Yes, you heard it correct. There are nearly 400,000 jobs in Ontario that are unfilled. This is primarily due to labour shortage. Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development acknowledged this in his statement on Labour Day (September 5).

In his statement he thanked the workers of Ontario and also shed light on his government’s effort to rebuild provincial economy post pandemic.

“Today, and every day, we pay tribute to the hardworking men and women who keep Ontario moving. Workers are – and always have been – the backbone of our province. You are heroes, building the roofs over our heads, putting food on our tables, and caring for the most vulnerable in our communities.”
– Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development

He stated that despite their attempts to build Ontario, approximately 400,000 jobs still remain vacant. Furthermore, he cited ongoing labour shortage as the major hurdle which is “holding back” Ontario’s economy and raising cost for families.

Monte said that each unfilled job is a pay check waiting to be cashed and a step toward a better life. Due to this reason, Ontario is continuing to invest in innovative training programmes that provide people with the skills required for new in-demand jobs.

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Ontario’s Plan to Build

Ontario reintroduced Plan to Build Act (Budget Measures), 2022 in August. Citing this plan, Monte mentioned below efforts of his government:

Bringing healthcare and dental benefits to millions of part-time and precarious workers
cracking down on the exploitation of domestic and temporary foreign workers
introducing foundational rights for those in the gig economy, and
reforming the occupational illness system.
improving our employment services to give a hand up to those on social assistance, young people, and newcomers
investing more than $1 billion to get more men and women into rewarding careers in the skilled trades.

As per the latest available data by Statistics Canada, there were overall 1,005,700 job vacancies in Canada for the month of May 2022. Furthermore, unemployment rate is the lowest in Canadian history at 4.9% for the month of July 2022.

Doug Ford met Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau

Ontario premier, Doug Ford met Canadian PM Justin Trudeau on August 31, 2022 for a discussion. Post-meeting Ford said that he had a productive meeting with PM focusing on four key areas.

He said the meeting was focused on healthcare, housing, with high-priority on Immigration and infrastructure.