Like many other regions in Canada, Ontario faces a significant labour shortage in the construction industry. With an aging workforce and a booming demand for housing and infrastructure projects, the province will need over 100,000 construction workers within this decade to meet its housing demand.
One of the main factors contributing to Ontario’s construction labour shortage is the imminent retirement of experienced construction workers. According to a report by BuildForce Canada, more than 80,000 construction professionals are expected to retire in the next decade in Ontario alone. This mass exit of skilled workers has left the industry in dire need of new workers to take their place.
Statistics Canada’s labour survey revealed that the country’s construction industry saw a loss of 45,000 jobs in July. This was a drop of 2.8 percent from the previous month. Since January 2023, employment in construction decreased by 71,000.
As we know, Doug Ford has ambitious plans to build 1.5 million homes in the next decade. Achieving this goal seems far from possible, with the impending mass retirement of construction workers.