Insights on postsecondary institutions, Canada’s current and future workforce, and industry sectors.

POSTSECONDARY INSTITUTIONS

 The federal government’s “blind spot” on applied research makes productivity an afterthought

Opinion

By Vincent Custode

 Vincent Custode is the Director of Policy at Polytechnics Canada. This op-ed was first published in The Globe and Mail.

Another federal budget has come and gone and, while there are investments worth applauding, it’s hard to shake the feeling that Canada missed the bigger picture.

Renewed investments in infrastructure and improvements to the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credits are welcome. The proposed “super-deduction” to spur capital investment is also a step in the right direction.

These measures signal a government focused on productivity and competitiveness.

The budget also reaffirms its support for discovery research, an important foundation for scientific progress. But discovery alone won’t fix Canada’s productivity challenge. To compete globally, we need to better connect research to real growth.

That connection was missing in this year’s budget.

The government’s $1.7-billion commitment to attract international researchers to Canadian universities reflects an ambition to deepen Canada’s research capacity and compete globally for talent. But without complementary investments in polytechnic applied research, where discoveries are turned into products, processes and prototypes, we’re missing the opportunity to activate discovery research.

That’s what the College and Community Innovation program (CCIP) was designed to do. It’s Canada’s only federal fund dedicated to supporting polytechnic and college applied research – connecting discovery to deployment and helping businesses bring innovation to market.

Just last year, Canada’s polytechnics completed thousands of applied research projects with industry partners, engaging nearly 20,000 students in hands-on innovation that helped businesses grow and graduates find jobs.

Yet CCIP funding was not just ignored in the budget, it is poised to fall back to pre-pandemic levels. At a time when government is rightly focused on productivity, competitiveness and building things at home, neglecting this program is a mistake.

Across the country, polytechnics are already advancing the very priorities this government has emphasized. They are helping companies of all sizes decarbonize and improve operational efficiency in energy, agriculture and mining.

They are working with Canadian companies in aerospace and defence to enhance productivity and national security. They are supporting health care innovation through rapid prototyping and testing of new technologies. And they are applying artificial intelligence to real-world challenges in manufacturing, construction and logistics.

If Canada wants to build more homes, deliver more energy to the world, rebuild its military and become a more innovative economy, it needs to connect discovery to deployment. That means sustained investment in applied research. These collaborations are where innovation happens: in labs, on manufacturing floors and in classrooms where theories are tested and ideas deployed.

Crucially, these applied partnerships ensure that businesses retain ownership of their intellectual property, a model that accelerates commercialization and encourages companies to reinvest and scale in Canada.

The economic returns on applied research are significant – every dollar invested in polytechnic applied research generates between $8.09 and $18.49 in economic and social return. At a time when Canada is in desperate need of innovation, small and medium-sized enterprise growth and productivity, the lack of investment in a proven winner is puzzling.

The issue isn’t whether we value research; it’s whether we choose to invest in the entirety of the ecosystem.

Time and again, funding flows to headline projects and international recruitment, while the rest of the innovation pipeline is ignored.

Canada needs more than world-class discoveries. It needs the capacity to translate them into impact. That means supporting SMEs and entrepreneurs to adopt new technologies, develop prototypes and improve processes – the kind of applied work that delivers tangible economic returns.

To close Canada’s productivity gap, we must stop mistaking prestige for progress.

Canada’s discovery investments will only pay off if we also invest in the systems that turn research into results. The expertise and innovation we’re searching for abroad already exist in our own backyard. Canada doesn’t need to import innovation – it needs to build it here at home. Polytechnics Canada

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Three Canadian universities made it into the top 50 in the Times Higher Education’s 2026 World University Rankings, which assessed 2,291 institutions from 115 countries and territories. The three were the University of Toronto (#21), McGill University (tied for #41), and the University of British Columbia (#45). Other Canadian universities in the top 200 included McMaster University (tied for #116), University of Alberta (#119), Université de Montréal (#150), University of Waterloo (tied for #162), University of Ottawa (tied for #187), and University of Calgary (#200). Oxford University retained the #1 spot for the tenth consecutive year, driven by a strong research environment score. Princeton University rose to joint 3^rd place, and is the only U.S. university to achieve its best-ever finish this year. China had five universities in the top 40, up from three last year. Times Higher Education

Maclean’s released its 2026 University Rankings, which rank Canadian universities with at least 1,000 full-time students. The rankings, based on 12 performance indicators in five broad areas, are grouped into three categories: Comprehensive, Medical Doctoral, and Undergraduate. In the Comprehensive category, the top three institutions were Simon Fraser University, University of Victoria, and University of Waterloo. In the Medical Doctoral category, the top three institutions were McGill University, University of Toronto, and University of British Columbia. In the Undergraduate category, the top three institutions were Mount Allison University, University of Northern British Columbia, and Acadia University. Maclean’s

Saskatchewan's postsecondary institutions will receive approximately $250 million in additional operating funding over the next four years through a new multi-year funding agreement with the Government of Saskatchewan. The agreement delivers funding certainty through annual operating funding increases, supports student affordability by further limiting tuition increases and streamlines accountability reporting requirements. As part of the new agreement, annual operating grants will be increased by three percent each year. These increases will be applied on top of the one-percent increase provided in 2025-26, which will be made permanent. This approach supports more effective planning and resource allocation, helping institutions strengthen long-term financial sustainability, foster growth and ensure students are well supported, the government said. The agreement also benefits students by limiting tuition increases to a range of zero to three percent annually, a reduction from the current four percent limit. In addition, all institutions will submit accountability reports demonstrating progress in key areas. Govt. of Saskatchewan

