March 10, 2026 Ottawa, Ontario 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, we are focusing on what we 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, through a joint tariff-response initiative 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 David Piccini, Ontario's Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.
Specifically, the Canada-Ontario Workforce Tariff Response will deliver $228.8 million over three years, through the Canada-Ontario Labour Market Development Agreement (LMDA), to support workers in the softwood lumber, steel and automotive sectors, as well as other directly and indirectly tariff-affected industries. This new funding will help approximately 27,000 workers in Ontario build new skills and seize emerging opportunities.
Canada-Ontario Workforce Tariff Response supports will be delivered through Ontario's established network of training programs and employment services, as well as through Skills Advance Ontario (SAO), a tariff‑response initiative designed for employers, workers, and jobseekers, 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 their supply chains, or within communities that rely heavily on those companies, such as single-industry communities.
These funds will help workers stay employed, upgrade their skills or retrain as industries adapt. It will also help Ontario employers retain experienced staff during periods of economic uncertainty. In addition, they will also support workforce development in high‑potential sectors such as health care, skilled trades, clean energy and natural resources.
Implementation of the Canada-Ontario Workforce Tariff Response 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 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 Ontario 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.
