June 5, 2026 Winnipeg, Manitoba Employment and Social Development Canada
The global trade landscape is shifting rapidly, creating uncertainty and challenges for workers, industries and communities across Canada. In a rapidly changing world, the Government of Canada is focusing on what it can control: building a stronger more resilient Canada. This calls for decisive action from governments at all levels to protect jobs, strengthen local economies and ensure workers can adapt to changing economic realities.
Workers whose jobs have been directly or indirectly impacted by global tariffs will receive support to help them adapt, retrain and succeed, as a result of a partnership agreement announced today by the Honourable Rebecca Chartrand, Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs and Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency on behalf of the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, and alongside the Honourable Jamie Moses, Manitoba's Minister of Business, Mining, Trade and Job Creation.
Specifically, $18.2 million over three years will be invested through the new Canada-Manitoba Workforce Tariff Response to support workers and employers in sectors directly and indirectly affected by tariffs, including agriculture, construction, manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, and wholesale trade. This new funding will help over 2,100 workers in Manitoba build new skills.
To deliver these supports, Manitoba is launching the Canada-Manitoba Workforce Tariff Response Program to help workers access training, build new skills and support employers to remain competitive and adapt to global trade conditions.
The program includes six targeted pathways to build in-demand skills and support tariff-affected workers and businesses, including direct employment services, skilled trades training, skills development training, self-employment supports, demand-led training partnerships and employee training to help businesses retain and upskill their workforce. The program is designed to support:
- unemployed workers seeking to gain new skills for in-demand jobs;
- workers whose employers are participating in Work-Sharing agreements, so that they may upskill or retrain as these industries adapt; and,
- workers seeking new skills to improve their resiliency within companies directly affected by tariffs and global market shifts or their supply chains, or within communities that rely heavily on those companies, such as single-industry communities.
Implementation of the partnership agreement will leverage both existing and new or enhanced mechanisms and will benefit from the input of labour and business representatives. Coordinating directly with impacted businesses to protect jobs and strengthening data‑sharing will give tariff‑affected workers and those in Work‑Sharing agreements improved opportunities for upskilling or retraining, in a changing economic landscape.
This transformative new approach reflects a shared commitment by the governments of Canada and Manitoba to support Canadians through a period of significant economic adjustment, while building a strong, confident workforce-one where workers can navigate global uncertainty and industries can remain competitive in the global marketplace.