International student enrolments have declined by 28 percent (-6,432) year-over-year across Atlantic Universities, according to the Association of Atlantic Universities (AAU) 2025-2026 Preliminary Survey of Enrolments. Overall enrolments of domestic and international students (undergraduate and graduate) have declined 4.4 percent (-4,229) year-over-year. There was a four-percent (+505) rise in full-time first-year students, however. The survey shows the full-time and part-time enrolments at each university in Atlantic provinces as of October 2025. Since the federal government’s international student cap was announced in January 2024, international student enrolments across Atlantic universities have declined by 36 percent or 9,425 fewer students, the AAU said. “Atlantic Canada and our universities have been disproportionately hurt by the federal government’s ‘cap’ placed on international students aspiring to pursue higher education in our region,” Dr. Paul Mazerolle, AAU chair and University of New Brunswick president, said in a statement. Prior to the imposition of the cap, the region retained 60 percent of international students following their graduation. Atlantic Canada’s progress has been threatened by reduced immigration allocations, including international students, said Rhonda Tulk-Lane, CEO of the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce. “With one of the oldest populations in the country and declining birth rates, our region faces an urgent challenge: how to sustain our businesses and secure our economic future,” she said. AAU

The Bureau de coopération interuniversitaire released preliminary data detailing the decline in international student enrolment at Quebec universities. They report that overall, enrolment has declined by 12.1 percent, while at the master’s level it has dropped by more than 21 percent. The Canadian Press reported that the sharpest drops were seen at four Université du Québec network institutions, which experienced drops from between 17.1 percent and 43.5 percent compared with the fall of 2024. Concordia University saw 16.7 percent fewer international students, while McGill University experienced a 5.6-percent decline. The Canadian Press

Universities Canada and the Canadian Association of University Business Officers launched a joint initiative to strengthen the sector’s financial and mission sustainability. The initiative will help identify policy and institutional levers for change, along with opportunities for collective action – acknowledging that long-term resilience and sustainability require not only innovation and adaptability, but also the enabling conditions to make such change possible. The new initiative will bring together university leaders, including presidents, provosts, vice-presidents of finance and policy experts to document current challenges, share innovative practices and identify actionable solutions to safeguard the sector’s long-term sustainability. Universities Canada

Colleges and universities must shift their marketing strategies from demographic targeting to lived experience-driven messaging to connect with today’s diverse learners, said Gregory Balmir, assistant director of digital media at Florida Atlantic University. In a recent conversation on the Illumination Podcast, Balmir called for intentional, inclusive messaging to foster student feelings of belonging – a key driver of persistence and engagement. He emphasized the importance of storytelling that communicates transformation, not just transaction, and encouraged marketers to use data to validate empathy and adapt messaging over time. When institutions use language that reflects the lived experiences, aspirations and identities of their audiences, they build credibility and emotional resonance, Balmir said. “Students want to feel seen. They want to know that the institution not only recognizes their individuality but also understands their motivations and barriers.” Ultimately, the future of higher education communication lies in balancing empathy with intelligence,” Balmir said. “Institutions that listen deeply to their students, measure meaningfully, and adapt courageously will thrive.” The evoLLLution

Higher education must redefine access by embedding flexibility into everything from course delivery to credential design, said Christie Schultz, dean of the Centre for Continuing Education at the University of Regina. In a recent interview on the Illumination Podcast, Schultz called on institutions to support the “60-year curriculum” – a lifelong learning model where individuals move fluidly between learning and earning. “True access now means designing flexible, responsive pathways that meet learners where they are, whenever and however they choose to engage,” she said. Flexible models of delivery – online, hybrid, evening, asynchronous, microcredential-based and competency-driven – are required, she said. “The goal isn’t just to deliver education everywhere; it’s to deliver it in ways that are equitable, adaptable and aligned with how people actually live and learn.” This shift requires stackable, transferable credentials that bridge microlearning and degrees, rather than treating them as separate tracks, Schulz said. At the heart of this transformation, she noted, is empathy: institutions must respect the complex lives of today’s learners and make education truly accessible – not just in theory, but in design. The evoLLLution

Queen’s University has adopted a strategic framework to create innovative classrooms that support dynamic styles of teaching and learning. The university has invested in more than 20 spaces in recent years that promote the use of technology and active learning with features like movable chairs and multiple whiteboards or screens. The Teaching and Learning Space Framework provides the university with a long-term guide for the design, renewal and use of classrooms and other learning spaces. It sets out principles that will inform their future renovation and construction, including accessibility, innovation, inclusivity and sustainability. The framework lays out specific recommendations and requirements for different types of classrooms, such as lecture halls, large spaces that can mix lectures and group learning, and small spaces for 60 or fewer learners. It defines the ideal conditions for these spaces, including seating, acoustics, lighting and technology. Queen’s University

A new online graduate certificate in sustainability at the University of Alberta (U of A) aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills to tackle some of the most urgent challenges facing the planet. This first-of-its-kind certificate program in Canada offers hands-on projects and case studies to allow learners to lead and measure sustainability solutions for governments, industries and communities, using data science and artificial intelligence. The U of A ranks eighth in the world and second in Canada for its impact on global sustainability. “This program empowers professionals to move from ambition to action with the knowledge and tools needed to make sustainability work in practice,” said Robert Summers, director of the U of A’s Sustainability Council. Summers said the program is ideal for working professionals, entrepreneurs and community leaders developing environmental, social and governance projects – an area that has seen a 231-percent increase in job postings in 2025 compared with the previous year. The certificate program is offered through the College of Natural and Applied Sciences, with the faculties of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences and Science. Applications close Dec. 5, 2025, and the first cohort is set to begin in January 2026. U of A

The Government of Saskatchewan will invest $6.3 million over the next six years through SaskPower over to establish four new  nuclear research chairs in the province. The chairs, whose work will support nuclear science and the deployment of nuclear energy generation in Saskatchewan, are made possible by partnerships with the University Network of Excellence in Nuclear Engineering (UNENE) and the Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation. Part of the funding will create research chairs at the University of Regina and the University of Saskatchewan, and allow the universities to join UNENE. The remaining $3 million will fund research chairs at First Nations University of Canada and Saskatchewan Polytechnic and support these institutions in joining the Sylvia Fedoruk Centre for Nuclear Innovation. Govt. of Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan Polytechnic launched the Western Canadian Nuclear Training Centre. The centre will deliver nuclear-specific training and foster strategic partnerships to support workforce development for small modular reactors and other nuclear technologies. Training will include the U.K.-based National Skills Academy Nuclear industry-leading training programs. The centre also partnered with the University Network of Excellence in Nuclear Engineering, which will build on a MOU signed earlier this year. Training will be offered through Sask Polytech’s Centre for Continuing Education both in person and online, including the Growing Awareness in Nuclear program, which introduces nuclear fundamentals to professionals from other sectors. Sask Polytech

