As the federal election campaign intensifies, IUOE Local 793 has officially endorsed Mark Carney and the Liberal Party of Canada for the April 28 election. Carney personally accepted the endorsement during a campaign visit to Local 793’s training centre on Saturday.
With more than three weeks before polling day, Local 793 Business Manager Mike Gallagher said there is tremendous support for the Liberal Leader and his candidates from operating engineers and the building trades across Canada.
“Families and workers need a champion who will protect their homes and ensure they have access to the skilled trades training that is crucial to building Canada’s future,” Gallagher stated.
Gallagher added: “Mark Carney brings invaluable economic experience from his leadership roles at both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, where his experience gives him a unique ability to handle complex international issues – including those with the United States under President Donald Trump’s administration. He is working to ensure that Canada remained steadfast in defending its economic interests and global trade relationships.”
During the event, Carney unveiled a plan to strengthen Canada’s skilled trades workforce, announcing that a Liberal government would provide a new apprenticeship grant of up to $8,000 for registered apprentices, enabling more Canadians to join these professions and secure better-paying careers.
“Investing in the skilled trades is at the heart of our strategy” Carney said. “Our task as a nation over the coming weeks and months and years is to think bigger, and to act bigger, to build Canada strong. That starts right here. That starts by investing in our workers – crane operators, bricklayers, welders and those in the specialized trades that are essential to the future of Canada.”
The Liberal plan would also:
- Increase access to union-led training initiatives by doubling the funding of the Union Training and Innovation Program from $25 million to $50 million annually.
- Establish a new $20 million capital funding stream for colleges to support new training spaces for apprenticeships.
- Uphold the Apprenticeship Service program to support employers in hiring new apprentices in Red Seal trades, with up to $10,000 for eligible employers for each new apprentice hired.
- Increase labour mobility for skilled trades people between provinces and territories through the vital work of breaking down internal trade barriers.
- Expand the Labour Mobility Tax Deduction to ensure workers who travel more than 120 km from their home to a job site can deduct more of their expenses and commit to significantly increasing the per-year tax deduction limit.
The announcement comes after a week of Carney reassuring Canadians of his dedication to strengthening the economy amid threats from the White House. Carney cautioned that without prompt action, Canada will face a shortage of tens of thousands of skilled workers.
“The next decades are going to be very busy for those in the skilled trades in Canada. We are not just going to create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the skilled trades – we’re creating hundreds of thousands of careers,” he said.
Among the attendees were Patrick Campbell, (IUOE Canadian Regional Director), IUOE Business Managers Joseph MacLellan (Local 721, Nova Scotia), Gilles Larivière (Local 905, Quebec), Greg Hoath (Local 772, Hamilton), and Haemant Sawh (Local 882, British Columbia), Mark O’Brien (Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Baffinland), and Tom Cardinal (Chief of Staff, Carpenters’ Regional Council).
Liberal candidates Anita Anand (Oakville East), Sima Acan (Oakville West), Adam van Koeverden (Burlington North Milton West), Kristina Tesser (Milton East Halton Hills South), and Karina Gould (Burlington) were also in attendance.