Labour Market Transfers

The Government of Canada’s largest investment in skills training and employment is through funding provided to provinces and territories. Each year, the Government of Canada provides approximately $3 billion in funding through the bilateral Labour Market Development Agreements (LMDAs) and the Workforce Development Agreements (WDAs) for individuals and employers to receive:

training
upskilling
employment supports
career counselling, and
job search assistance

Every year, Canadians receive training and employment supports.

To ensure that programming meets the needs of local labour markets, provinces and territories consult annually with labour market stakeholders to inform the design and delivery of training and employment programs.

Achievements of the Labour Market Transfers

Number of training and employment supports provided to individuals and employers across Canada

1 Million

Number of persons with disabilities, Indigenous peoples and racialized Canadians (2022-2023)

578,000

Average increased earnings over a 4-year period for participants who received skills development training under the LMDA (2022-2023)

$10,000

The LMDAs provide skills development and training support to individuals who have recently lost a job. The LMDAs are funded by the Employment Insurance (EI) contributions of employers and workers. LMDA programming assists individuals to prepare for, obtain and maintain employment.

Eligible participants under the LMDA include:

individuals who are currently receiving or have previously received EI benefits; and
individuals who have made the minimum EI premium contributions for at least five out of the last ten years.

The purpose of these benefits is to help these individuals acquire new skills and gain work experience. This is done through a variety of measures, including skills training programs and wage subsidies.

The WDAs complement the LMDAs and focus on reaching those who are furthest removed from the labour market, such as those who are unemployed or underemployed. The WDAs also focus on supporting persons with disabilities, as well as members of underrepresented groups such as:

Indigenous peoples
youth
visible minorities
newcomers to Canada, and
women

Eligible participants and employers under the WDA include:

Canadian citizens
Permanent residents
Protected persons, as per Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, entitled to work in Canada
Private sector employers

Ineligible participants and employers under the WDA include:

international students
temporary foreign workers
federal and provincial/territorial governments, federal crown corporations, and agencies

Funding at a glance

Province and territory overview of funding and individuals served in 2021 to 2022 - Text description follows — **Province and territory overview of funding and individuals served in 2022 to 2023**

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Date modified:: 2024-07-03

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