Statistics Canada released an interactive flow diagram visualizing graduates’ major field of study and their occupation. The diagram was developed by the Canadian Centre for Education Statistics Users to address stakeholder and public interest in understanding whether postsecondary graduates are employed in occupations related to their field of study. It was designed with input from occupation and major field of study experts. The interactive chart can be further broken down based on additional information from the 2021 Census, such as the highest level of education, gender, immigration status, province and location of study. Data was derived from the 2021 Census and considers Canadians aged 25 to 64 who had a trades, college or university qualification and who worked at any time from January 2020 to May 2021. Occupations were grouped using a custom grouping of the 2021 National Occupational Classification developed with input from occupation and major field of study experts. Statistics Canada

The number of study permit holders with U.S. citizenship intending to study at the undergraduate and graduate levels in Canada increased gradually from about 5,000 in 2000 to 11,000 in 2019, then declined to about 10,000 in the early 2020s, according to a report by Statistics Canada. Similar trends occurred at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. In most years, undergraduate students outnumbered graduate students by a factor of two to three. The flow of Canadian students to the U.S. has been much larger than the flow in the opposite direction, although the difference has decreased since the early 2000s. The total number of Canadian undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in U.S. postsecondary institutions fluctuated between 21,500 and 27,400, with most of the variation driven by the number of graduate students. Unlike the composition of U.S. students in Canada, the number of Canadian graduate students in the U.S. was only slightly lower than the number of undergraduate students. On an annual basis over the past two decades, Canada sent 4,900 to 9,900 more undergraduate students and 5,900 to 11,200 more graduate students to the U.S. than it received from the U.S. U.S. students in Canada were highly concentrated in humanities and social sciences, which together accounted for 47 percent of U.S. students in the 2010/2011 academic year and 39 percent in 2022/2023, the most recent year of Postsecondary Student Information System data. By comparison, Canadian students in the U.S. were relatively concentrated in business management and health professions, which together made up 31 percent of Canadian students in 2010/2011 and 29 percent in 2023/2024. Canadian students in the U.S. were also more likely to study engineering than U.S. students in Canada. Statistics Canada

 CANADA’S CURRENT & FUTURE WORKFORCE

The Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) and the Vector Institute announced a new $1.5-million partnership dedicated to building the workforce of the future and accelerating Canada's leadership in artificial intelligence. ICTC and the Vector Institute will equip students and startups with the critical skills to scale AI innovation in Canada. This partnership is anchored in ICTC’s national Work-Integrated Learning Digital program, which provides students with AI-aligned work placements, access to advanced training resources, essential employment readiness tools, and real-world work experience through paid job placements. Over the next three years, this collaboration will support 150 paid student work placements, enabling students to gain hands-on experience and make meaningful contributions to Canada’s AI ecosystem. At the heart of this initiative is a commitment to fuel Canada's innovation economy by developing a robust AI talent pipeline that directly supports both early-stage ventures and small and medium-sized enterprises. Through this partnership, students will be embedded within the Vector Institute’s FastLane community – a dynamic network of AI-enabled startup businesses – to help bring cutting-edge research and products to market. ICTC

Tech hiring across Canada has been mired in a deep freeze since 2023, with tech job postings plunging 19 per cent country-wide since 2020, according to job search platform Indeed Inc. The decline has been especially steep in Vancouver, which experienced a pandemic tech job boom that was “well beyond the national average,” Brendon Bernard, senior economist at Indeed, said. As of early 2025, tech job postings are down 43 percent in the city compared to 21 percent in Montreal and 10 percent in Toronto, he said. The corporate shift toward AI has reduced entry- and junior-level functions and certain jobs that are more exposed to that technology. Recruiters say fresh graduates, early career professionals and workers with less AI-related experience have been disproportionately affected. AI now writes 20 percent to 30 percent of Microsoft’s code, with that percentage steadily rising, according to chief executive Satya Nadella. The company has three Vancouver offices whose staff build key products such as Teams and Copilot. Big Tech’s new grad hires have plummeted 50 per cent since 2019 and by 23 per cent since 2023 and now account for just seven per cent of its overall hires, according to a May report by venture-capital firm SignalFire LLC. Financial Post

More companies are now openly blaming AI for job losses, Bloomberg News reported. In late September, the German airline Deutsche Lufthansa AG told analysts and investors that it planned to eliminate 4,000 administrative positions by the end of the decade. Among the reasons it cited was “the increased use of artificial intelligence.” Weeks later, Dutch lender ING Groep NV said nearly 1,000 positions were at risk from “digitalization, AI, and evolving customer needs.” And earlier this month, Krafton Inc., a South Korean video game company, said it intended to freeze hiring to focus on an “AI-first” approach to development. In earnings reports, investor presentations and company memos, executives have been touting efficiency gains from artificial intelligence and framing a shrinking or flat workforce as preparation for an increasingly AI-driven economy. AI has been cited for 48,414 job cuts announced in the United States so far this year, according to a recent estimate from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Of those, 31,039 AI-related job cuts were announced in October alone.  In an internal memo earlier this year, Shopify Inc. chief executive Tobi Lutke told employees that “teams must demonstrate why they cannot get what they want done using AI” before asking for additional headcount. Bloomberg News

Job recruiters are struggling to hire qualified people amid a flood of AI-written job applications, The Globe and Mail reported. Richard Noel, director of security operations and infrastructure for workplace software firm Eptura, has seen a surge of job applications in the past year, with many cover letters and résumés seemingly written by artificial intelligence. Noel, a Quebecker living in Minnesota, says he used to get about 100 to 120 applications for each job posting. That number has tripled, meaning more work for him and his human-resources colleagues when it comes to discerning who is actually a good candidate and who has used AI to appear like one. The challenges faced by Noel’s team are becoming more common in many industries. With AI tools making it easier for applicants to tailor their résumés, and high unemployment pushing more people into the job hunt, employers are being flooded with applications, especially for entry-level positions. As a result, recruiters and hiring managers are giving additional scrutiny to anyone whose application clearly leans heavily on AI. A Robert Half survey conducted in April found 79 percent of about 1,500 hiring managers say they can identify when a candidate has used AI to generate their application materials, and some companies are using tools that can detect whether a  a résumé is “AI-supported or fully AI generated.”  Research from U.S.-based Career Group Companies suggests AI is being used by 65 percent of candidates. The Globe and Mail

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Can Canada’s workforce find solutions to its numerous challenges?

