Canada is investing at historic levels to build big.
Housing, building major projects, breaking ground on vital infrastructure, expanding defence capacity, and modernizing the ways we produce and store energy – the ambition is there.
But scaling these projects will depend on one critical factor: people.
Talent is a critical national resource, and colleges and institutes are its primary provider – yet their potential to do more is being restricted.
As the federal government puts pen to paper on its Fall Budget, scaling training capacity will be the critical question.
A Coordinated National Solution
Canada’s public colleges, institutes, CEGEPs, polytechnics, and Indigenous Institutes of Education are a national, place-based, coordinated network that connects learners, employers, and communities, particularly in rural, remote, and Indigenous regions that will be ground-zero for many major projects.
This model works and is already delivering results.
- Anchored in Community: More than 95% of Canadians and more than 86% of Indigenous people living within 50km of a college campus.
- Aligned with Industry: These institutions offer more than 10,000 flexible, responsive and programs designed in close collaboration with industry and with evolving labour market needs. They train 70% of Canada’s apprenticeships and are the primary providers of all pre-apprenticeship training.
- Place-based Innovators: They also play a vital role in applied research and innovation – helping businesses adopt new technologies and improve productivity, particularly in sectors like construction and advanced manufacturing, with close to 500 research centres and labs devoted this this field.
This year’s budget needs bold, coordinated action to unlock the potential of this national network.
Equipping Colleges to Deliver – More
Labour shortages—particularly in the skilled trades and technicians —are already limiting how fast we can build and grow, with more than 1.4 million additional trades workers expected to be needed by 2033. The Spring Economic Update made a major investment in a people’s strategy, aiming to boost the supply of Red Seal workers by 100,000 by 2030. At the same time, the public training systems needed to train more workers are under strain, with capacity limitations, long waitlists, and uneven coordination of apprenticeship pathways within and across jurisdictions.
As demand for training is growing, capacity must also keep pace.
By expanding infrastructure — including modern equipment, training spaces, and delivery capacity — colleges and institutes can scale and innovate training to help meet the volume of skilled workers Canada now requires.
Removing Barriers to Unlock Canada’s Potential
To move from ambition to delivery, Canada must act decisively to remove the structural barriers blocking its talent pipeline.
CICan is calling for a National Workforce Strategy to align workforce investments with major project demand and economic priorities — ensuring the right skills are developed in the right places, at the right time.
- Critically, this must be backed by targeted investments in training infrastructure to expand capacity, eliminate bottlenecks, and enable public colleges and institutes to train significantly more learners at scale.
At the same time, stronger coordination across governments, employers, and training providers is needed to ensure workforce efforts are aligned and effective across the country.
Together, these actions will remove key barriers in the system and ensure Canada can translate its welcome apprenticeship investments into real, measurable results on the ground.
This pre-budget season, we have six key recommendations that will position Canada to leverage its colleges and institutes as the backbone of a strong, responsive talent pipeline for major projects and economic growth.
READ OUR PRE-BUDGET SUBMISSION
Delivering on Canada’s Ambitions
Canada has the ambition. It has made significant investments in growing the supply and progression of apprenticeships. And it has the institutions ready to deliver.
What it needs now is the training capacity to match.
Removing barriers in the talent pipeline – starting with training infrastructure – will determine whether Canada can turn ambition into action.
Public colleges and institutes are ready to lead, working alongside governments, industry, and communities to build a workforce that is skilled, inclusive, and future-ready.
Because in the end, building Canada’s future is not just about what we build—it is about whether we have the capacity to train the people who will build it.