Canada’s Building Trades Unions strongly welcomes Prime Minister Mark Carney’s comprehensive Northern and Arctic plan. After decades of intermittent investment, this sustained, strategic commitment to defence infrastructure, all‑season corridors, airports, energy, and critical‑minerals development creates a once‑in‑a‑generation opportunity to secure sovereignty and build enduring prosperity across Northern Canada.
“These investments can, and must, deliver meaningful, long‑term employment for Canada’s tradespeople, including those in the North,” said Sean Strickland, Executive Director, Canada’s Building Trades Unions. “Strengthening Canada’s North will simultaneously reinforce Canada’s economy, improve Canada’s ability to defend its sovereignty, and bolster our internal trade capabilities, driving further interconnection and mobility across our country.”
The announced initiatives, from Forward Operating Locations in Yellowknife, Inuvik, Iqaluit and Deployed Operating Base 5 Wing Goose Bay, to Northern Operational Support Hubs in Whitehorse and Resolute and Support Nodes in Cambridge Bay and Rankin Inlet; airport upgrades in Rankin Inlet and Inuvik; the Mackenzie Valley Highway, Grays Bay Road and Port and the Arctic Economic and Security Corridor; and the Taltson Hydro expansion, present major, concrete opportunities for CBTU members to gain valuable experience and secure high‑quality, long‑term work across Northern Canada.
These opportunities must not only deliver meaningful benefits for Northern communities, but they must also be executed thoughtfully, with consideration for labour supply and tradesperson mobility. CBTU is working closely with federal partners to maximize the benefits for Canada’s tradespeople, including streamlining training and deployment capacity, and ensure projects move quickly from plan to shovels‑in‑the‑ground.
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