Canada’s workforce is facing numerous challenges, including aging employees, women and other people under-represented, a technological shift, changes in immigration policy – even children not being taught values.

Those were the views of corporate executives at a “How will we build Canada’s workforce?” webinar presented by The Globe and Mail and partners.

Research by global consulting firm Korn Ferry shows that by 2030 in the skilled trades and manufacturing, there will be a global shortage of about 85 million workers, said Penny Wise, global vice-president, public policy and communications, at 3M.

“That’s trillions of dollars of economic development, opportunities and innovation that potentially disappear,” she said.

3M recently partnered with the Canadian Manufacturers & Export Association on a study that showed 45 percent of the manufacturing in Canada happens in Ontario, where more than 10 percent of the Ontario workforce is in manufacturing.

One in four of those workers is over the age of 55 and is eligible to retire, Wise noted. “So each year you have a bigger and bigger wave of those leaving the manufacturing sector. We need to replace those workers.”

Women make up slightly over 50 percent of Canada’s population. But only 23 percent of the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) workers in Canada are women and only five percent of skilled trades workers are women, Wise said.

“We’re an innovation company. It’s really critical that we focus on these sorts of issues and address these statistics,” she said.

3M, which has manufacturing facilities in Ontario and Quebec, uses various approaches to create its workforce, including advanced recruitment techniques – like a Career Coach platform that matches job openings to employee profiles – and a strong emphasis on continuous professional development and upskilling.

Key techniques include using AI to identify skills gaps and predict future needs, personalizing learning paths for employees, and implementing AI-powered tools (such as AI-enabled mentorship) for hiring and succession planning.

George Vassallo, president and CEO of Mississauga-based Bothwell-Accurate, a roofing and waterproofing solutions provider, said his company started a program that, on the employee’s 60^th birthday, encourages them to become a part-time mentor rather than retire.

“We’re trying to retain the knowledge that we’ve been starting to miss in our future operations,” he said.

Bothwell-Accurate is “dramatically missing” women in its workforce, Vassallo said. “When I look at [women being] 51 percent of the populace and I don’t have one lady working in my outside field jobs, it’s disgusting.”

The reality is that woman are responsible for the upbringing of children, he said. His company is talking with government and unions about creating a child-care program that gives women the ability to work in the construction sector.

Daycare hours are typically from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., whereas construction works from about 5 a.m. to 8 p.m., Vassallo said.

“There is not one [daycare] outlet in the province of Ontario and in B.C. that offers those timetables. I’m trying to get somebody that will elongate their hours of operation,” he said.

“If we can do that, then I think we’re going to start to get more and more women involved in construction.”

Vassallo said he believes there is a sufficient number of people in Canada to work in construction. “We’re just not setting them up properly to be an accomplished worker in construction.”

Children not being raised to succeed in a “very competitive world”

Vassallo said another problem he sees is that it’s a very competitive world, and “our school system today is not raising our kids to be in that competitive world.”

It’s a win-lose world now, and “in business, if you don’t succeed, if you don’t win, you lose,” he said.

“We’re doing an injustice with our kids today in letting them believe that as long as you tried your best, it’s good enough. Well, it’s not,” he added.

Vassallo said he has vice-president in production who’s 64 years old and wants to retire. He pointed out to his VP that his son is 28 years old “and he’s  living in your basement, not working, not caring about anything because Mom makes his breakfast, makes his bed, makes his dinner.”

“We are teaching the young the wrong things,” Vassallo said.

He said when he was a kid, “it was all about values,” all about respect, loyalty and honour. “And all of that has gone by-the-by.”

Vassallo said he tries to teach his employees that if the company succeeds, the whole team succeeds. “What concerns me today is that we don’t have passion anymore,” he added. “If you’re not passionate, you’ll never succeed.”

Canada doesn’t lack for people willing to work, he said. “What we have to do is educate them and teach them how to work. That’s the difference.”

Justine Hendricks, president and CEO of Farm Credit Canada, said Canada’s agricultural industry has the opportunity to solve four major global problems simultaneously: health, hunger, be a huge driver for economic growth, and climate change.

“The reality, though, is our productivity has dropped by half, probably over the last 20 years,” she said.

Agriculture and food production contributes about seven percent, or $150 billion, of Canada’s GDP, along with $100 billion in exports and one in nine jobs in the country, Hendricks said.

Yet surveys show that out of Canada’s top 10 priorities, agriculture is ranked No. 7, she noted. “What happens when you’re the No. 7 priority and trying to decide, ‘Do we go ahead and invest or not?’ you drop No. 7 [for investment].”

Too many people believe that the skills needed in “ag and food” are very basic, whereas new technologies are spurring “a huge transformation in terms of skills requirement,” Hendricks said.

Even if people get one or more degrees, they still need to be able to combine their core knowledge with understanding of how do you solve problems, how do you ask for the right prompts, how do you understand how thinking systems works, she said.

“Because those are things and the skills, combined with your core technical skills, that we’re all going to need in order to solve Canada’s big problems.”

Federal policy changes on immigration are hurting the restaurant sector

In Canada’s restaurant sector, there are currently 70,000 job openings, or about five percent of the workforce, said Kelly Higginson, president and CEO of Restaurants Canada.

The restaurant sector is the fourth-largest employer in Canada and contributes four percent of the country’s GDP – amounting to a $120-billion industry that purchases over 50 percent of the Canadian agricultural sales made in the country.

