July 7, 2026 St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Employment and Social Development Canada
The global trade environment continues to evolve, creating uncertainty and new challenges for workers, industries and communities across Canada. In response to these changing conditions, the Government of Canada and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador are focused on strengthening Canada's economic resilience and supporting long-term growth. 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 Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, and the Honourable Lin Paddock, Newfoundland and Labrador's Minister of Jobs, Growth and Rural Development.
Specifically, $10.6 million over three years will be invested through the new Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Workforce Tariff Response to support workers and employers in directly and indirectly tariff-affected industries. This new funding will help workers in Newfoundland and Labrador build new skills and seize emerging opportunities.
Supports will be delivered through the Department of Jobs, Growth and Rural Development's network of Employment Centres, the province-wide network to ensure timely, local and personalized support for workers who may benefit from retraining or employment assistance as they transition into new opportunities, including:
- 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
- employed workers seeking new skills to improve their resiliency within companies directly affected by tariffs and global market shifts, 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 improved opportunities for upskilling or retraining, in a changing economic landscape. Labour Market Development Agreements can be used to support employee training with private-sector or not-for- profit businesses, not-for-profit organizations, municipal governments and Indigenous governments. Cooperatives and public health and educational institutions may also be considered under the Workforce Tarriff Response.
This transformative new approach reflects a shared commitment by the governments of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador 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.
