Canada unveils sustainable jobs plan to prep workers for future green economy

A construction worker passes a condominium site with a roll of cable in Toronto, Ontario, Canada October 8, 2021. REUTERS/Chris Helgren

Canada on Friday released a long-awaited sustainable jobs plan, laying out how the federal government plans to help train workers for roles in the clean energy economy of the future as the world aims for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The plan, which will be followed by legislation later this year, involves a number of steps including setting up a sustainable jobs secretariat that will coordinate government policies and a partnership council to promote consultation with provinces, labor unions and other stakeholders.

Canada said it is also planning to improve labor market data collection and advance funding for skills development, although the document did not outline any new government spending.

Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been promising some sort of sustainable jobs legislation since 2019. But the concept of retraining workers for jobs in clean energy, until recently called a “Just Transition”, has become a controversial topic in Canada, the world’s fourth-largest crude oil producer.

“Just Transition” became a lightening rod for criticism, especially in Canada’s main crude-producing province Alberta, where conservative Premier Danielle Smith accused Trudeau of wanting to phase out the oil and gas sector.

The federal government said the clean energy opportunities emerging in oil and gas producing provinces are enormous, ranging from hydrogen to critical minerals. There will also be demand for sustainable jobs in conventional energy industries as Canadian oil producers aim to lower the carbon intensity of their crude, according to the document.

“Rather than a shortage of jobs, in Canada we are much more likely to see an abundance of sustainable jobs with a shortage of workers required to fill them,” the government plan said.

On Thursday, Smith wrote to Trudeau offering to collaborate with the federal government on developing carbon capture and storage incentives, but only if Ottawa secured Alberta’s consent on climate policies that impact oil and gas, including clean energy jobs legislation.