Looking out to 2027, 2028, the prediction is that the number of job openings in the restaurant sector will jump to 130,000 to 150,000, Higginson said. “What that means is we close our doors.”

The sector’s workforce is aging and includes rural and remote tourism communities where there isn’t access to a local workforce when it’s needed and when the demand fluctuates, she said.

In addition, “We’ve got [federal] immigration policy changes that are dramatically impacting our sector,” she added.

The federal temporary foreign worker program amounts to about three percent of the Canadian restaurant sectors’ workforce, Higginson said.

However, that three percent is a critical part of the workforce in rural and remote tourism regions of the country, she noted.

Although there’s criticism that the temporary foreign worker program is taking jobs away from youth, preliminary studies show the provinces with the highest youth unemployment have some of the lowest levels of temporary foreign workers, Higginson noted. “At this point, we can say that there isn’t a direct connection in our sector.”

The restaurant sector would prefer to have an immigration program that allows temporary foreign workers work toward permanent residency in Canada, she said.

On the positive side, wages have become much more competitive, with the restaurant sector having the second-highest wage growth of all sectors and industries.

The sector, which operates on only two to five percent profit margins, is also increasing benefits offered to part-time employees and some large companies are matching employees’ RRSPs.

There’s a drive to making the sector “a real career opportunity and looking at it as a competitive sector for our workforce,” Higginson said.

When it comes to immigration policy, Vassallo said “governments either open the door completely [to immigration] or close the door completely. Both of [those approaches] are wrong.”

Canada needs to bring in people who are going to be a benefit to this country, not a detriment, he said. “If you’re going to bring in people that have no experience, then you’d better have a place for them when they come here to educate them, to train them, to mentor them, and make them part of the civilization that we call Canada.”

Vassallo said he has seen doctors from India in Canada who are driving Ubers. Instead, they should be working part-time as doctors under supervision from a Canadian doctor and upgrading their skills as they’re working, he said.

“Immigration is needed, it’s a vital and important part of Canada and its growth, and we cannot just close it down. We just have to be more selective,” he said.

Employers are also using innovative tools to address their workforce challenges.

Hendricks said Farm Credit Canada recently launched, using generative AI, a platform that allows customers and non-customers across the agricultural sector to ask all sorts of queries that people otherwise would have to respond to.

For example, farmers can take a photo of their combine parts and ask the platform where to order them, she said.

Higginson said some restaurants are using “high tech for high touch” – the strategic use of technology to handle routine tasks – enabling staff to be more focused on their guest and with their team for training.

Wise said 3M is using predictive maintenance technology that helps the company understand where a machine is potentially going to break down.

Vassallo said Bothwell-Accurate is using a multi-language app on the job because most of the company’s workers come from different countries. The company also opened its own classes to teach topics like English and budgeting to new arrivals.

“We do not have a crunch [shortage] of people willing work,” Vassallo said. “What we have to do is educate them and teach them how to work.” The Globe and Mail

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Changes in skills and training ecosystem are needed to strengthen resilience of Canadian workforce

Many immigrants to Canada struggle to have their skills recognized, complicating their transition to employment commensurate of their skills, according to a report by the Future Skills Centre.

For instance, a recent study found that more than 25 percent of recent immigrants that came to Canada with a bachelor’s degree were employed in jobs requiring only a high school diploma or less, a figure three times higher than the rate for Canadian-born workers.

Postsecondary institutions play a critical role in skills development as roughly 80 percent of vacant jobs require some form of postsecondary education.

Postsecondary education leads to higher wages over time and to the acquisition of a wide range of skills, including soft and digital and other skills. However, research also suggests postsecondary programs must rethink traditional models and consider how soft skills can be taught alongside existing technical skill instruction, the Future Skills Centre report said.

The recent results from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies also show a correlation between postsecondary institutions attainment and skills proficiency.

However, postsecondary institutions across Canada are currently struggling to address significant budget deficits following changes to the number of international student permits and their associated tuition revenues. Many colleges and universities across Canada are reducing programs and laying off staff.   

In addition to skills shortages among workers, labour shortages are particularly acute in key sectors like health care and construction.

As Canada’s population ages, demand for health care services increases. According to a Conference Board of Canada report, there are over 80,000 vacancies for nurses, early childhood educators and social and community support workers at present (this includes registered nurses, registered psychiatric nurses, nurses’ aides, ordinaires, patient services associates and licensed practical nurses). The vacancy rates for these occupations is set to increase by at least 30 percent by 2040.

Health care currently represents approximately 12.4 percent of Canada’s annual GDP, or over $370 billion dollars. These job vacancies translate into lost productivity overall and less care for Canada’s aging population, who depend more and more on professional care. 

The construction industry represented approximately 7.4 percent of Canadian GDP in 2024, and an aging workforce has this industry on track to lose up to 21 percent of this workforce over the next decade.

The federal government recently injected billions of dollars into the Canadian skills development and training ecosystem, including:

• additional funds for the Labour Market Development Agreements to support training and upskilling for up to 50,000 workers.
• a national online training platform to help adults find short-duration training courses by skill type, location and format.
• Workforce Alliances and a Workforce Innovation Fund for at-risk sectors like auto parts, steel and aluminum, and those with growth potential such as energy, critical minerals and advanced manufacturing. 

“While impressive, these investments are not enough to meet the coming challenges,” according to the Future Skills Centre’s report.

“To build a resilient workforce that is able to respond to and adapt to changing labour markets, whether due to unpredictable disruptions or longer-term transitions, we need a range of training and upskilling pathways that equip people with the skills they need to enter, advance, transition and return to dynamic labour markets.”

Priorities include employers in every sector making more investments in skills training on AI for workers and figuring how to integrate AI into their operations to remain competitive, the report said.

Also, soft skills should be built into skills training and there should be more widespread implementation of soft skills assessments, especially among employers, enabling them to better assess the skills of applicants and workers.

“To build a range of training and upskilling pathways, we need options that account for differences between workers, regions, sectors, and career stages and operate at the individual-level, organizational or firm-level, and system-level,” the report said.

