Investing in Ontario’s future
“Modern, efficient infrastructure is the foundation of a contemporary economy.”
Ontario is making strategic investments in our people and key industries while modernizing our infrastructure to create jobs, accelerating, economic growth, and helping local business become more globally competitive. We are doing this to build a strong and vibrant future.
Modern, efficient infrastructure is the foundation of a contemporary economy. It enables goods to move efficiently to market, provides for a timely commute to work, and underpins our quality of life. These factors are critical to our ability to attract business investment.
Investing in infrastructure To keep Ontario on solid footing, the province is making unprecedented investments in infrastructure — $130 billion over the next 10 years. These planned investments will support more than 110,000 jobs on average each year in construction and related industries. They will boost job creation and economic growth, and help our businesses and industries support more productive workforces. All of this will translate to a better standard of living for the people of this province.
Long term plan
In addition, we recently introduced legislation that, if passed, would strengthen the province’s economy by supporting long-term infrastructure planning. The proposed Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act, 2014, is about securing the accomplishments of the past decade and applying the expertise we’ve gained as we move forward with the next generation of infrastructure investment. At its core, it is about enshrining in legislation evidence-based, long-term infra- structure planning in Ontario.
We want to continue building up our province with long-term infrastructure planning that is strategic, evidence-based, and addresses the priorities that Ontarians share.
We also want to build up our trades and get more of our young people ready to enter the workforce. Youth unemployment remains unacceptably high despite job gains since 2009. With Ontario’s infrastructure plans, many trade-related jobs will be available for years to come. We need more of our young people to consider a career in the trades and we need to show them the benefits of these jobs.
Creating jobs for youth
To help prepare youth for a career, in the trades and other fields, Ontario has created the Youth Jobs Strategy. It helps young people from all backgrounds and education levels get the experience, mentoring, and skills they need to succeed in this competitive global economy.
The Youth Jobs Strategy has provided more than 24,000 job opportunities so far. The Youth Skills Connections Program is also part of the strategy. It brings together industry, educational institutions, and not-for-profits to better connect skills training to industry needs. The program helps to close skills gaps in certain sectors while helping young people overcome barriers to employment.
Ontario is improving our infrastructure and equipping our youth with the right skills, training, and opportunities. We are working to grow a strong, innovative, and globally competitive economy that will increase productivity and result in more prosperity for all Ontarians.