Ontario is the engine of Canada
Just a few months ago, the weeklong closure of the Ambassador Bridge and the havoc it wreaked on supply chains and our international reputation reminded us once again of a simple fact — how much manufacturing matters to Ontario.
Ontario is in many ways the engine of Canada, and manufacturing provides the fuel. If that engine sputters, so does our economy.
Today, manufacturing directly generates more than 12 per cent of the province’s GDP and some 80 per cent 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.
More importantly, the sector employs close to 775,000 Ontarians, supporting their families and communities with high value, high skilled, and high paying jobs.
These workers are the backbone of the manufacturing sector’s ability to produce essential products, such as PPE, medications, and antiseptic gels that we depended on during the early days of the pandemic and continue to do so.
For both businesses and consumers alike, the pandemic has resulted in much greater attention and prioritization on making things local. There is a real opportunity for “friend-shoring” production, building more resilient North American supply chains, improving trade with allies, and using the world’s transition to net-zero emissions as a competitive advantage for our businesses.
Our sector, however, has been limited in capitalizing on this opportunity. Labour and skills shortages are the most pressing challenges facing manufacturers today. In a recent CME (Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters) survey, 75 per cent of manufacturers reported they were having a more difficult time recruiting workers, with 82 per cent citing labour shortages.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Ontario remains a high-cost jurisdiction; electricity rates are among the highest in North America, and regulatory processes can be uncertain.
Despite recent major victories for the province, over the past five years, the U.S. received 23times the investment that Canada did, while Mexico received 10-times.
As Ontario seeks to turn the page on the COVID-19 pandemic, manufacturers need predictability. They need to know that workers will fill shifts and vacancies, and that key inputs like electricity and land will be available at a competitive price.
Over the last four years, the Ontario government has launched several strategies, including a life science strategy, one for hydrogen, a critical mineral strategy and an automotive strategy. All are helpful and represent areas we need to build on. But it is now time to stop creating more silos and create one comprehensive advanced manufacturing strategy; a strategy that doubles down on manufacturers’ core priorities and delivers broader benefits.
To spur manufacturing growth, the province must develop a manufacturing strategy addressing the labour shortages impacting the ability of manufacturers to invest and grow.
We need workers. Let’s put in place a strategy that will help fill labour shortages today and train the workers of tomorrow, and let’s accelerate plans to train more people from diverse backgrounds so they can gain the skills needed to succeed in the sector and improve productivity.
In the upcoming provincial election campaign, we want all parties to tell us how they plan to support a strong manufacturing strategy that prioritizes investment, innovation, and prosperity for all Ontarians.
Now is the time to re-establish our sector’s leading position and celebrate Ontario manufacturers and Ontario-made products. Only with a strong partnership and shared goals between government and our sector, will we be able to capitalize on this unique moment in our history.