Ontario Construction News staff writer
Ottawa’s $70-billion push for clean energy infrastructure could provide a glimpse of the construction employment expected as Canada works toward its net-zero goals, according to a report from Jobs for Today.
The federal government, Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec recently announced an agreement to upgrade and expand the Churchill Falls Generating Station, develop the Gull Island hydroelectric project and build a major onshore wind project in Labrador with the Innu of Labrador.
The projects are expected to produce 14,000 megawatts of clean electricity, create 23,000 jobs and contribute $31 billion to Canada’s gross domestic product through the early 2040s.
“This project will create far more jobs for construction and trades workers, and have a longer impact on Canada’s economy and environment, than any pipeline,” said Jim Stanford, economist and director of the Centre for Future Work.
“It is concrete proof that accelerating renewable energy will usher in an employment boom unlike any we have experienced before.”
The scale of the projects also highlights the need for a larger skilled trades workforce, according to Lee Loftus of the Climate Industry Research Team.
“This is what nation-building looks like,” Loftus said. “Canada cannot achieve energy security, economic resilience or its climate objectives without building substantially more clean electricity and the infrastructure required to move that electricity.”
Loftus said the country will also need to increase investment in skilled trades training, apprenticeships, recruitment and retention to deliver the infrastructure.
Jobs for Today: Canada’s Building Trades and the Net-Zero Transition, released in September 2025, estimates that meeting Canada’s net-zero commitments could generate between 6.3 million and 9.5 million job-years of construction work between now and 2050.
That translates into an average of up to 350,000 ongoing construction jobs, representing a permanent increase of about 20 to 30 per cent over Canada’s current construction employment.
The report is an update of the 2017 Jobs for Tomorrow study and examines the construction work expected from the energy transition, including energy infrastructure, building retrofits and clean technology projects.
“This report makes it clear: Canada’s transition to a cleaner economy represents one of the most significant job creation opportunities in our country’s history,” said Sean Strickland, executive director of Canada’s Building Trades Unions.
“Skilled trades workers will be indispensable to delivering the energy infrastructure, retrofits, and clean technology projects that this transition demands,” Strickland said. “Our members are ready to lead the way by building a more sustainable, resilient, and prosperous Canada for generations to come.”
The report’s authors said the Churchill Falls agreement demonstrates the potential scale of individual projects, with the three developments expected to support 23,000 jobs and generate $31 billion in economic activity.
They said similar nation-building projects will be needed to meet the objectives of Canada’s National Electricity Strategy, which calls for the country’s electricity grid capacity to double by 2050.
The authors said the investment required to expand clean electricity and related infrastructure will have to be matched by efforts to ensure Canada has enough skilled workers to build it.
They described the report as a blueprint for scaling up clean-energy construction across Canada while creating long-term employment opportunities in the building trades.