One way to ensure this customization is to take a place-based approach, taking into account the specific needs of local communities and groups, like older workers, recent graduates and newcomers with advanced degrees but lacking in Canadian experience.

Examples of how to implement place-based planning for training and upskilling, such as those from the Conference Board of Canada and Smart Prosperity Institute, identify how skills needs differ at the local level.

Place-based approaches apply to communities in transition to a lower-carbon economy, as well as efforts to help regions and sectors deal with the impacts of the on-going trade war with the U.S.

Policymakers should consider initiatives that bring together experts in these fields to foster partnerships where local and regional-level labour market information can be leveraged to design responsive solutions to local needs, the report said.

However, many federal programs only begin after a worker is laid off or has been unemployed for a certain amount of time. While these types of programs should remain in place, Canada needs upskilling programs that take proactive approaches to upskilling workers in vulnerable contexts – regional and sectoral.

“To meet the challenges ahead, and to make our national ambitions a reality, there is a growing desire among actors in the skills and training ecosystem to identify creative and practical strategies to strengthen the resilience of the Canadian workforce for the short and long-term.”

To this end, the Future Skills Centre has been convening the Resilient Workforce Working Table – a group of public policy and skills development experts, employers and labour groups, across sectors and regions, collaborating on the development of evidence-informed skills and employment solutions. Future Skills Centre

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Highly educated and highly skilled immigrants are leaving Canada the most, impacting the economy and competitiveness

Immigrants to Canada with higher education and skills – including in some of the next decade’s most in-demand occupations – have the highest migration rates leaving the country, according to a report by the Conference Board of Canada and the Institute for Canadian Citizenship.

Onward migration risk increases with education level. Immigrants with doctorates are nearly twice as likely to leave Canada within five years compared to immigrants with a bachelor’s degree, the report said.

Onward migration risk is greater among higher skilled immigrants. Five years after landing, these individuals are more than twice as likely to leave Canada as lower-skilled immigrants.

“The country’s selection policies prioritize highly skilled and highly educated individuals, yet they are the very people most likely to leave,” the report said.

“While Canada continues to attract many highly skilled workers, losing a proportion of our most qualified newcomers to other countries hurts our global competitiveness.”

Some of the next decade’s most in-demand occupations have the highest 25-year onward migration rates. The fastest-growing occupations with the weakest retention are business and finance management, information and communications technology, engineering and architecture management, and manufacturing and processing engineering.

Retaining immigrants in health care, information, and communications technology (ICT) as well as the construction sector is critical to Canada’s economic growth, the report pointed out.

These sectors align closely with the federal mandate to become an energy superpower, build more affordable housing, and provide a stable workforce of ICT workers for firms that are increasingly adopting artificial intelligence in the workplace.

The federal government also committed to reducing health care backlogs, which demands the retention of skilled health care professionals.

Immigrants with experience in legislative and senior management roles have the highest onward migration rates, with 35 percent leaving within 25 years of landing, compared to 19 percent across occupations.

“Together, these professionals drive innovation, shape strategic vision, and deliver care to Canadians,” the report noted.

For example, immigrants represent 24 percent of Canada’s construction managers, 25 percent of health care workers, 42 percent of physicists and astronomers, and 57 percent of chemists. These positions fall under the broad occupational categories with high growth and high onward migration rates.

Marketable professionals may have greater global mobility. Canada may have served as a strategic first destination enroute to other markets, or their skills may not be fully utilized in the Canadian labour market, according to the report.

Immigrants with stagnant or declining earnings have higher onward migration rates within 15 years of landing than immigrants whose earnings grow. This retention trend is pronounced in those with doctorates, who are nearly three times more likely to leave than those with bachelor’s degrees when faced with no income growth.

These findings reveal a vulnerability in Canada’s immigration policy, which has prioritized selecting highly educated immigrants, the report said. “Yet such individuals are the most globally competitive and most likely to be recruited by other countries.”

For example, from 1991 to 2023, immigrants were more likely than Canadian-born citizens to become U.S. permanent residents – with both groups showing similarly high education levels.

“Implementing a national retention policy that considers Canada’s global competitiveness could help mitigate onward migration risk in highly educated immigrants,” the report said.

In 2023, Canada experienced its highest population growth rate since the post-war baby boom, driven almost entirely by permanent and temporary immigration.

The federal government responded by decreasing immigration targets by up to 24 percent in its 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan.

These abrupt cuts were projected to slow labour force growth and reduce real GDP by $16.2 billion in 2026, according to the report.

This context is particularly noteworthy given Canada’s demographic reality, the report said. The country’s fertility rate has hit a record low of 1.26, placing it among the lowest in the world.

“With births declining and an aging population, Canada’s immigration model has become essential for maintaining workforce levels and economic growth,” the report said. “Reduced immigration targets mean fewer newcomers will arrive. Coupled with onward migration, economic impacts will compound.”

The report’s recommendations include:

• Develop a national retention policy framework to set targets, track performance and guide immigration policy beyond selection alone.
• Invest in settlement supports tailored to highly skilled immigrants – such as bridging programs, licensing pathways, and personalized settlement plans – to reduce onward migration risk.

Expanding these programs, with a particular focus on the first three to five years after landing, is an untapped avenue for reducing onward migration risk among highly skilled immigrants.

• Implement targeted retention strategies for high-demand occupations, including employer incentives, enhanced credential recognition and stronger employment-related settlement services.
• Enhance employer capacity to create welcoming workplaces and provide mentorship, personalized settlement plans and career development support to improve immigrant retention – especially in smaller communities.

Canada’s average annual onward migration rate climbed from 0.6 percent in 2018 to 0.9 percent in 2021. While these annual rates may seem inconsequential, their cumulative impact is substantial: Over the past 25 years, Canada has lost one in every five immigrants to onward migration.

In the 2025 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration, the federal government chose to stabilize permanent resident admissions at 380,000 for 2026, 2027, and 2028.

