April 24, 2026 Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island 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.
Today, the Honourable Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, on behalf of the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, alongside the Honourable Zack Bell, Prince Edward Island's Minister of
Workforce and Advanced Learning, announced a partnership between the governments of Canada and Prince Edward Island to support workers whose jobs have been directly or indirectly impacted by global tariffs to help them adapt, retrain and succeed.
Close to $3.1 million over three years will be invested through the new Canada-Prince Edward Island Workforce Tariff Response to support workers within the softwood lumber and steel sectors, as well as other industries directly and indirectly affected by tariffs. This new funding will support over 350 workers in Prince Edward Island to build new skills and seize emerging opportunities.
Support will be delivered through SkillsPEI's provincewide 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 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 new approach reflects a shared commitment by the governments of Canada and Prince Edward Island 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.
