Ontario, Nova Scotia sign deal to improve tradesperson mobility

Key Takeaways:

• Ontario and Nova Scotia have signed an MOU to facilitate the movement of skilled tradespeople between the provinces, addressing labour shortages and enhancing workforce competitiveness.
• Both provinces aim to create more pathways for apprentices and journeypersons, with Ontario specifically seeking to improve the labour supply and Nova Scotia focusing on removing barriers to credential recognition.
• Ontario’s partnership with Nova Scotia builds on previous agreements with Alberta and other Atlantic provinces, aiming to harmonize efforts and remove barriers to the flow of skilled labour across Canada.

The Whole Story:

The governments of Ontario and Nova Scotia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to improve interprovincial mobility for skilled tradespeople, including post-journeyperson certification.

Ontario is seeking new ways to improve the labour supply and create the opportunity for qualified skilled tradespeople to become certified in Ontario and address labour shortages. At the same time, Nova Scotia aims to create a competitive workforce by opening up pathways into trades for more apprentices and removing barriers for credential recognition to meet labour market demands.

“Under the leadership of Premier Ford, our government has an ambitious plan to build the highways, hospitals, and homes our growing communities need, which means we need to create more pathways for apprentices and journeypersons who will help us build Ontario,” said David Piccini, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. “Building on the success of our MOU with the Government of Alberta last month, we’re excited to partner with Nova Scotia to improve interprovincial mobility for skilled tradespeople and explore new opportunities with the Atlantic provinces. This will help fill in-demand jobs across both provinces and support our mutual goals of building stronger communities.”

Ontario’s MOU with Nova Scotia builds on the MOU Ontario signed with Alberta in July to collaborate on growing the skilled trades and remove barriers for the flow of labour between these two jurisdictions, complementing ongoing work to harmonize Red Seal trades nationally. Ontario is also working with the governments of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador to exchange innovative ideas on removing the interprovincial barriers in the skilled trades.

“Nova Scotia is a growing province and we need even more skilled trade workers to build our homes and hospitals infrastructure and provide services to Nova Scotians,” said Jill Balser, Minister of Labour, Skills and Immigration. “We are making bold decisions to make it easier to fairly assess qualified professionals and improve labour supply.”

The Memorandum of Understanding between Ontario and Nova Scotia will be reviewed in 18 months.