Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) and partners, including ArcelorMittal Dofasco, know there is opportunity for a much stronger sector. Together, they are in Ottawa hosting a National Manufacturing Summit to share their plans for the future of manufacturing in Canada.

Industrie2030 was a one-year process of research and consultation that focused on examining the current and possible future state of manufacturing in Canada. Research focused on understanding its strengths and primary challenges, in order to deliver a roadmap to double manufacturing and value-added exports in Canada by 2030.

The result is 5 areas for action: Labour, skills and training; Taxation and regulatory policy; Innovation and technology adoption; and Trade and global business. In the coming weeks, CME will be releasing reports on each of these action areas.

Manufacturing employs 1.7 million Canadians and is responsible for two-thirds of Canada’s total exports. “This is an integral sector to Canada’s success and we are pleased to be a key contributor to that,” says Sean Donnelly, President and CEO of ArcelorMittal Dofasco. “Our company continues to grow and evolve, delivering technically advanced steel solutions to our customers in the automotive, construction and manufacturing, packaging, energy and distribution/service center sectors.”

Industrie2030 is a substantive report on the state of manufacturing and opportunities for growth. Two of the five action areas are of particular interest to ArcelorMittal Dofasco – talent and trade.

“Our employee base is rapidly shifting due to significant retirements,” Sean says. “Our story is not unique – we continue to train and hire across all disciplines and professions, including skilled trades. In fact, we operate one of Canada’s largest apprenticeship training programs in partnership with Mohawk College in Hamilton. Our teams are working very hard to ensure that this next generation of skilled tradespeople are trained efficiently, effectively and that they are successful in obtaining their Certification of Qualification. This requires significant partnership between industry, government and academia, with support for employers to train the skilled tradespeople who will contribute to the growth of Canadian industry.”

In terms of trade, one of Industrie2030’s actions is to “Negotiate free and fair trade agreements with reciprocal access for manufactured goods and stronger trade enforcement mechanisms.” The current situation in the steel industry has been called a global trade war. Unprecedented global steel overcapacity, stagnant global steel markets and a desire to protect mills and jobs have driven offshore companies to export low-priced dumped and subsidized steel in record volumes. North America is a primary target for imports and as a result the U.S. and Canadian steel industries are the top two in active antidumping trade actions.

“Robust trade regulations along with appropriate monitoring and action are very important to sustaining and growing Canadian manufacturing,” Sean says. “We will continue to monitor imports and have implemented a trade case readiness process at our company so that when others are not playing by the rules, we are able to respond quickly and effectively. At the same time, we continue to work with the Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA) and the Canadian government on a trade remedy modernization program which will update Canadian trade laws and regulations to increase the effectiveness of the Canadian
trade remedy system.”

More detail on the Industrie2030 action items will be released in the coming weeks.

Read more about Industrie2030
Read the media summary