Ontario commits $75M to train builders, urban planners

Key Takeaways:

• The Ontario government is investing $75 million to create nearly 8,000 new post-secondary training spots in construction trades and urban planning by 2028.
• The funding will add 7,500 seats at colleges and Indigenous Institutes for skilled trades programs and 300 seats at universities for graduate-level planning programs.
• The investment is part of Ontario’s $200-billion infrastructure plan and aims to address labour shortages while protecting jobs amid U.S. tariffs and global economic uncertainty.

The Whole Story:

The Ontario government says it will spend $75 million to train nearly 8,000 additional students for careers in construction and urban planning, part of its wider push to support a massive infrastructure build-out across the province.

The funding will add up to 7,500 new seats in college and Indigenous Institute programs such as welding, carpentry and renovation techniques, while about 300 graduate-level spots will be created at universities to train more land use and urban planners by 2028.

“Our government has bold plans to build the Ontario of tomorrow, and it is critical that we have the homegrown, highly skilled workers to get it done,” Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn said Tuesday in Whitby.

Labour Minister David Piccini said the additional training capacity will help Ontario prepare for the province’s $200-billion, 10-year infrastructure plan, which includes new housing, highways, hospitals and schools. “Each of these additional seats will help ensure Ontario workers can land better jobs with bigger paycheques,” he said.

Colleges receiving funding include Durham, George Brown, Humber, Centennial, Conestoga, Fanshawe and Niagara, as well as Cambrian, Confederation, Collège Boréal, La Cité, Fleming, Georgian and Kenjgewin Teg, an Indigenous Institute. Universities set to expand graduate planning programs are Queen’s, Toronto Metropolitan, Guelph, York and Waterloo.

Durham College president Elaine Popp said the investment will “prepare career-ready graduates who will help meet Ontario’s housing and infrastructure needs.”

The province says the move will help safeguard Ontario jobs amid uncertainty caused by U.S. tariffs and global economic conditions.

According to government figures, Ontario’s post-secondary institutions currently offer about 240 construction-related programs, while six universities run accredited graduate-level planning programs.

The funding comes weeks after the province announced $260 million for the next round of its Skills Development Fund, which the government says has trained more than one million workers since 2021.