Promoting our talent, labour and workforce development

Productivity isn’t about working more — it’s about working better. And that means investing in our workforce appropriately. Right now, Canada is falling behind, despite having one of the most educated populations in the world.

More than 28% of Canadian businesses report difficulty finding skilled workers — even with unemployment at 6.7%. This challenge is particularly acute within small business, which employ the majority of Canada’s workforce, and nearly 1 in 5 Canadians say they’re not confident they could find a new job today.

All this points to a growing mismatch between the skills workers have and what employers need — and this mismatch is made worse by barriers to participation, rigid credentialing systems and a lack of coordination between training and economic goals.

The impact is lower economic output, higher hiring costs, rising wage pressures and constrained growth. A Conference Board of Canada report found that Canada’s GDP would be $49 billion higher today if we had adequately invested in skills development over the past 20 years.

Workforce development is a clear public priority. Canadians overwhelmingly support action on initiatives such as upskilling, credential recognition, inclusive employment and immigration reform.

To raise productivity, grow wages, and strengthen competitiveness, we must ensure all workers can fully participate in the labour market. This will take more than short-term fixes. It requires bold, coordinated action between all levels of government, business and educational institutions.

Five key recommendations for a more productive and inclusive workforce

• Restore Labour Market Transfer Agreement funding to support small business training and reskilling through the Canada-Alberta Job Grant.
• Expand inclusive access to employment through affordable childcare, mental health supports, rural broadband and programs to advance equitable opportunity.
• Streamline credential recognition across provinces and internationally to ensure people can put their skills to use.
• Align immigration planning with labour and infrastructure needs, prioritizing regional labour gaps, housing and provincial nomination systems.
• Invest in newcomer integration and entrepreneurship through settlement services and targeted support for business creation.

Canada cannot solve its productivity problem without fixing its workforce problem. Smart investments in our workforce can lead to stronger productivity, more resilient businesses and better outcomes for workers.

Aligning skills with demand, removing barriers and modernizing how we develop and deploy talent are critical steps. A stronger, more inclusive labour market isn’t just good policy — it’s an economic necessity.

About Inflection Point

Inflection Point is a plan for a competitive, productive and prosperous Canada. On behalf of our business community, we share 82 evidence-based public policy recommendations, across five pillars, backed and supported by both our business community and Canadians. Through extensive consultation with our membership, the business community and Canadians through roundtables, surveys and national opinion polling, the recommendations are for all political parties, elected officials and civil servants to consider how both the business community and governments have integral role in working together to address the challenges facing Canada.

Share your voice

The tariff situation is ongoing, complex and rapidly changing. The Calgary Chamber is actively advocating to all levels of government to support you through this uncertain time. To inform our advocacy, we have developed a 1-minute survey to better understand how tariffs are impacting your business.