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Strengthening business competitiveness, addressing labour shortages and growing our economy requires a multi-faceted approach

Oakville Chamber advocates for local businesses struggling to hire the workers they need to succeed due to labour shortages.
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As the economy recovers, the shortage of workers is reaching concerning heights, putting economic growth at risk and compromising the competitiveness of Canadian businesses.

According to research published by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), 64 per cent of Canadian businesses say labour shortages are limiting their growth, and more than half (55%) of Canadian entrepreneurs are struggling to hire the workers they need.[1]

Canada’s labour force problem did not begin with the pandemic. It is the result of the aging population and related declining labour force participation, which started over 20 years ago. The pandemic has amplified the problem by destabilizing an already-precarious situation.

The BDC suggests that adopting new technologies and automation, using a formal hiring process and offering total compensation packages are strategies that can be employed to reduce the impact of labour scarcity.

The Canadian Chamber has been actively engaging the federal government on this file on behalf of the business community to improve our business competitiveness and climate.

To succeed in the 21st-century economy, Canada needs a 21st-century workforce, which it can only achieve through better communication and collaboration among the key players. This includes building closer collaboration among governments, employers and educational institutions. 

However, this can only be achieved through evidence-based data on our labour market demands. To that end, the Canadian Chamber has called on the federal government to mandate Statistics Canada to collect comprehensive, forward-looking data on labour market needs. This information could inform education, including upskilling and reskilling policies and improve the navigation of existing education programs and immigration policies.

Particularly given its aging population, Canada needs its workforce to generate economic activity as productively as possible. Priority should be to create flexible, accessible, navigable upskilling and reskilling options.

Developing a culture of lifelong learning can create talent pipelines through targeted matchmaking programs. This approach will help build resilient employees and businesses alike, reduce risks for all groups and create a more diverse workforce.

An effort needs to be taken by our Provincial government as well to work with other provinces and territories to remove barriers to interprovincial labour mobility and trade.

If business drives job creation and growth, people are the engine. To create sustained growth, Canadian businesses need the capital and capacity to fill labour needs. To enable Canada to prosper once again, government policies must support the conditions for businesses to be inclusive, invest and grow.

Our shared prosperity depends on a strong business community that can innovate, attract talent and capital and expand into new markets.


[1] https://www.bdc.ca/globalassets/digizuite/32075-study-labour-shortage.pdf?utm_campaign=Labour-Shortage-Study-2021--download--EN&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua