Sunday, June 14, 2026
ADVT 
National

Poilievre outlines plan to boost apprenticeships, training for trades workers

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 21 Mar, 2025 02:14 PM
  • Poilievre outlines plan to boost apprenticeships, training for trades workers

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced a plan Friday to boost training and employment for workers in the skilled trades.

Speaking at a news conference in Ottawa Friday morning, Poilievre said his plan for "more boots, less suits" will expand training halls and provide direct grants and faster access to employment insurance for apprentices in licensed trades.

Poilievre said the goal is to deliver higher paycheques to workers and make Canada less reliant on the U.S. economy.

The plan would see the federal government offer apprenticeship grants of up to $4,000, fund training halls for skills development for up to 350,000 workers over five years, and work with provinces to harmonize health and safety regulations to allow tradespeople to work anywhere in Canada.

"The people who build the homes are not able to buy them," Poilievre said in front of an audience of local construction union members.

"The choice is the next election is very clear."

Prime Minister Mark Carney is widely expected to call an election on Sunday, sending Canadians to the polls as early as April 28.

Poilievre spent much of his news conference talking about how he is different from Carney and claiming the prime minister wouldn't be able to stand up to U.S. President Donald Trump as well as he could.

"That's why common sense Conservatives will always stand with our employers and our unions right across the country to unleash the great Canadian promise," he said.

"Canada first."

MORE National ARTICLES

Canada pulls diplomats' kids out of Israel as fear of broader war builds

Canada pulls diplomats' kids out of Israel as fear of broader war builds
The Canadian government says it decided to pull its diplomats' children and their guardians out of Israel, amid fears over an expanded Mideast war. Global Affairs Canada says it has approved the temporary relocation of the children and their guardians to a safe third country.

Canada pulls diplomats' kids out of Israel as fear of broader war builds

Sections of Icefields Parkway to reopen in response to Jasper wildfire success

Sections of Icefields Parkway to reopen in response to Jasper wildfire success
Parks Canada says parts of the Icefields Parkway are expected to reopen Friday thanks to recent progress made in wildfire prevention in Jasper National Park. Officials say the road is to open between Lake Louise, Alta., in Banff National Park, and the Athabasca Glacier area of the Columbia Icefield.

Sections of Icefields Parkway to reopen in response to Jasper wildfire success

No Tsunami threat in B.C. after powerful Japan earthquake

No Tsunami threat in B.C. after powerful Japan earthquake
There are no tsunami threats in British Columbia after a powerful earthquake struck off Japan’s southern coast, according to the U.S. based National Tsunami Warning Center. The Japan Meteorological Agency says Thursday's quake registered magnitude 7.1 and was centered in waters off the eastern coast of Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu at a depth of about 30 kilometres.

No Tsunami threat in B.C. after powerful Japan earthquake

Bank of Canada names experts to assess its internal review of pandemic policy actions

Bank of Canada names experts to assess its internal review of pandemic policy actions
The Bank of Canada has named three experts that will assess its internal review of the central bank's policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The experts are Pablo Hernández de Cos, former governor of the Bank of Spain, Kristin J. Forbes, a former member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee and Trevor Tombe, an economics professor at the University of Calgary.

Bank of Canada names experts to assess its internal review of pandemic policy actions

B.C. provides $20M to expand travel, accommodation funding for cancer patients

B.C. provides $20M to expand travel, accommodation funding for cancer patients
The British Columbia government is providing $20 million over two years to support travel and lodging for cancer patients in the province. A statement from the Ministry of Health says the funding for the Canadian Cancer Society builds on a provincial commitment of $10 million last year.

B.C. provides $20M to expand travel, accommodation funding for cancer patients

Okanagan wildfire prompts evacuation orders, expands alerts

Okanagan wildfire prompts evacuation orders, expands alerts
Evacuation orders and alerts have been issued in British Columbia's North Okanagan as a nearby wildfire burns out of control, nearly doubling in size since Tuesday. Tracy Hughes, communications co-ordinator for the Columbia Shuswap Regional District says 17 properties in the district are on evacuation order, while alerts were also expanded to 25 more properties, bringing the total in the region to 69.

Okanagan wildfire prompts evacuation orders, expands alerts