What happened
In an opinion piece, as reported by Talent Canada, author Tanya Tourangeau argues that Canada's labour shortage is better read as a failure of alignment than a lack of people. Growth is modest, youth unemployment is high, and employers in healthcare, trades, public administration and technical fields still say they cannot find enough staff.
She points to Indigenous Peoples, the youngest and fastest growing population in the country, who remain underrepresented in those same sectors. Her view is that the usual explanation, a readiness gap in the worker, misses the point. Many Indigenous youth are asked to leave family, community and land for work or training, often without adequate housing, income stability or support.
She contrasts this with federal programs for recruiting internationally, which require employers to provide paid transportation, housing capped at a share of income, interim health coverage and safety protections. Similar supports for Indigenous workers are treated as optional. As an example of employers acting upstream, she cites Co-operators, which built a relationship with First Nations University of Canada and put $1 million into its career centre, with guest lectures and internship pathways.
Why it matters if you are hiring
This is an opinion piece, not new data. But the retention argument is practical for anyone hiring in healthcare, skilled trades, public sector or technical roles, where the author says the gaps are widest.
The point for employers: filling a seat is not the same as keeping the person in it. The piece links churn to onboarding that lacks relational safety, leaders with little guidance on Indigenous histories and realities, and mentorship that falls on Indigenous staff as unpaid, invisible work. Each of those is an employer-side fix, and each affects turnover cost for any role you are trying to hold.
It also suggests where to look. Relationships with Indigenous post-secondary institutions, training organizations and communities build a pipeline before a vacancy opens. For trades and remote or regional sites, the practical questions are housing, transportation and a safe work site, not just the wage.
One thing to do this week
Pick one role you have struggled to retain and review its first 90 days. Check what onboarding covers, who mentors the new hire and whether that time is recognized and paid, and what support exists for relocation, housing or travel. Write down the gaps and assign one owner to close the first one.
Traverse helps employers across Canada reach skilled people in the trades, operations and other hard-to-fill roles, and we work with hiring managers on what keeps those hires in place after the offer is signed.