The 2026 National Construction Labour Relations Alliance (NCLRA) Conference took place in Quebec City on October 15 and 16, bringing together industry leaders from across Canada to discuss workforce development, labour mobility and the growing demand for skilled tradespeople. The event marked CLRA President Joe McFadyen’s first conference as NCLRA Chair.
The timing of the conference was significant. Governments, employers and unions are all focused on finding enough skilled workers to meet growing demand. With major industrial projects and public infrastructure investments planned across the country, competition for tradespeople is increasing in nearly every region.
“All areas of the country are facing the same challenge,” said McFadyen. “Major projects are moving forward, and governments are making skilled trades a priority. But we will need to think differently about how we attract, train and keep the workers our industry needs.”
While delegates were meeting in Quebec City, the federal government announced $430 million over five years for skilled trades training, including expanded funding through the Union Training and Innovation Program (UTIP). The announcement fit a key conference theme, with governments putting money into training the skilled trades workforce needed for future growth.
Delegates also discussed federal legislation currently before Parliament, including Bill C-39, the Building Canada Strong Act, and Bill C-266, which would require the federal government to develop a national framework to make it easier for skilled trades workers to move between provinces.
During the conference, political commentator Chantal Hébert spoke about how the federal government is handling a challenging global environment and a changing trade relationship with the United States, while continuing to advance economic and infrastructure priorities. For CLRA, the discussions reinforced the need for the entire construction industry to work together on workforce development.
“What worked in the past won’t be enough for the future,” McFadyen said. “Industry, governments, unions, owners and training institutions all have a role to play. We need to be willing to try new approaches to not only attract people to the skilled trades but to also ensure they complete their programs and training. The construction industry is experiencing growth that hasn’t been seen for some time and if we are going to meet the labour demand associated with that growth, we need to create meaningful apprenticeship opportunities and pursue new ways of providing those opportunities like project agreements, new training partnerships, and more focus on mentorship.”
CLRA is starting to lay the groundwork in Alberta. In September, CLRA and seven local building trades unions signed a Preferred Project Agreement (PPA) for NAIT’s new $779 million Advanced Skills Centre. Under the agreement, contractors are expected to create apprenticeship opportunities where project needs allow and help apprentices get the on-the-job experience they need to advance in their careers.
CLRA is piloting the model on the Advanced Skills Centre and looking at expanding it to other significant projects in the province with our contractors and building trades.
“The workforce challenge is bigger than any one organization or province,” said McFadyen. “NCLRA brings employers together from across the country to share ideas and identify solutions. Across Canada, industry, governments and training providers are all focused on growing the skilled trades workforce, and we need to work together to ensure those efforts meet the needs of project owners, contractors and workers.”
