{"id":10060,"date":"2025-04-26T14:40:26","date_gmt":"2025-04-26T18:40:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluedoor.ca\/?p=10060"},"modified":"2025-04-28T14:43:19","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T18:43:19","slug":"road-home-skilled-trades-labour-shortage-widening-housing-gap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluedoor.ca\/road-home-skilled-trades-labour-shortage-widening-housing-gap\/","title":{"rendered":"ROAD HOME: Skilled trades labour shortage widening housing gap"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Posted On: April 26th, 2025, Posted By: Michael Braithwaite, Original Article.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next federal government must deliver a targeted national strategy to build homes and increase skilled trades workforce, and unlock public lands for more affordable housing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canada\u2019s housing crisis and skilled trades shortage are deeply connected \u2013 without a trained workforce, Canada can\u2019t build the homes that all Canadians need – for their families, for jobs, and for national economic resiliency. And in the face of rising tensions and economic uncertainty from Donald Trump, now more than ever, the federal government must be proactive and act to address these urgent issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For decades, Canada\u2019s housing supply has lagged behind demand, and now a growing skilled trades shortage is making it even harder to close the gap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With each passing year, the number of required houses grows, and the number of new houses being built stagnates. In Ontario alone, it\u2019s estimated that by 2031, Ontario will need to build 1.7 million new homes. However, Ontario is seeing a decline in housing starts, averaging 22,900 starts per quarter, well below the government\u2019s own goal of 34,100 new homes per quarter. At current rates, Ontario is falling over 30 per cent short of its housing targets.

Urgent skilled trades workforce investment through a national work force strategy is needed to close the housing gap and address the rising labour shortage in Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Ontario alone, construction is forecast to see a deficit of 23,200 workers by 2027, which is feeding into the stagnating construction of housing in the province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The skilled labour shortage is a national crisis that\u2019s driving up housing costs and stretching the existing workforce thin. And one that\u2019s further compounded by the instability created by the government south of the border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the face of rising tensions with the United States, the skilled trades workforce crisis becomes even more important to address. Rather than waiting for economic shocks, Canada must take control of its workforce and housing strategy to ensure long-term economic stability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To fix the housing and skilled labour shortage crises, we need bold action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means investing in workforce development and scaling affordable housing solutions that work\u2014like solutions led by Blue Door<\/a>. We need to invest in Canadian resources and industry to blunt the threat posed by the Trump administration, and this is why the federal government must step up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With an election set for April 28, the next government will inherit a growing housing crisis, a critical skilled labour crisis, and an economic crisis exacerbated by instability in the United States. Houses are slow to be built, the current workforce is stretched thin, and the United States continues to retaliate with increased tariffs and threats to Canadian sovereignty. This demands leadership\u2014by establishing a targeted national strategy that delivers results to build homes and increase the skilled trades workforce, and by unlocking public lands for more affordable housing to be built.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blue Door has a two-pronged solution that can help address these crises and is essential for Canada\u2019s economic resilience and housing affordability. Blue Door\u2019s trades-based employment program, Construct<\/a>, and Housing for All Land Trust provides concrete opportunities for workforce development and building the affordable housing supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Construct, Blue Door has created a successful workforce model that uses its pre-apprenticeship program to train people who are underemployed and unemployed\u2014especially those experiencing homelessness\u2014with the skills, experience, and wraparound support needed to launch a career in the skilled trades. This model leads to stable jobs, helps build much-needed homes, and increases access to financial stability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blue Door\u2019s Housing for All Land Trust (HALT) is creating new affordable housing that remains affordable in perpetuity. HALT in turn directly enables workforce development, by creating housing development opportunities that provide skilled labour work for community members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government has taken steps to address the housing crisis and the skilled labour shortage. They\u2019ve provided billions in funding to municipalities for housing as well as investments through the Future Skills Centre<\/a> for programs like Construct<\/a>, and they have recently turned to Blue Door\u2019s Construct program as a leading model for skilled trades workforce development across Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But much more can\u2014and should\u2014be done. This must be an urgent election issue that all parties address in concert with the threats posed by the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next government must act decisively, expanding successful workforce models like Construct, implementing a National Workforce Strategy, and creating Skilled Trades Talent Hubs. Through policy changes that prioritize land use for housing through programs like HALT, the government must also ensure underutilized public land is turned into affordable housing\u2014not left sitting empty.

Investing in workforce development and affordable housing now ensures long-term resilience\u2014no matter who\u2019s in power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The time to invest, collaborate, and build is now. Blue Door has the tools and experience to guide this work. Now, we need political will to get it done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael Braithwaite is the CEO of Blue Door, host of the housing and homelessness podcast On the Way Home, board chair of the youth homelessness-focused organization A Way Home Canada, and a tireless advocate for people experiencing homelessness.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Posted On: April 26th, 2025, Posted By: Michael Braithwaite, Original Article. Next federal government must deliver a targeted national strategy to build homes and increase skilled trades workforce, and unlock public lands for more affordable housing Canada\u2019s housing crisis and skilled trades shortage are deeply connected \u2013 without a trained workforce, Canada can\u2019t build the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":10061,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t