If current onward migration rates persist, of the 380,000 immigrants that arrive in 2026, the report’s authors expect that 0.8 percent (3,208 immigrants) will leave after one year, 1.0 per cent after two and three years (3,950 and 3,885), 1.1 per cent after four years (4,296), and 1.3 per cent after five years (4,902).

Overall, 5.3 per cent (or 20,241 immigrants) will leave Canada by 2031.

Onward migration is a persistent trend, with one in five immigrants leaving Canada within 25 years of landing.

“Onward migration risk peaks five years after landing, making the early years of immigrants’ time in Canada critical for retention,” the report noted. Institute for Canadian Citizenship

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Highly educated immigrants have higher employment and wages in the U.S. than in Canada: Fraser Institute study

Highly educated immigrants in the U.S. perform better in terms of both employment status and earnings compared with their counterparts in Canada, according to a study by the Fraser Institute public policy think tank.

“The evidence suggests that the US offers greater economic opportunities and rewards than does Canada, which attracts immigrants at the higher end of the global skill distribution,” the study says.

The study, which reviewed the economic performance of highly educated immigrants in Canada compared with the U.S. over the past two decades, was co-authored by Jock Finlayson, senior fellow, and Steven Globerman, senior fellow and Addington Chair in Measurement – both at the Fraser Institute.

Highly educated immigrants make important economic contributions to host economies, notably by promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. As a consequence, developed countries compete to attract such immigrants, particularly those trained in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields.

Canada has been relatively successful in attracting highly educated immigrants – those with a bachelor’s degree or higher, the study notes. As a share of its workforce, Canada has a higher percentage of immigrants with a bachelor’s degree or higher than does the U.S.

Compared with the native-born population, recent Canadian immigrants are substantially more educated than recent immigrants to the U.S., measured against the U.S. native-born. Moreover, immigrant STEM workers in Canada account for a greater share of the country’s STEM workforce than is the case in the U.S.

However, the employment rate for high-skilled immigrants in Canada is 9.5 percent less than native-born Canadians, while in the U.S. the employment rate is 1.2 per cent higher for high-skilled immigrants than native-born Americans, according to the study.

In addition, underemployment among highly educated immigrants is more common in Canada.

In Canada, high-skilled immigrants make 16 percent less wages than native-born Canadians, while in the U.S. high-skilled immigrants make eight percent higher wages than native-born Americans.

“The evidence suggests that the U.S. offers greater opportunities and rewards than Canada, and therefor is better positioned to attract the most productive highly educated and skilled immigrants,” study co-author Globerman said in a statement.

The Trump administration’s antagonistic policy stance towards immigration particularly as it relates to American universities opens opportunities for Canada to better compete for the “best and brightest” global citizens, the study noted.

However, “For Canada to more successfully compete for the ‘best and brightest’ global talent, policies to improve immigrant selection and to create a more dynamic and productive Canadian economy will be necessary,” Globerman said.

Finlayson and Globerman said Canadian policymakers could look for ways to expand the pathways – and generally to expedite entry – for highly skilled immigrants, building on initiatives adopted in the last few years.

This could include shortening the time for processing applications through the Express Entry pathway; establishing a Canadian equivalent to the U.S. H-1B visa program, which enables highly skilled foreign workers to secure a job offer and gain employment with U.S. companies; and relying more heavily on input from Canadian employers when selecting skilled immigrants who are expected to enjoy above average earnings once in Canada.

In terms of changes to Canada’s immigration system, one priority should be to take advantage of the emergence of a less welcoming environment for international students in the U.S. under the Trump administration by stepping up efforts to attract larger numbers of the most talented foreign students to Canada, Finlayson and Globerman said.

 At the same time, they added, Canada’s rules around granting student visas could be modified to put greater emphasis on enrolling foreign students in postsecondary programs that lead to high- paying jobs – including in Canada, in the event that such students remain here following their studies.

Many of the international students admitted to Canada have enrolled in programs and fields that do not lead to high-paying jobs, they said.

“We are skeptical that this is the best outcome for Canada. A more sensible policy would allocate a larger share of student visas to individuals likely to obtain qualifications that will enable them to earn above-average employment incomes in the Canadian labour market.”

Finlayson and Globerman said the federal government should not grant visas to international students intending to enroll in private “degree mills” that generally offer low-quality academic training.

A second policy response category that could help narrow the cross-border labour market performance gaps for highly-skilled immigrants involves improving the Canadian business environment, they said.

This includes policies intended to boost capital investment, spur productivity growth, lighten the current “onerous tax burden” on the most productive workers, and develop more significant-sized Canadian companies – including in sectors that employ relatively large numbers of STEM workers.

“Increasing investment and productivity is essential if Canada is to align immigration policy with the goal of building a more prosperous country – as proxied by higher GDP and real income per capita,” they said.

Canadian policymakers should put a much higher priority on improving the domestic business environment and creating more attractive “hosting conditions” for private sector capital investment, growth-oriented domestic businesses and top talent, they argued.

Doing so, they noted, will require policy reforms in several areas, notably the business tax system, the “punitive income tax rates” imposed on the most productive segment of the workforce, and the regulatory frameworks affecting multiple Canadian industries.

Finlayson and Globerman also acknowledged the uncertainty around the future demand for skilled labour owing to rapid advances in artificial intelligence and its increasing adoption across many sectors of the economy.

Research shows AI has the potential to significantly affect labour markets by, inter alia, improving job- and skill-matching, boosting productivity, and – possibly – mitigating wage inequality by allowing a larger set of workers with knowledge that complements AI to carry out tasks currently performed by more “elite” levels of the workforce, they said.

“There is concern in some quarters that the spread of increasingly sophisticated AI tools could displace vast numbers of workers, including in STEM-related fields, leading to a steadily higher unemployment rate and greater socio-economic inequality.”

On the other hand, historical experience with “general purpose technologies” like AI suggests that the adoption process is relatively slow and that they eventually improve productivity without lowering the economy-wide demand for human labour.

Said Finlayson and Globerman: “At this point, we are unable to confidently project how and to what extent AI may alter the demand for highly skilled workers in the coming years.” Fraser Institute

 SECTOR SIGNALS

Industry sector councils to connect opportunities across Canada

 By Katrina Rozal

Katrina Rozal is a Communication Specialist. She has 10 years of combined experience in producing content for Canadian news media and the British non-profit sector.

