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Canada must break the stigma around careers in the skilled trades if the Liberals want to achieve their infrastructure and homebuilding agenda, federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said on Monday.
Hajdu said when she was growing up in Thunder Bay, Ont., students who attended a skilled trades high school in the city were “deeply stigmatized” by their choice.
“At that time, there was a push … that the true path to success and to status was to gain a university degree. And there was a discouragement of pursuing the skilled trades,” she told education workers and reporters at the University of Ottawa.
Hajdu said that stigma has been misguided, as many careers in the trades can be just as lucrative as, or even more lucrative than those that come from pursuing university or other post-secondary degrees.
She said the federal government is looking into incentives to help young workers complete apprenticeships and training in fields like construction as older workers retire and threaten to constrain Canada’s building capacity.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said last week it is a “great time” for youth to get into the trades as the Liberals plan long-term investments in housing and infrastructure.
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“In the coming years, there will be a huge number of skilled trade jobs, and these are quality jobs, well-paid jobs, honourable jobs, and I urge young people to consider a pathway into the skilled trades,” Hajdu said Monday.
“The skilled trades are essential to the agenda of Canada.”
Hajdu was at the University of Ottawa to tout government efforts to boost job prospects for students in what’s been a tough job market for young workers.
Statistics Canada said last week the unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 24 sat at 13.8 per cent in March, down somewhat from recent highs of 14.6 per cent recorded in September 2025.
Hajdu said those trends are “deeply concerning” as “prolonged unemployment as a young person can really inhibit their career trajectory, but also their earning potential over the course of their life.”
She said the federal government is working with a number of sectors to ensure training and education for youth is tailored to the needs on the ground in those industries to help better integrate young workers into the labour market.
The federal government is extending a 40-per-cent boost to the Canada Student Grants program and increases to the federal student loan program for the coming academic year.
Ottawa is also adding more on-the-job training opportunities and next week will open up applications for 100,000 positions through the Canada Summer Jobs program for this year.
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