Premier Doug Ford is calling on the federal government to give Ontario workers “a fair slice of the pie” when it comes to contracts under the National Shipbuilding Strategy.
“We’re getting crumbs,” Ford said in Hamilton, Ont. while announcing $70 million in funding for training programs and job centres to support workers impacted by U.S. tariffs.
“We're getting crumbs, and we have to start getting the contracts to build the ship(s).”
The National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS) was first launched in 2010 to support the country’s marine industry and build vessels in Canada. The federal government says that contracts awarded under the strategy between 2012 and 2024 contributed close to $30 billion to Canada’s gross domestic product.
It also estimates those contracts have created or maintained about 20,400 jobs annually.
Ford said that while he’s happy for premiers of other provinces who have been awarded a large number of these contracts, like Nova Scotia and Quebec, Ontario workers should be part of the process.
“Ontario workers have the know-how and the capacity to build the ships our Navy needs,” he said. “I'm urging the federal government to make sure these workers are included in this strategy.”
The province hasn’t been completely excluded from shipbuilding contracts. Ontario Shipyards (formerly Heddle Shipyards) in Hamilton was awarded a $36 million contract in July 2022 to perform vessel life extension work. In 2023, Canadian Maritime Engineering Ltd. in Thorold, Ont. obtained a $1.8 million contract for maintenance and regulatory work for small buoy tenders.
Companies within Ontario also took part in the building of 10 search and rescue lifeboats, seven hydrographic survey vessels and one coastal research vessel under the NSS.
Those companies have not, however, been contracted for large vessel shipbuilding projects.
The Ford government has in recent years provided more support to shipbuilding, most recently in June 2024 when it invested $215 million into the sector, with grants earmarked for projects under the NSS.
Ford’s comments come as Ontario’s steel industry struggles amid the U.S. trade war. The White House has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on both steel and aluminum, among other sectoral levies.
The premier has been pushing for a made-in-Canada and made-in-Ontario policy for big infrastructure projects in an effort to see the country distance itself from the United States and other foreign nations.
In Hamilton, the premier said that other provinces are looking to Europe for steel while BC Ferries on the west coast is facing criticism for purchasing vessels from China, with the support of the federal government through its infrastructure bank.
“Let's wake up and start supporting Canadian companies,” Ford said. “We’ll invest into the railroads and rail lines to put our steel on and get it out to the rest of the country.”
The premier said there are “great workers” in Ontario ready to provide their services, “but they need some contracts.”
“I'll be all over the federal government until we get a fair slice of the pie.”
