December 16, 2025 Mississauga, Ontario Employment and Social Development Canada
The Government of Canada is building one strong Canadian economy. To do so, Canada needs skilled trades workers to develop major infrastructure and build millions more homes. That means the newest generation of builders must get proper training.
Today, Leslie Church, Parliamentary Secretary to the secretaries of State for Labour, for Seniors, and for Children and Youth, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Jobs and Families (Persons with Disabilities), on behalf of the Honourable John Zerucelli, Secretary of State (Labour), announced more than $3 million in funding for the Ontario Masonry Training Centre. The project will develop a guide for the Red Seal bricklayer trade to create and implement a green training program. The training will help bricklayers learn modern, sustainable practices and gain the skills needed to refresh and adjust existing masonry buildings.
This project is funded by the Union Training and Innovation Program's Sustainable Jobs stream under the Government's Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy, which also complements investments in the Sustainable Jobs Training Fund that help thousands of workers to upgrade or gain the new skills required for a green economy.
Today's announcement is part of the Government's response to the skilled trades workforce's most pressing needs. Budget 2025 has proposed a $75 million expansion of the Union Training and Innovation Program over three years, which will further boost union-based apprenticeship training in the Red Seal trades.
