson Creek, B.C. built with Tourmaline Oil, Canada’s largest natural gas producer — co-creating and delivering just-in-time field operator training to address major labour gaps in the industry and prepare graduates for employment in B.C and Canada. This approach is replicable and scalable across partners and industries.

The federal government must move beyond fragmented, narrow programs to establish targeted system-level investments that improve training capacity and workforce mobility, including apprenticeship pathways — to prime the PONI people pipeline and spur large-scale private sector investment which counts on a steady talent supply.

Canada’s public colleges and institutes train roughly 70% of apprentices nation-wide, and they are often the only trainers offering both pre-apprenticeship and apprentice training in many communities, especially in rural and remote regions. These same regions will be ground zero for many of the major projects.

The colleges and institutes sector can partner with governments, industry and labour to build innovative curricular models at pace and scale and modernize Canada’s apprenticeship system by accelerating and improving completion rates — the elements that support the availability, mobility, and adaptability of Canada’s skilled people.

Our defence readiness mission

The world is quickly becoming more fractured than ever, and Canada’s national security is a live concern for our government and for Canadians. Budget 2025 invested $81.8 billion over 5 years, which includes the goal of attracting 13,000 new regular and primary reserve members to the Canadian Armed Forces. Canada has also committed to reach NATO’s 5% spending target by 2035.

In addition, a hotly anticipated Defence Industry Strategy is intended to fortify Canada’s sovereign capabilities by boosting home-grown innovation and manufacturing, securing supply chains, improving access to capital for Canadian SMEs, and developing dual-purpose technologies.

Canada’s public colleges and institutes’ network is a strategic asset with proven expertise in skills training and applied innovation to address critical defence workforce, personnel, and technology gaps — both military and civilian.

As noted at the Canadian Leaders at Sea program in December, the Royal Canadian Navy alone is short 2,000 sailors and 1,000 new maritime technicians right now.

National coordination is needed to meet these goals — expanding strong local and regional relationships between defence leaders and our sector to enable greater impact. CICan’s College Defense Training and Innovation Network — now 60 members strong — will lead the way. For example, four CICan members are currently hosts of NATO’s DIANA test centres with expertise in robotics, cybersecurity, drones, secure communications, and more.

To realistically meet Canada’s NATO target and deliver on the ambition of new investments in people and equipment, Canada’s defence ecosystem must include this pan-Canadian network as ready, willing, and essential delivery partners.

From ambition to action

We have a high-stakes year ahead of us with parliamentarians and Canadians looking to turn this moment of global crisis into national solutions. Inspired by my prairie roots, I’m convinced the moment requires grit, a can-do mindset, and strong, coordinated, and intentional partnerships.

As Prime Minister Carney underlined in Davos, Canada has what the world wants – capital, talent, resources, strong values, opportunity, and a clear vision for our future.

With the right investments, our colleges, institutes, CEGEPs, polytechnics, and Indigenous Institutes of Education can be ready to align ambition to impact — to work together and with industry, labour and governments in new and bold ways — and deliver results to get us there.