Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters urging increased immigration in 2023

By Rusty Thomson

Published: December 21, 2022 at 5:37 PM

Welder uses torch to make sparks during manufacture of metal equipment.iStock/Easy_Company

The federal government is being urged to increase immigration in 2023 to help Canadas manufacturing sector get the skilled workers they need

The federal government is being urged to increase immigration in 2023 to help Canada's manufacturing sector get the skilled workers they need.

Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters is making the call, noting that while job vacancies in manufacturing declined 8.7 per cent to 78,500 in the third quarter of 2022, they remain significantly higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dennis Darby, President and CEO of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, says the latest data means five per cent of jobs are unfilled.

"So that means companies can't meet their order commitments, are late, pay penalties or aren't really reinvesting because they don't have the people they need. Not just to run the factories but also when they bring in the new equipment, who's going to program the equipment and set it up," he says.

The CME's fall 2022 survey of manufacturers revealed that, in the last year alone, labour and skills shortages in the manufacturing sector cost the Canadian economy $13 billion, a consequence of lost sales, penalties for late delivery, and cancelled or delayed capital projects.

Darby says the labour challenges in the manufacturing sector were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Immigration slowed right down to practically nothing and at the same time during the pandemic, a lot of Baby Boomers decided to hang up their cleats early. What happened it accelerated an exodus from the workforce that had already begun," he says.

Darby appreciates the government is trying to increase immigration but they need more.

"They set a target of half-a-million immigrants, that's exactly what we need, especially in southern Ontario and Quebec. We need more workers to help fuel, which basically constitutes three-quarters of what we sell to the U.S. three-quarters of what we sell to the U.S. is manufactured goods, so we need the people as part of that," he adds.

The federal announced in November plans to increase in the number of immigrants entering Canada, with a goal of seeing 500,000 people arrive each year by 2025, with a heavy emphasis on admitting more permanent residents with needed work skills and experience.