Keep Calm and Keep Training – 2025 Manufacturing Workforce Report

MANUFACTURING INSIGHTS FOR A RESILIENT ONTARIO WORKFORCE

This second Manufacturing Workforce Report comes at a critical moment for Ontario.

2024 began with momentum, with continued investment in new Ontario manufacturing production mandates (especially in electric vehicles and nuclear supply chains) and the prospect of lower inflation and interest rates fueling optimism for manufacturers. In this context, CME launched Regional Industry Councils in 5 regions – Eastern Ontario, Northern Ontario, West Toronto to Hamilton, Windsor to London and Kitchener to Bruce Peninsula. These were meant to support Ontario’s commitment, in its Fall Economic Statement, to establish an Advancing Ontario Made Manufacturing plan and grow our manufacturing workforce to 1 million workers by 2035.

Thanks to timely support from the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development, we were able to hold 14 workforce discussions in 13 communities – Mississauga, Kingston, Kincardine, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Windsor, London, Waterloo, Brampton, Hamilton, Aylmer and Etobicoke. Over 80 organizations and 110 people participated. We also leveraged support from York Region as we held 8 one-on-one interviews with local manufacturing employers, which mirrored the themes of our roundtables. As 2025 arrived however, the outlook quickly darkened. With a flat workforce growth year-over-year, the prospect of wide-ranging tariffs froze the decisionmaking of companies.

This mood was captured by two CME surveys. The first, held in December 2024, showed many manufacturers immediately paused investments and hiring. Additionally, our Winter Labour and Skills Survey, completed by 50 Ontario manufacturers between January and Mid-March 2025, at the height of the uncertainty that preceded President Trump’s so called ‘Liberation Day’, showed the chill persisted and deepened in the first quarter.

Where does this leave our manufacturing workforce? The first thing is – it is not getting any younger. If anything, the stress of ever-changing trade policy from the White House is only giving it more grey hair. Key workers supporting continuity of operations like electricians and millwright are still hard to find. And with post-secondary education institutions facing dramatic financial shortfalls, they are making difficult choices that are impacting the supply of much needed skilled and technology workers in our regions.

If we see past the current moment, to a world where Ontario and Canada are called upon to provide more processed critical minerals, more high value / low carbon goods and more energy, we will see that MORE urgency in workforce development is needed, not less.

This is the call to action of this year’s report. Keep calm, carry on.And most importantly, keep training.

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