The latest round of U.S. tariffs is another reminder Canada cannot control every decision made in Washington. It can, however, control how it responds.
Across the country, governments are talking about economic resilience, energy security and building more of what Canadians need here at home.
The recent announcements of a new West Coast pipeline and the proposed pipeline connecting Hardisty, Alta., to Sarnia, Ont., are part of that conversation. In a less certain world, Canada must become better at building its own future.
But there is one question receiving far less attention.
Who is going to build it?
If Canada intends to build more energy infrastructure, homes, electricity transmission, mines, manufacturing facilities and ports, it will need far more than investment and regulatory approvals. It will need a skilled workforce ready to deliver.
That may prove to be the greatest opportunity these pipeline proposals create.
Major infrastructure projects are often measured in kilometres, dollars and construction schedules. They should also be measured by the skilled workforce they leave behind.
Building a pipeline is among the most complex construction undertakings in the country. Surveyors, engineers and environmental specialists begin years before construction starts. Heavy equipment operators, labourers, welders, mechanics, pipefitters, electricians, inspectors and dozens of other skilled professionals then work together to deliver infrastructure Canadians will rely on for generations.
These projects do more than connect places. They develop people.
Large industrial projects have always been where one generation teaches the next. Apprentices learn alongside experienced tradespeople who pass on not only technical skills, but judgment, discipline, problem-solving and an uncompromising commitment to safety. The knowledge gained on one project becomes the foundation for the next.
Across Canada’s construction industry, this lesson has been repeated on some of the country’s largest projects.
Contractors employing CLAC members built approximately 852 kilometres of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project — roughly 71 per cent of the pipeline.
Today, those same skilled tradespeople are helping deliver projects such as Dow’s Path2Zero petrochemical complex in Fort Saskatchewan and the long-term expansion of the Bethune potash mine in Saskatchewan. The projects differ, but the lesson is the same: Canada’s greatest infrastructure asset has never been steel or concrete. It has always been the people with the skills to build.
Governments are beginning to recognize this challenge. The federal government’s Team Canada Strong initiative includes up to $6 billion over five years to recruit, train and hire the next generation of skilled tradespeople, while provinces continue expanding investments in apprenticeship and skilled trades education.
But public investment alone will not be enough.
Governments must create the conditions for success. Employers must continue investing in apprentices. Unions and labour organizations must continue mentoring workers and supporting lifelong careers in the skilled trades. Colleges and training providers must ensure graduates are equipped for the opportunities ahead. Together, these efforts will determine whether Canada has the workforce needed to build what comes next.
This is about more than filling labour shortages.
It is about ensuring Canada has the capacity to compete.
For too long, many young Canadians have been led to believe success is found only behind a desk or a screen. There is equal value in designing, fabricating, welding, operating, inspecting and constructing the infrastructure that powers the country.
Few careers offer the opportunity to look at a pipeline, a bridge, a mine or a manufacturing plant decades later and simply say, “I helped build that.”
That is a legacy few professions can match.
Fifty years from now, Canadians will not remember today’s tariff headlines. They will remember how Canada responded.
If this is the beginning of Canada’s next era of nation-building, our greatest investment will not be measured in kilometres of pipeline or billions of dollars. It will be measured by whether we inspired enough people to learn a trade, master a craft and build projects that will outlast all of us.
Wayne Prins is national director with CLAC. Send Industry Perspectives Op-Ed comments and column ideas to [email protected].
