Why Canada needs to rethink skilled-trades training - Policy Options

Pembina Institute welcomes new apprenticeship funding, urges focus on Canada’s growing clean economy OTTAWA — HANNAH HUNTER, senior analyst with the Pembina Institute’s Sustainable Workforce program, made the following statement in response to the federal government’s announcement of more than $430 million in apprenticeship training funding over the next five years under Team Canada Strong.  “Canada’s growing clean economy offers major opportunities to create good jobs and drive economic growth. Realizing these opportunities will depend on having enough skilled workers to expand our electricity system and electrify more of our economy, from transportation and buildings to industry. Today’s investment in apprenticeship training is a welcome step. To make it worthwhile for workers and employers, Canada must ensure this investment goes towards jobs of the future, not the jobs of yesterday. “The funding will help training centres expand, purchase modern equipment and develop new approaches to apprenticeship training through three streams of the Union Training and Innovation Program (UTIP): infrastructure expansion, training equipment and innovation.

MontrealQuebec's Immigration Ministry says it’s working to contact affected applicants and is asking them to disregard the closure notices in the meantime. Computer error caused notices to be sent, according to Quebec’s Immigration MinistryCBC News · Posted: Oct 11, 2026 4:16 PM EDT | Last Updated: October 12Listen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results. The Skilled Worker Selection Program is intended for immigrants who want to settle permanently in the province. (Radio-Canada)A computer error caused file closure notices to be sent to 746 Skilled Worker Selection Program applicants Saturday, according to Quebec’s Immigration Ministry. French national Arnaud Gauthier says he was shocked when he read an email from the ministry saying his immigration application had expired. Up until that moment, he had understood the deadline was still a month away. "All this creates a source of anxiety that really isn't necessary. We don't even know if it's a bug, there's no communication," he said Sunday.

On Monday, Albertans vote on whether to stay in Canada or hold another binding referendum on quitting Canada. If the vote goes as polls suggest, a majority of Albertans will mark an X to stay in Confederation, and Premier Danielle Smith has said if that’s so, she expects everyone to accept it and move on. Leaders of the independence movement contest that. And political watchers are divided about whether separation — previously a fringe sentiment — will now be a prominent, permanent feature of Alberta’s political landscape, as in Quebec. Julian Castro-Rea, a political-science professor at the University of Alberta who studies the separation debates in Quebec and Alberta, believes as long as Alberta feels alienated from the Canadian capital — feeling that Ottawa benefits from Alberta’s resource economy without giving back — the movement will have fuel. “Even if the referendum is lost, the westernization will still be around, because it’s kind of a way which, traditionally, Albertans have related to the rest of Canada,” says Castro-Rea, who believes western alienation may remain indefinitely. Story continues below advertisement

It’s no secret the long-held Canadian consensus on immigration has fractured — pulled apart by a rapid increase in new arrivals post-pandemic and growing affordability challenges. Now, that fracture is starting to show up at the ballot box. The Parti Québécois won a minority mandate in Quebec on a platform that included promises of tighter immigration controls, which the party linked to protecting French culture and easing pressure on public services and housing. And when Albertans head to the polls Monday to vote on whether to hold a future referendum on separation from Canada, they’ll also be answering five separate questions on immigration being pushed by the government of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Those questions include:— Should the province should have more say over economic immigration?— Should provincially funded services should be restricted to citizens, permanent residents and those with “Alberta-approved” immigration status? Story continues below advertisement