By 2033, more than 20,000 manufacturing workers per year will be retired

More than 22,500 workers from the Ontario manufacturing sector could retire each year until 2033. This is what a report published by the Manufacturers and Exporters Canada (MEC) organization entitled Keep Calm and Keep Training (Stay calm and continue to train).

According to Statistics Canada data, one in four workers from the Ontario manufacturing sector was 55 years old or over in 2024.

The company led by Robert Brouillette, CEO of City Weldingis an example, while it has about 25 % of its workers who are over 50 years old. However, the rest of the workforce is under 40 years of age.

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As for the Algoma Steel steelworks, Bill Slater, president of the local section 2724 of the metallos, reports rather a balance between age groups within the Eciérie staff.

We have many older people, many others also younger, but we have fewer people in the middle age classhe said.

The union president recognizes that it is difficult to predict when older workers will take their pensions since it cannot be imposed on them.

Different realities for the North

The report specifies that the manufacturing sector in northern Ontario experienced an increase in its workforce last year.

Statistics Canada listed a total of 18,100 manufacturing workers in the northeast of the province in 2024, an increase of 4 % compared to the previous year.

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However, the analysis reports on many factors that could reduce labor in the region, including personnel retention and customs prices.

Mr. Slater claims that it is possible that the trade war is one of the causes of the dismissal of nearly 1,000 employees planned within the steelworks soon.

Since the transition to the stove with electric arc is done at the same time as the trade war [avec les États-Unis]it is difficult to know what is really the causehe said.

Vincent Caron, vice-president of government relations for MECrecognizes that the North has trouble attracting workers.

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There are populations where we do not have enough people who come to the manufacturing sector. We have heard a lot say that it is not enough to attract workers with jobs, but they must also be attracted to the regionadds Mr. Caron.

Besides, Mr. Brouillette admits that personnel retention is not easy in his region.

We have two large mining companies that generally offer higher wages than small and medium -sized businesses so often we will train who will then work for mineshe underlines.

Training and immigration to attract staff

All these challenges are among the reasons why Robert Brouillette has favored immigration programs for a few years, as main sources of labor.

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I receive a lot of people who wish to move to the region since we have permanent residence programshe said.

More than 90 % of the curriculum vitae that I receive come from foreign workers who have just finished their studies […] Canadians already have jobs.

Rather, the report encourages the various levels of government to bet on subsidies and promotions of training in specialized trades, to remedy the shortages of labor and skills, especially at a period when everyone advocates the Made in Canada.

We can be very focused on the short term, the trade war, the uncertainty that it creates for jobs, but it takes time to train people.

If we want to bring back industries and if we want critical minerals to be transformed at home then we will absolutely have to start training, we will have to bring all those people we need to make the factories that we want to open in northern Ontario have people to work there when they open in a few yearsstipulates Mr. Caron.

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The analysis also encourages the various levels of government to subsidize the apprenticeship programs, while it provides for a drop in the number of registrations in the colleges, due to the federal cap of international study permits.

It also perhaps requires government subsidies, whether federal or provincial, to really attract even more people. Our teaching institutions have significant financial problems at the moment. We cannot afford to cut programs in specialized trades […] It is necessary to invest now for the classes to be completed, that the students progress so that they are available in a few yearshe concludes.

The Ontario government announced on Tuesday that its next budget will include an investment of $ 705 million, dedicated to labor.

The provincial budget will be deposited on May 15.