National News
Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hajdu rises in the House of Commons in Ottawa on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby
Budget to include millions for job retraining, foreign credential recognition
Published 10:57 PDT, Mon October 27, 2025
—
Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu says the upcoming federal budget will include $75 million over the next three years to boost an apprenticeship training program focused on the building trades.
The proposed funding for the Union Training and Innovation Program in the 2026-27 fiscal year is part of a suite of jobs programs Hajdu announced Monday morning.
Hajdu told The Canadian Press she has been hearing about a major shortage of workers with Red Seal Trade certifications allowing them to work anywhere in the country.
The Red Seal certification covers a broad range of trades, from construction and automotive professions to hairstyling.
The government says it also intends to work with provinces to speed up the recognition of foreign professional credentials through a $97 million fund, using money pulled from existing employment department resources.
Hadju said that's part of the broader government directive to find savings in all departments.
"The department has done a very thorough job of proposing reductions to areas where we're not seeing the kinds of outcomes that we need to be seeing," she said.
"This money is about trying to really elicit a faster and stronger reaction from provinces and territories, as they are the regulators that work with the licensing bodies. And it's ultimately at the licensing bodies that we need to see the really fast work."
The minister declined to say which areas of her department are losing money to pay for this program.
Hajdu said the budget also will introduce a new personal support worker tax credit.
The credit is expected to save workers up to $1,100 a year in provinces that don't already have sectoral wage supplement agreements with the federal government. They include B.C., Newfoundland and the Northwest Territories.
Hajdu said there are about 380,000 personal support workers in Canada.
The upcoming budget bill will also include an amendment to the Canadian Labour Code to restrict the use of non-compete agreements in federally regulated workplaces.
– David Baxter, The Canadian Press
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