The past year has been quite eventful for national, provincial, and local labour markets. As we enter a new year, it is important to reflect on the significant events that have taken place in the 2023 labour market. To that end, we will look at the most critical labour market news throughout the year. This can help us better understand recent challenges and opportunities that have shaped the Canadian and British Columbia labour market landscape.
January – To make it easier for internationally trained nurses to work in British Columbia’s healthcare system, the provincial government is introducing new financial supports and a pared-down assessment process.
February – The provincial government is implementing mandatory trades certification in British Columbia. SkilledTradesBC is hosting a series of virtual information sessions about implementing skilled trades certification in this province. Find out more and register here.
March – The federal and provincial governments announced funding for a new BC Transit facility in the Westshore. The $20.6 million in funding from three levels of government will upgrade three warehouse spaces in Colwood to establish a central facility for BC Transit’s provincial bus fleet.
April – The lack of affordable housing on Vancouver Island is contributing to the shortage of tourism and hospitality workers in the region. Some hotel operators are responding by making some of their rooms available for staff to live in.
May – The rise of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform the Canadian economy, creating new jobs while displacing others. Current examples of this in B.C. include the use of robots in the restaurant sector and in health care. Other developments in AI are impacting the labour market in British Columbia. This Business in Vancouver article outlines how companies in this province are using AI.
June – The new minimum wage in British Columbia is now $16.75 per hour, a 6.9% jump. The provincial government estimates that approximately 150,000 workers in the province will benefit from the increase.
July – The federal government has just announced a Tourism Growth Strategy that should boost sector employment. Because of the pandemic, Canada’s tourism-related GDP dropped by $5.8 billion, and employment in the industry fell by almost 10% between 2019 and 2022. The plan aims to increase the impact of tourism on the country’s GDP by 40% by 2030, which could lead to an estimated 85,000 more direct employment opportunities nationwide.
August – The shift towards electric vehicles in Canada has the potential to create hundreds of thousands of job opportunities over the next few decades. By 2035, every passenger vehicle sold in this country will need to be electric. According tothis report, approximately 7,000 Canadians worked in the EV sector in 2020. It anticipated that this number will increase significantly to over 180,000 by the year 2030.
September – The annual report from SkilledTradesBC shows that apprenticeship registration in B.C. is up 8% this year, as there are now a record number of apprentices (41,000) across the province.Some of the report highlights:
- 1,492 Indigenous people entering skilled trades (+ 22%)
- 1,072 women entering skilled trades (+ 37%)
- 10,018 youth participation in skilled trades enrollment (+14%)
October – In an effort to address an ongoing labour shortage in this province, the British Columbia government has introduced new foreign accreditation legislation. These regulations will eliminate unnecessary language testing, establish specific timeframes for processing applications, and require credential assessment information to be available online.
November – Following consultations with interested parties, the provincial government is poised to guarantee new employment rights for ride-hailing and delivery workers, including a minimum wage, pay-transparency rights and WorkSafeBC.
December – StatsCan reported that there wasrecord population growth in the third quarter of this year. On October 1st of this year, Canada’s population reached an estimated 40,528,396, reflecting a growth of 430,635 people since July 1st. This represents a 1.1% increase and is the highest growth rate in any one-quarter since 1957.
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