Study: Canadians warm to trades but hesitate to start careers

Key Takeaways:

• 15% of Canadians say they work in a skilled trade and 43% have considered it; three-quarters would encourage their children to pursue trades.
• Most believe trades offer good pay, job stability, and paths to small-business ownership—hands-on work and earning potential are the biggest draws.
• Many who don’t choose trades cite a preference for white-collar work, limited information on opportunities, and concerns about physical demands.

The Whole Story:

Canadians are warming to careers in the skilled trades and would encourage their children to pursue them, yet many still cite a lack of information and a bias toward white-collar work as reasons they haven’t taken the plunge, a new national survey suggests.

15% of Canadians say they currently work in a skilled trade, up from last year, and 43% have considered a trades career. Interest is strongest among men, younger adults, BIPOC respondents and those in Western Canada. Rural residents and people with college education are also more likely to have considered the trades.

Perceptions are largely positive. The top beliefs about trades work are that it pays well, offers job stability and creates opportunities for small-business ownership. Among those working in—or considering—the trades, the biggest draws are hands-on work and high earning potential.

Barriers persist. The leading reasons for not pursuing a trades career are a preference for white-collar jobs, lack of awareness of opportunities and the view that trades are too physically demanding. Younger and university-educated respondents are more likely to cite several of these deterrents.

Overall sentiment appears to be shifting. Three-quarters of respondents believe there are more options in skilled trades today, and an equal share say they would encourage their children or others to consider a trades career.

The online survey of 1,508 Canadians aged 18 and older was conducted Aug. 8–11, 2025 by Leger for Classic Fire + Life Safety. Because it used a non-probability sample, no margin of error can be stated; a probability sample of the same size would carry a margin of error of ±2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.