I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the release of Canada’s Federal Budget 2025 and highlight several key measures that align closely with our priorities and pre-budget recommendations.
This year’s budget recognizes the essential role of the skilled trades in building a stronger, more resilient Canada. From record investments in infrastructure to expanded support for union-based training, the federal government has clearly heard the voices of our unions and members.
The Build Communities Strong Fund with Community Employment Benefits Agreements
The government has announced the creation of a $51 billion, 10-year Build Communities Strong Fund, administered by Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada, with an additional $3 billion per year ongoing. Funding will flow through provinces, territories, and municipalities to support a wide range of local infrastructure projects that will create thousands of good jobs.
Importantly, federal project selection will consider the use of unionized labour and Community Employment Benefits agreements, a clear signal that our advocacy for strong labour requirements on publicly funded projects is being recognized.
(Supports CBTU’s Recommendation 1: Implement Bill C-5 with labour requirements on federally funded projects.)
Expanding Union Training and Apprenticeship Supports
Budget 2025 continues to invest in the next generation of Canadian builders by expanding the Union Training and Innovation Program (UTIP), with $75 million over three years. This expansion directly supports union-based apprenticeship training in the Red Seal trades and will prioritize inclusion and diversity within the skilled trades.
Additionally, the budget commits to $382.9 million over five years to establish new Workforce Alliances, bringing together unions, employers, and industry groups to strengthen skills development and workforce planning.
(Supports CBTU’s Recommendation 4 and Recommendation 6: Strengthen union training and apprenticeship programs, including brick-and-mortar investments.)
Advancing Clean Energy and Industrial Innovation
We have succeeded in seeing the ITCsexpanded through the Clean Economy Investment Tax Credits. The government is committing to build a cleaner, more sustainable energy future while leveraging nuclear, wind, solar, clean hydrogen, and biomass. Expanded eligibility for nuclear and waste biomass technologies, as well as hydrogen produced from methane pyrolysis, aligns directly with our call to complete implementation of clean economy credits, ensuring that skilled tradespeople are at the centre of Canada’s energy transition.
(Supports CBTU’s Recommendation 5: Complete implementation of Clean Economy Investment Tax Credits, including nuclear and biomass.)
Increasing Permanent Immigration Pathways and Reducing Reliance on Temporary Foreign Workers
The government has committed to stabilizing immigration levels and creating more permanent, high-quality pathways for workers. The 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan will:
Stabilize permanent resident admissions at 380,000 annually (reduce from 395,000 in 2025)
Increase the share of economic migrants from 59% to 64% and,
Reduce new temporary resident admissions from 673,650 in 2025 to 385,000 in 2026, and to 370,000 in 2027 and 2028.
This change will help reduce overreliance on temporary foreign workers, support better workforce stability, and open more permanent pathway opportunities for those who come to Canada to build a life here. The government has also committed to consider the unique labour needs of rural and remote communities, and sectors affected by tariffs, to ensure balanced and regionally responsive immigration planning.
Major Projects and Trade Corridors
Budget 2025 emphasizes the importance of nation-building infrastructure through the Major Projects Office, which will help develop transformative energy and trade corridors across the country.
A key initiative under this framework is the Port of Churchill Plus project, which has the potential to expand export capacity in the North through Hudson Bay, increasing and diversifying trade with Europe and other global partners while more strongly linking Churchill, Manitoba, to the rest of Canada.
A New Approach to Planning and Delivery
The move to a fall budget cycle better aligns with the construction season, something we have long advocated for, providing improved planning and predictability for provinces, municipalities, builders, and workers.
The government’s commitment to fast-tracking nation-building projects, streamlining approvals, and leveraging public-private investment will help bring more large-scale infrastructure online faster and more efficiently, allowing us to get shovels in the ground more quickly.
Buy Canadian and Strengthen Homegrown Supply Chains
The new Buy Canadian Policy and Defence Industrial Strategy will ensure public dollars strengthen domestic industries and create good, high-paying careers in Canada. These measures align with CBTU’s long-standing call for investment in Canadian suppliers and workers.
Protecting Workers Against Improper Classification
The deliberate misclassification of employees as independent contractors means that employers are not withholding and remitting the proper amounts of income tax, or Canada Pension Plan and employment insurance contributions. Misclassified employees may lose out on labour law protections, as well as benefits and pensions available to employees.
To crack down on employers that misclassify employees, Budget 2025 proposes to provide $77 million over four years starting in 2026-27, with ongoing funding of $19.2 million annually, for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to implement a program that addresses non-compliance related to personal services businesses, as well as lift the moratorium on reporting fees for services in the trucking industry.
Budget 2025 also proposes to amend the Income Tax Act and the Excise Tax Act to allow the CRA to share information with the Department of Employment and Social Development Canada for the purpose of addressing worker misclassification.
Overall, Budget 2025 has delivered meaningful progress on several of our key policy recommendations. We are encouraged to see recognition of the value union labour brings to quality, safety, and community benefits in federally funded projects.
That said, there is room for additional progress and, moving forward, we will continue to advocate for:
Increased communication with the Major Projects Office because to meet Canada’s infrastructure needs, we need to be at the table to plan labour supply.
Adding Project Labour Agreements to Nation-Building Projects to ensure that taxpayer funded projects include strong labour conditions, including paying prevailing wage and mandatory minimum apprenticeship requirements.
Further expansion of the Labour Mobility Tax Deduction and indexing it to inflation;
Clarification on funding for brick-and-mortar training infrastructure within UTIP; and
Support for the next generation of the skilled trades by reinstating Canadian Apprenticeship Services, the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant, and the Apprenticeship Completion Grant.
In addition to seeing through the deployment of the Community Employment Benefit Agreements, these remaining priorities are vital to ensuring our members can move where work is available, our training centres can scale to meet demand, and we are filling a pipeline of apprentices who will continue to build Canada.
Today's budget truly represents a strong step forward for our members and our movement, and reflects many of the values CBTU has long championed: building strong communities, investing in our members, and ensuring good union jobs remain at the heart of Canada’s economic growth.
