The Government of Canada announces the launch of the Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Alliance

GUELPH, ON, Aug. 17, 2026 /CNW/ -- The world is changing fast, and Canada's advanced manufacturing sector is facing increasing workforce challenges from tariffs, skills shortages, supply chain disruptions and a workplace being reshaped by artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, lagging productivity and mounting global competition continue to weigh on the sector's long-term growth and competitiveness. To address these challenges, the Government of Canada is focusing on what it can control. The Government is taking a coordinated approach to strengthening critical sectors that are essential to Canada's economic security and growth, and to building a strong Canadian economy that benefits everyone.

Today, the Honourable Patty Hajdu, the Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, announced the launch of the Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Alliance, alongside Next Generation Manufacturing Canada, the Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium and the Canadian Skills Training and Employment Coalition. This new alliance will identify and advance solutions to bolster the skilled workforce needed across Canada's advanced manufacturing sector.

Manufacturing is a key pillar of Canada's economy, driving growth and innovation across sectors such as automotive, steel, aerospace, and clean technology. Today, the manufacturing sector is increasingly shaped by automation, robotics and artificial intelligence-enabled systems.

The Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Alliance will help the sector build the skilled workforce it needs to improve productivity, adopt new technologies and remain competitive globally. This alliance brings together manufacturers, unions, education and training institutions, industry associations, Indigenous partners, and underrepresented groups. These partners will work together to identify workforce gaps and support practical training solutions. Together, these efforts will help Canadian workers prepare for new opportunities and adapt as the sector's needs evolve.  

The Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Alliance is the second of six sector‑focused Workforce Alliances to be established. The first was the Mining and Minerals Workforce Alliance, launched on June 4, 2026. All six Workforce Alliances will focus on priority areas essential to Canada's economic growth, working to address labour market challenges and coordinate public and private investments in skills development. These efforts will help workers gain the in-demand skills they need, while giving employers access to the talent they need to Build Canada Strong.

Quotes

"Canada's workforce is strongest when workers and industry partners come together. The Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Alliance will help empower Canadian workers with the skills they need to adapt and grow, playing a crucial role in building a strong, independent and resilient economy. By addressing workforce shortages, supporting workers affected by economic shifts and strengthening Canada's economic security, we are turning opportunity into growth, for workers, for communities, and for a sector where no one gets left behind."
– The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario 

"Canada has the talent, ingenuity, and industrial capacity to lead in the manufacturing industries of the future. With the Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Alliance, we will ensure that Canadian businesses can grow, adopt new technologies, create good jobs, and succeed in an increasingly competitive global economy. By supporting advanced manufacturing, we are strengthening Canada's economy today while positioning us to compete and lead in the global marketplace for years to come."
– The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions

"Advanced manufacturing has a pivotal role to play in enhancing the prosperity, security, health and social well-being of all Canadians. While advanced technologies and manufacturing capabilities are important, it is people above all who make a difference. The Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Alliance brings together industry, labour groups, academic and training organizations, Indigenous organizations, and other stakeholders from across Canada with the shared goal of equipping more people with the competencies and supports needed to play an active and productive role in overcoming the challenges currently facing Canada's vital manufacturing sector and in taking advantage of new growth opportunities. Next Generation Manufacturing Canada looks forward to working with our partners--the Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium and the Canadian Skills Training and Employment Coalition--in leading this critical initiative."
– Jayson Myers, Chief Executive Officer, Next Generation Manufacturing Canada

"The Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium is proud to bring the strength of our national manufacturing network, trusted partnerships and industry expertise to the Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Alliance. Joining forces with Next Generation Manufacturing Canada and the Canadian Skills Training and Employment Coalition, we are building a collaborative, pan-Canadian approach to addressing the workforce challenges facing manufacturers today and into the future. By working directly with manufacturers and industry stakeholders, the Alliance will identify emerging workforce needs and develop practical, industry-led solutions that strengthen workforce capabilities and help Canada's manufacturers compete and succeed at home and around the world."
– Jean-Pierre Giroux, President, Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium

"We at the Canadian Skills Training and Employment Coalition are proud to be part of this important initiative and very happy to be supporting it in partnership with Next Generation Manufacturing Canada and the Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium. The manufacturing sector and its workforce face many challenges, including intense international competition, instability in cross-border trade arrangements, changing demographics, and rapidly developing technological changes that both create economic activity and disrupt the workforce. Working collaboratively with employers, unions, training institutions, diversity groups and governments through the new Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Alliance will help the sector and its workforce respond to these challenges."
– Ken Delaney, Executive Director, Canadian Skills Training and Employment Coalition

Quick facts

• On September 5, 2025, the Government of Canada announced a series of new workforce support measures aimed at assisting Canadian workers impacted by tariffs, revitalizing local economies and mitigating the long-term effects of job loss due to tariffs. Echoed in Budget 2025, the Workforce Alliances were announced as part of these measures to address skills gaps in industries facing labour shortages.
• With an investment of $81 million over five years, the Workforce Alliances represent a strategic, forward-looking approach to strengthening critical sectors that are essential to Canada's economic security and growth.
• The Workforce Alliances will complement the implementation of Team Canada Strong--a nationwide plan to recruit, train and hire up to 100,000 Red Seal skilled trades workers by 2030–31 to help build Canada's housing, infrastructure and defence priorities--by ensuring workforce strategies align with training programs and employer needs.
• The Workforce Alliances will focus on six priority sectors that are under pressure and critical to Canada's economic growth, collectively accounting for over one third of Canada's gross domestic product and employing approximately 8 million people nationwide. These sectors are:
  • mining and minerals;
  • advanced manufacturing;
  • energy and electricity;
  • transportation and supply chains;
  • housing and construction; and
  • the care economy.
• In 2024, the manufacturing sector contributed $208 billion to Canada's gross domestic product and employed 1.85 million workers.
• Advanced manufacturing--including robotics, automation and Industry 4.0 technologies--is seeing increased investment, with 89% of surveyed firms reporting benefits from adopting smart technologies like predictive analytics and the Industrial Internet of Things.

Related products

• Backgrounder on Workforce Alliances

Associated links

• Prime Minister Carney launches new measures to protect, build, and transform Canadian strategic industries
• Minister Hajdu announces actions to grow and protect workers
• Canada's Defence Industrial Strategy
• Next Generation Manufacturing Canada
• Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium
• Canadian Skills Training and Employment Coalition
• Minister Hajdu and industry leaders launch the Mining and Minerals Workforce Alliance
• Prime Minister Carney announces Team Canada Strong – a nationwide plan to recruit up to 100,000 skilled trades workers

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SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada

Contacts: For media enquiries, please contact: Jennifer Kozelj, Senior Communications Advisor and Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, [email protected]; Media Relations Office, Employment and Social Development Canada, 819-994-5559, [email protected]