Overview of the Canadian Mining Workforce

The Canadian mining industry faces several labour-market challenges. Despite impressive increases in the participation of various demographic groups (e.g., women), employers are still faced with an aging workforce and a looming labour shortage. To proactively address these challenges and meet future hiring requirements, the industry must first maximize and make the best use of all available sources of labour, and second, increase its productivity through investments in training and skills development, coupled with improving the foundation for innovation and technological advances.

To understand the factors behind the imminent labour shortages, the current economic context and demographic profile of the workforce were assessed.

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Economic Overview

The mining industry enjoyed strong economic growth for almost a decade leading up to the sharp decline in third quarter of 2008. Rebound from the recession is already underway in the sector, largely due to demand for resources from rapidly growing nations (e.g., China and India). The value of mineral production in Canada continues to lead the world with a total estimated value of $45.3 billion in 2008 (source: Mining Association of Canada, Facts and Figures 2009, A Report on the State of the Mining Industry.)

• Canada now ranks third internationally in terms of diamond production, accounting for about 13 per cent of world production.
• Over the past 25 years, the mining industry contribution to Canada's GDP has remained relatively stable. Today, mining accounts for 3.5 per cent of Canada's GDP.