More Jobs Created in Ontario for Second Consecutive Month
May 2, 2022
Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, issued this statement following today’s monthly employment release by Statistics Canada:
“Employment in Ontario increased by over 35,100 in March, bringing the total number of new jobs created since we took office in 2018 to over 500,000. Today’s job numbers prove that Ontario’s plan for economic growth and prosperity is working. By reducing the cost of doing business in the province by $7 billion a year, we have created the conditions possible for continued job growth as we move out of this pandemic. Building on this momentum, we will continue to create the right conditions to grow more jobs in the province and attract game-changing investments to secure Ontario’s long-term economic stability.”
Over the past 18 months, Ontario’s auto sector has seen more than $12 billion in investments for new vehicle production mandates and battery manufacturing. More than $5 billion of these investments are in transformative hybrid and electric vehicle production at Ontario assembly plants. These include significant and historic investments by Honda of Canada, Stellantis and LG Energy Solution, and General Motors of Canada that will generate and secure thousands of jobs.
These investments will accelerate Ontario’s 10-year vision in the strategy Driving Prosperity ― The Future of Ontario’s Automotive Sector. Phase 2 of Driving Prosperity is an important part of the government’s plan to transform the province’s automotive supply chain to build the cars of the future. This includes the production of hybrid and fully battery electric vehicles (EVs), EV battery and component production, and increasing exports of Ontario-made auto parts and innovations.
“We’re also further expanding the province’s innovation ecosystem with a new Life Sciences Strategy. Just last week we welcomed a new $580 million investment by OmniaBio to build a state-of-the-art cell and gene therapy manufacturing facility at McMaster Innovation Park in Hamilton – a first for Ontario and the biggest in Canada.”
The life sciences strategy, Taking Life Sciences to the Next Level, is the province’s plan to grow our life sciences sector and secure new investments in next-generation health technologies, medicines and vaccine manufacturing. It sets out ambitious goals over the next decade. One major objective is to grow Ontario’s biomanufacturing and life sciences sector to employ 85,000 Ontarians in high-value jobs by 2030, a 25 per cent increase from 2020.
Building up Ontario’s auto industry for the future of EV and EV battery production, building a strong and resilient life sciences sector, and attracting billion-dollar investments by manufacturers shows that our province continues to be Open for Business.
Each of these exciting milestones in our auto, life sciences and technology sectors mean the creation of new well-paying local jobs and the building up of our economy for future success.”
