MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY IN EASTERN ONTARIO NEEDS FURTHER INVESTMENT IN WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

A focus on a flexible and technological workforce will support growth and investment plans

Ottawa, May 1, 2025 – Ontario’s manufacturers are facing serious challenges, with Eastern Ontario facing significant economic uncertainty and fierce competition for talent, according to a new report by Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME).

CME’s second annual labour report, titled Keep Calm and Keep Training, highlights the impact of the Trump tariffs on Ontario’s manufacturing workforce. According to the report, the province’s workforce was flat in 2024 compared to the previous year, and many companies have frozen hiring and investment: 40 per cent of manufacturers postponed investment projects; 28 per cent froze hiring and 28 per cent started seeking alternative markets.

Eastern Ontario has significant assets for food, metals and consumer products, with excellent trade connectivity to large Quebec, Ontario and Southeast United States centers and beyond through the St. Lawrence Seaway. It has seen notable expansions in recent years, such as 3M, Canada’s new N-95 plant. However, manufacturing employment in the region has fallen 7.5 per cent in 2024, accounting for only 5.7 per cent of overall employment.

The Eastern Ontario region is not as densely populated as Southwestern Ontario, often leaving it in a position to fight for investment and talent. The current trade war also provides significant uncertainty, especially with regard to levies on steel and aluminum, key manufacturing inputs for the region’s trade-exposed industries.

Overall, the province is facing ongoing challenges in training workers for advanced manufacturing technologies, and Ontario colleges and universities have been forced to cut critical programs. Over the next two years, colleges alone expect to lose between 75,000 to 128,000 students, largely due to the sharp reduction in international student numbers. This translates to a staggering 25 per cent to 40 per cent drop in total enrollment.  Exasperating this further, one in four factory workers was 55 or older last year, which means the sector is projected to face 22,500 retirements per year through 2033.

The report outlines recommendations to address the region’s greatest needs to attract and retain skilled workers to the region and bolster capacity to support further investment, including the need for more relevant entry level post-secondary education programs to enable a more flexible and technologically mature workforce.

Amid the challenges faced by the sector, CME sees cause for hope in the resolve manufacturers and government have expressed to fight back.

“Crises come and go, but our sector endures,” said Dennis Darby, CME President and CEO. “Our manufacturing sector has gone through world wars, economic crashes, and even a global pandemic. But here we are now, more modern, more innovative and more ready to face global headwinds than ever before.”

The report also highlights several areas of regional economic strength, and many ideas for resilience:

1. Support workforce development in businesses – by improving incentives for employers to offer on-the-job training opportunities, addressing obstacles causing apprentices and students to abandon the sector.
2. Properly resource education programs aligned with the needs of manufacturers.
3. Use Ontario’s diversity as a competitive advantage – attracting more under-represented women, indigenous people and immigrants with in-demand skills.

Ontario manufacturing sector is at a crucial crossroads. Manufacturers, however, have a plan. This starts now in our schools in workplaces, as we teach hands-on, applied technological skills to build quality products and prosperity.

Keep calm, carry on, and most importantly, keep training.