Industry sector councils are organizations that collaborate with employers, labour groups, educational institutions and other interested parties to create initiatives that enhance skill development and prepare industries for evolving workforce demands.

Their initiatives aim to support cross-sector collaboration and address challenges in recruitment, training, employee retention and shifts in industry conditions.

Here are organizations that career professionals and their clients can explore.

• Association of Industry Sector Councils (AISC)

AISC is the convenor for Nova Scotia’s 14 industry sector councils. Together, they help employers attract, train and retain a skilled workforce. Executive directors from each Sector Council collaborate to share best practices, resources and expertise, empowering employers across the province to adopt strategic workforce development practices and become employers of choice.

• BioTalent Canada

As a go-to source for labour market intelligence, BioTalent Canada guides bio-economy stakeholders with evidence-based data and industry-driven standards. BioTalent Canada, as a workforce development council, is focused on igniting the industry’s brainpower, bridging the gap between job-ready talent and employers, and ensuring the long-term agility, resiliency and sustainability of one of Canada’s most vital sectors.

• Canadian Agricultural Human Resources Council (CAHRC)

CAHRC is a national, non-profit organization focused on addressing human resource issues facing agricultural businesses across Canada. It works with industry associations, educators and all levels of government to examine agriculture human resource issues and build meaningful, research-based solutions.

• Canadian Apprenticeship Forum (CAF-FCA)

CAF-FCA is a non-profit organization that connects Canada’s apprenticeship community. Participants work collaboratively to support vibrant and innovative apprenticeship systems and policies with a view to developing a highly skilled, inclusive and mobile skilled trades workforce. Its shared initiative with SkillsCompétences Canada, called Careers in Trades, promotes trade apprenticeship opportunities and resources.

• Canadian Council for Aviation and Aerospace (CCAA)

CCAA is dedicated to helping industry attract and develop workers with the skills the Canadian aviation and aerospace industry needs to meet the demands of the current and future workplace. It acts as the voice of Canada’s aviation and aerospace sector, provides labour market intelligence, and aims to improve safety and reduce costs to industry through improved efficiency, production and quality.

• Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB)

CCIB helps keep Indigenous businesses at the forefront of the Canadian economy, fostering relationships between Indigenous entrepreneurs and Canada’s institutional enterprises to cultivate shared prosperity. It provides more than 2,500 members, including more than 1,300 Certified Indigenous Businesses, with programming, tools, training, network-building, business awards, research, advocacy, and national and regional events to advance economic reconciliation across the country and keep Indigenous entrepreneurs positioned for growth.

• Canadian Skills Training and Employment Coalition (CSTEC)

CSTEC operates projects related to helping youth, employers, racialized workers, unions, newcomers and women meet labour market challenges. It facilitates co-operation between employers and colleges on training related projects designed to increase the supply of skilled tradespersons and other technical occupations. CSTEC has also provided research and labour market analysis for the manufacturing sector to help inform public policy and training initiatives.

• Cultural Human Resources Council (CHRC)

CHRC strives to be at the centre of vision and forward thinking in cultural human resources development. It brings together representatives of arts disciplines and cultural industries in the cultural sector to address the training and career development needs of employers and cultural workers including artists, technical staff, managers and all others engaged professionally in the sector. The sector includes employers and workers in several thousand organizations, big and small, not-for-profit and for-profit.

• Culture Works Canada (CWC)

With general membership and board members drawn from within the cultural sector, CWC’s work is guided by the sector and by the priority needs identified by sub-sector studies and baseline labour force survey data. It manages and facilitates projects to address specific cultural human resource issues such as succession, training, compensation, human resources management/planning, career planning and competency development. CWC offers career development tools, internship support and networking opportunities.

• Digital Marketing Sector Council

This organization is Canada’s advisory council providing research and insights dedicated to serving the public interest by ensuring digital marketing education meets labour market demands in Canada. It is a professional advisory body, serving and safeguarding the public and industry by supporting the competent, accountable, safe and ethical practice of digital marketing educators, credentials and courses in Canada, all tied to labour market demands.

• ECO Canada

From job creation and wage funding, to training and labour market research, ECO Canada champions the end-to-end career of an environmental professional. Its​ partnerships, programs and research supports employers, professionals, new practitioners, educators and students in the environmental sector.

• Energy Council of Canada

This organization brings together diverse members from energy industries, sectoral associations and governments from across Canada. As a neutral convener, it fosters dialogue, strategic thinking, collaboration and action to support an affordable, stable and environmentally sound Canadian energy sector.

• Manitoba Sector Council Program

The Sector Council Program supports organizations in key Manitoba sectors to develop and deliver workforce training for new and existing employees to support business growth and prosperity. This resource lists organizations in Manitoba’s aerospace, bioscience, construction, film, natural resources and transportation sectors, among others.

• Manitoba Trucking Association

This organization is the Manitoba Sector Council Program’s newest member under the Transportation and Distribution Sector. The Sector Council Program supports organizations in key Manitoba sectors to develop and deliver workforce training for new and existing employees to support business growth and prosperity.

• Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR)

MiHR is an independent, non-profit organization that supports collaboration among mining and exploration companies, organized labour, contractors, educational institutions, industry associations and Indigenous groups to identify and address the human resource and labour market challenges facing the Canadian minerals and metals sector.

• Tourism HR Canada

Tourism HR Canada is a pan-Canadian organization with a mandate aimed at building a world-leading tourism workforce. Tourism HR Canada facilitates, co-ordinates and enables human resource development activities that support a globally competitive and sustainable industry and foster the development of a dynamic and resilient workforce.

• Wood Manufacturing Council

The Wood Manufacturing Council is a non-profit corporation that works to bring together stakeholders in advanced wood processing. Our mandate is to plan, develop and implement human resources strategies that support the long-term growth and competitiveness of Canada’s advanced wood products manufacturing industry and meet the developmental needs of its workforce. CareerWise Weekly

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