Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CBTU) welcomes the release of the Federal Budget 2025, which delivers significant progress on priorities long advocated for by CBTU, our Canadian Executive Board, and our members.
This year’s budget recognizes the essential role of unionized skilled trades in building a stronger, more resilient, and sustainable Canada. From generational investments in infrastructure to expanded support for union training, Budget 2025 demonstrates that the federal government has heard the voices of our members and unions across the country.
“This budget shows that when Canada builds, we build together, with union labour, quality jobs, and a commitment to community benefits,” said Sean Strickland, Executive Director of Canada’s Building Trades Unions. “These investments will help ensure that the next generation of Canadian tradespeople has the training, opportunities, and support they need to build our future.”
The government has announced the creation of the $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 support local infrastructure projects through provinces, territories, and municipalities, creating thousands of good paying, syndiqué jobs across Canada. Importantly, federal project selection will consider the use of unionized labour and Community Employment Benefits Agreements, reflecting CBTU’s long-standing advocacy for strong labour requirements on publicly funded projects.
Budget 2025 also expands support for union-based apprenticeship training through a $75 million, three-year investment in the Programme de formation syndicale et d'innovation (PFSI). This expansion will help ensure apprentices in Red Seal trades continue to have access to world-class training opportunities that advance inclusion and diversity across the sector. An additional $382.9 million over five years will establish new Workforce Alliances, bringing together unions, employers, and industry to strengthen skills development and workforce planning.
CBTU is encouraged to see progress on clean energy and industrial innovation, with expanded eligibility under the Clean Economy Investment Tax Credits (ITCs) to include nuclear, wind, solar, clean hydrogen, and biomass technologies. This expansion aligns directly with CBTU’s recommendation to complete implementation of the clean economy credits, ensuring that skilled tradespeople are at the centre of Canada’s clean energy transition.
The government has also committed to stabilizing immigration levels and strengthening permanent pathways for workers through the 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan. This plan will maintain 380,000 permanent resident admissions annually, increase the share of economic migrants, and reduce reliance on temporary foreign workers. These changes will help improve workforce stability and ensure that those who come to Canada to build their lives here have fair, long-term opportunities to contribute to our economy.
Budget 2025 takes action to address the deliberate misclassification of employees as independent contractors, a practice that denies workers basic protections, benefits, and pension contributions while allowing some employers to avoid tax and payroll obligations. To strengthen enforcement, the government will invest $77 million over four years starting in 2026–27, with $19.2 million in ongoing annual funding, for the Canada Revenue Agency to target non-compliance related to personal services businesses and lift the moratorium on reporting fees in the trucking industry. The Income Tax Act and Excise Tax Act will also be amended to allow the CRA to share information with Emploi et développement social Canada to better detect and prevent worker misclassification.
Budget 2025 emphasizes nation-building infrastructure through the Major Projects Office and transformative energy and trade corridors, including the Port of Churchill Plus initiative, which will expand export capacity in the North and strengthen trade links with global partners. CBTU also welcomes the move to a fall budget cycle, aligning federal planning with the construction season to improve predictability and get projects moving faster.
The new Buy Canadian Policy and Defence Industrial Strategy will help ensure that public investments strengthen domestic industries and create good, high-paying jobs here at home. Additionally, changes to the Income Tax Act and Excise Tax Act will improve enforcement against worker misclassification, protecting workers and promoting fair competition across the sector.
While Budget 2025 represents meaningful progress, CBTU will continue to advocate for additional measures, including the expansion and indexation of the Déduction fiscale pour la mobilité de la main-d'œuvre, clearer funding for brick-and-mortar training infrastructure within UTIP, and reinstatement of key apprenticeship supports such as the Canadian Apprenticeship Service, Apprenticeship Incentive Grant, and Subvention à l'achèvement de l'apprentissage. These priorities remain vital to ensuring our members can move where the work is, our training centres can scale to meet demand, and apprentices have the supports they need to succeed.
Overall, this budget represents a strong step forward for Canada’s Building Trades Unions and our members. It reflects the values CBTU has long championed: building strong communities, investing in people, and ensuring that good union jobs remain at the heart of Canada’s economic growth.