Prime Minister Mark Carney’s plan to transform the Canadian economy has overlapping segments that may end up competing for a shortage of skilled workers, which could lead to cost overruns, according to a new report from Deloitte.

The plan is three-pronged: double housing construction, fast-tracking major projects and unlocking $500 billion in private investment.

But all three initiatives happening at the same time would require between 410,000 and 520,000 additional workers by 2030, amounting to about a one-third increase in the current number of construction workers, according to a

new report from Deloitte.

“It appears we may be setting the stage for a new perfect storm, this time on a national scale, in which governments, businesses, and real estate developers all compete simultaneously for the same pool of trade workers,” the report said.

Deloitte points to two previous instances where multiple major projects cannibalized workers and led to cost overruns due to staffing competition.

In 2022, four megaprojects in British Columbia — Coastal GasLink, the Trans Mountain Expansion, LNG Canada and Site C — all reached peak construction around the same time, with the resulting bidding war for workers leading to added costs and delays.

Deloitte said a similar scenario occurred for about 15 years during the Alberta oilsands boom.

“If the build, baby, build ambitions materialize, the national job market could start to look a lot like B.C. and Alberta at peak overlap, when it was not a shortage of money or projects holding back activity, but the lack of available workers,” the report said.

At the same time, Canada is looking to reduce the number of immigrants as it tries to ease a housing crisis and the strain on public services. The country is targeting 365,000 new permanent residents in 2027, down from 471,771 in 2023.

Deloitte recommends the federal government prioritize construction trade workers among the crop of new Canadians.

To meet the labour demand, Deloitte also recommends recruiting underrepresented groups into the trades, such as women, youth and people of colour, while also reskilling workers in other specialties into more in-demand trades.

“This can’t be solved by any single actor,” the report said. “It will take a coordinated, sustained effort by federal and provincial governments, employers and project owners, colleges and training providers, apprenticeship authorities and unions.”

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The Canadian economy added 60,000 jobs in September, with the entirety of added jobs coming in full-time positions.

Manufacturing, a sector hit hard by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, reported its first jobs gain since January, adding 28,000 jobs in September.

The jobs numbers meant unemployment in Canada held steady at 7.1 per cent.

The numbers are encouraging for the Canadian economy, but economists remain mixed about what it might mean for interest rates.

Read more here. 

  • Provincial election in Newfoundland and Labrador
  • 11:30 a.m.: Chat with Ontario Premier Doug Ford at the Empire Club
  • 12:10 p.m.: Bank of Canada deputy governor Carolyn Rogers gives fireside chat in Vancouver
  • Earnings: JPMorgan Chase & Co., Johnson & Johnson, Wells Fargo & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., BlackRock Inc., Domino’s Pizza Inc.

  • Canada’s job growth beats expectations as manufacturing rebounds
  • Canada Post workers switch to rotating strikes, mail to start moving
  • Here’s one way to increase the size of your house without moving
  • ‘Jolted back to life’ jobs market shouldn’t stop Bank of Canada from cutting rates again, some economists say

Canadians should consider using the RRSP when it comes to U.S. stocks, as a dividend received in a TFSA can face withholding taxes as the Internal Revenue Service does not recognize the TFSA as a tax shelter.

Read more here.

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McLister on mortgages

Want to learn more about mortgages? Mortgage strategist Robert McLister’s

Financial Post column

can help navigate the complex sector, from the latest trends to financing opportunities you won’t want to miss. Plus check his

mortgage rate page

for Canada’s lowest national mortgage rates, updated daily.

Financial Post on YouTube

Visit the Financial Post’s

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Today’s Posthaste was written by Ben Cousins with additional reporting from Financial Post staff, The Canadian Press and Bloomberg.

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