PLATFORM FOR PROSPERITY: ONTARIO MANUFACTURERS CALL FOR A CONCRETE PLAN TO ADVANCE THE SECTOR
TORONTO, April 22, 2022 /CNW/ - Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) today released its Ontario Manufacturers' Platform for Prosperity, outlining a provincial strategy to restore Ontario's manufacturing sector's leading position. This plan, which is based on three pillars - workforce, business costs, and scale-up – is crucial to Ontario's prosperity and its ability to stay competitive.
Ontario has been lagging for several years despite it being Canada's largest manufacturing province, accounting for 45 per cent of the country's manufacturing output and about 50 per cent of its manufacturing exports.
With a slow decline in investment since the early 2000s and little growth in exports, the erosion of Ontario's industrial competitiveness is having a direct impact on manufacturers' ability to grow.
While the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic has led to a strong demand for local and stable goods, manufacturers are limited in capitalizing on this opportunity for several reasons, including labour and skills shortages, which are the most pressing issues facing manufacturers today. In fact, a recent survey by CME showed that 82 per cent of manufacturers are experiencing labour shortages. The high cost of doing business in Ontario is also causing limitations.
It is time for action. CME has a "2 % challenge" - for Canada to secure two per cent of OECD manufacturing investment by the end of the decade, and for Ontario to get its fair share of this activity - $18 billion annually. To accomplish the challenge set by CME, the three pillars of its Platform for Prosperity need to be addressed:
- Labour shortages/get manufacturers the workers we need;
- Lower the cost of doing business; and
- Support business scale-up and investment.
"The manufacturing sector is critical to Ontario, and we need to act decisively to re-establish our leading position. Following consultations with our members, we have identified solutions to help Ontario's manufacturers reclaim their rightful place on the world stage and to create a strategy that will enable Ontario's manufacturing sector to grow and thrive. However, for manufacturers to be ready to meet the challenges ahead, we need the provincial government to be a true partner," said Dennis Darby, President & CEO of CME.
- Ontario's manufacturing sector employs close to 775,000 Ontarians
- The sector's 36,200 manufacturing firms also directly generate over 12 per cent of the province's GDP and over three-quarters of its merchandise exports
- Taking direct and indirect impacts into account, the sector's footprint amounts to more than 30 per cent of Ontario's economic activity
From the first industrial boom in Canada, CME has advocated for and represented member interests. 150 years strong, CME has earned an extensive and effective track record of working for and with 2,500 leading companies nationwide. More than 85 per cent of CME's members are SMEs and collectively account for an estimated 82 per cent of total manufacturing production and 90 per cent of Canada's exports. As Canada's leading business network, CME, through various initiatives including the Canadian Manufacturing Coalition, touches more than 100,000 companies from coast to coast, engaged in manufacturing, global business, and their integrated supply chains.
SOURCE Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters
Jane Taber, Vice President, Public Affairs, NATIONAL Public Relations, C: 902-209-9512 | [email protected]
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