The headlines has focused on a five-billion-dollar electric vehicle (EV) battery facility under development in Windsor, Ontario. The plant is expected to employ 2,500 people “by the time hiring is complete in 2025,” according to sources.
The building of an EV battery factory, and the associated employment that goes along with it, is indicative that green tech is an endeavor of importance to Canada’s government and population, in line with the country’s recognized aim to attaining net-zero emissions by 2050.
As stated in the 2023 Budget announcement, it was actually announced earlier this year that “Canada’s federal government is proposing to invest heavily in national clean energy and clean tech sectors.” Canada’s 2023 Budget includes tax credits totaling around $55 billion, in addition to $21 billion in new financing for “a clean, next-generation economy,” with the goal of luring further investment into these crucial industries.
At the same time, Canadian immigrants are finding more and more job possibilities around the country in the green tech sector.
This is a summary of some of the employment initiatives that have been reported in Canada to support the green tech sector in this nation.
Columbia in Britain
The CleanTech industry in British Columbia (B.C.) received a substantial boost in funding from the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada (PacifiCan) in February of this year, in Western Canada.
A $5.2 million financing round for Foresight Canada was announced through PacifiCan, in addition to a $2.3 million grant from the Province of British Columbia.
In addition to “[opening] up new markets and attracting world-class talent” to British Columbia, the news release states that this investment will help the government meet its objective of “accelerating the development and adoption of clean technologies.” More precisely, it is anticipated that this money would draw $280 million in investment and generate 240 new employment in the cleantech sector of the province. It is anticipated that greenhouse gas emissions would decrease by 125 kilotonnes.
Canada Alberta
According to a Clean Energy Canada (CEC) analysis, until net-zero 2050, “jobs in Alberta’s clean energy sector” would expand at a pace of 10% per year, which is the fastest growth prediction of any province or territory in the nation.
According to CEC, the employment picture in Alberta would change by 419,000 renewable energy jobs between 2025 and 2050.
The Ontario
On March 27, 2023, the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry of Canada announced a $8.5 million investment into VueReal through Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC). The $2 million investment made by the Ontario government through Invest Ontario goes hand in hand with this investment.
A technological company called VueReal is headquartered in Waterloo. Its mission statement is to “develop and commercialize platforms” that “enable efficient and scalable production and integration of micro- and nano- devices such as microLEDs.”
Such investments demonstrate the Government of Canada’s and SDTC’s commitment to boosting the economy and giving Canadians access to cleantech employment opportunities.
The employment outlook for green technology in Canada
As to a reliable source, the CleanTech industry in Canada employed about 188,000 workers in 2021.
A June research this year also states that “the green transition could create 30 million jobs by 2030, even though AI will disrupt nearly one-quarter of the labor market.”
Looking even farther forward, by net-zero 2050, Canada would “see 700,000 more [net] energy jobs… than we have today,” according to a March 2023 analysis by CEC. This occurs when the number of jobs created by renewable energy “outpaces” the number of jobs lost by the fossil fuel sector.
The aforementioned research makes the following additional claims to support the anticipated increase in jobs in the green tech industry throughout the nation:
- 1.3 million Canadians are expected to work in EV-related employment in a net-zero 2050—60 times higher than in 2025; and
- In a net-zero 2050, over half a million people will work in Canada’s renewable energy sector.