Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CBTU), supported by Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Labour Minister David Piccini, have launched a national initiative to harmonize construction safety certifications across provinces. This collaborative effort aims to eliminate barriers that prevent skilled trades professionals from moving easily between provinces for work, a challenge that has long hindered productivity, added costs, and slowed critical infrastructure projects.

At a recent board meeting in Ottawa, CBTU’s Canadian Executive Board unanimously passed a resolution endorsing the initiative. Minister Piccini—appointed by Premiers and labour ministers across Canada to lead this effort—is spearheading the drive to establish consistent, high-standard safety certification practices that will apply coast-to-coast.

Currently, varying health and safety certification requirements between provinces create costly and time-consuming recertification demands for workers. These delays impede the progress of major infrastructure projects and create inefficiencies in Canada’s construction sector. By aligning certification standards nationally, tradespeople will gain improved job mobility and quicker access to work, while employers will benefit from a more agile, job-ready workforce.

The initiative also addresses Canada’s ongoing labour shortages and tight construction margins by ensuring unionized skilled tradespeople are trained to the highest safety standards. These workers will be fully equipped to contribute to vital nation-building efforts, enhancing both economic growth and worker protection.

CBTU Executive Director Sean Strickland emphasized the importance of this milestone, noting that harmonized certification is essential to maintaining safety while enabling workers to follow opportunity across Canada. Minister Piccini echoed this sentiment, highlighting that a unified approach to health and safety standards will reduce red tape, improve workplace safety, and boost long-term infrastructure development.

This marks a bold step toward a national certification framework—one that supports safer workplaces, streamlines labour mobility, and strengthens Canada’s skilled trades workforce from coast to coast.

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