Skills & Careers
Canadian trade unions that want to add apprenticeship training seats have three weeks left to ask Ottawa for help paying for the buildings. Employment and Social Development Canada is accepting expressions of interest for a new infrastructure expansion stream of its Union Training and Innovation Program until 3 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, Nov. 12. The intake opened Thursday, Oct. 15.
The stream offers up to C$3 million for renovation projects and up to C$10 million for expansions or new construction of union training centres, with projects lasting up to 60 months. The department has not published a total budget for the stream or the number of projects it expects to fund.
Who can apply
Applicants must be located in Canada outside Quebec and be either a union representing workers in the Red Seal trades or an organization that manages a training trust fund for such a union, such as a joint training fund set up by a union, or a union and an employer association. Organizations in Quebec cannot apply. Alberta organizations can apply but need approval from the Government of Alberta before signing an agreement with the federal department. Applicants with past performance problems or defaults on department projects may be found ineligible.
Every project must build, expand or renovate a union training centre to increase training capacity, target at least one of the 54 eligible Red Seal trades, and show evidence of need, such as labour market information, waitlists or employer feedback.
The cost-share
The federal money does not cover the whole bill. Applicants must bring cash from non-federal sources equal to at least 50% of the total project cost, or at least 30% for remote locations or projects facing other demonstrated barriers, such as access to materials or labour, if they provide a strong, evidence-based justification. Donated goods, services or time do not count.
Eligible costs include construction, expansion and renovation work, including materials and labour; tools and machinery needed for the project; inspections, permits and development charges; green building certification such as LEED; professional fees for architects, engineers and contractors; wages for project staff; and administrative costs up to 15% of direct project costs. The program will not pay to buy or lease land or buildings, for full demolitions, for roads or utilities beyond the property line, for vehicles, or for training equipment, which is handled by a separate federal equipment program.
What gets priority
Beyond the basic assessment of capacity, need and the cost-share, the department says it may give priority to projects that use Canadian suppliers or materials, increase apprenticeship technical training seats, support regional representation, add training in Red Seal trades tied to federal priorities including the Defence Industrial Strategy, the housing strategy, electrification and major projects, or support Indigenous housing development. Projects that already have design, permits, approvals and financing largely in place, and can begin construction within six months of the project start date, may also be favoured.
Applicants who omit information will have five business days to respond once notified, or their submission may be rejected. Requests for accessibility accommodations are due by 3 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, Nov. 5.
Why training space matters
The federal government has framed the program around a looming shortage of trades workers. In a Feb. 6 release, the department said that by 2033 there will be more than 410,000 construction-sector job openings in the skilled trades, including 189,000 driven by retirements, and that Budget 2025 proposed a C$75 million expansion of the Union Training and Innovation Program over three years. The same release said the program had supported more than 145,000 participants since 2017, including 28,463 in 2024-25. The department has not said how much of that expansion funds this infrastructure stream.
For apprentices and workers considering the trades, the stream does not provide individual grants or wages; it pays for physical training capacity. Any added seats will depend on which projects are approved and how quickly they are built, which could take up to five years under the stream’s 60-month project window.
Sources
- Employment and Social Development Canada, “Union Training and Innovation Program – Infrastructure Expansion,” accessed October 23, 2026. https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/funding/utip-infrastructure-expansion.html
- Employment and Social Development Canada, “Union Training and Innovation Program – Infrastructure Expansion: Who can apply,” accessed October 23, 2026. https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/funding/utip-infrastructure-expansion/eligibility.html
- Employment and Social Development Canada, “Union Training and Innovation Program – Infrastructure Expansion: What this funding opportunity offers,” accessed October 23, 2026. https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/funding/utip-infrastructure-expansion/overview.html
- Employment and Social Development Canada, “Improving access to training for the skilled trades apprentices helping to build Canada strong,” February 6, 2026. https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/news/2026/02/improving-access-to-training-for-the-skilled-trades-apprentices-helping-to-build-canada-strong.html
Featured photo: A worker at Canada Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sept. 3, 2010. Representative image; not a union training centre or a participant in the program. Photo: Joe Mabel, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0). Cropped from the original.
