An Act to establish a national framework respecting skilled trades and labour mobility

Bill C-266 was a Liberal Private Member's Bill establishing a national framework respecting skilled-trades apprenticeships. Canada faces an estimated 700,000 skilled-trades-worker shortage by 2028 per BuildForce Canada projections, with rural and Northern Canada particularly affected. The federal Red Seal Program covers 56 apprenticeable trades; the bill called for federal-provincial-territorial coordination on training-grant harmonization, expansion of the federal Apprenticeship Service to cover all Red Seal trades (currently covers 39), and immigration-credential recognition for foreign-trained tradespeople. The Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (SCAP) and the Sustainable Jobs Act (Bill C-50, S.C. 2024, c. 19) frameworks reference related skills-development pathways.