Canada Needs 14,000 More Oil and Gas Workers Over the Next 8 Years: Federal Document

Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan rises during Question Period in Ottawa on Oct. 7, 2022. (Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press)

The federal government says around 14,000 jobs are expected to open up in Canada’s oil and gas sector over the next eight years, creating a need for more workers in the industry despite Ottawa’s planned “just transition” that would see oil sector workers move to green energy jobs.

In an Inquiry of Ministry tabled in the House of Commons on March 29, cabinet said the job openings are expected based on projections outlined in 2022 through the Canada Occupational Projection System (COPS), as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

The Inquiry document said the system’s projections identify any national sector’s occupations that “may face labour shortage or labour surplus conditions over the medium term” and it highlighted the oil and gas sector’s estimated workforce from 2022 to 2031.

“COPS projects a total of 14,000 job openings in the Oil and Gas Extraction industry (excluding Support Activities for Mining, Oil and Gas Extraction) in Canada over the 2022-2031 period,” said the document.

It noted that the projected job vacancies represent about 13 percent of what Canada’s oil and gas sector employment levels were in 2021.

The Inquiry document also noted the federal labour department examines “external sources of analysis” to get an idea of future demands for oil and gas workers in the next few years.

The department cited “Petro LMI’s Labour Market Outlook” as one external analysis, which anticipated that Canada’s oil and gas industry will need over 19,800 new hires between 2021 and 2023.

The labour department also says the Conference Board of Canada found that the oil and gas sector’s employment levels rose by 0.5 percent in 2022 and are forecasted to rise by another 1.8 percent this year, before rising by 0.7 percent in both 2024 and 2025.

Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan previously referenced the shortage of oil and gas sector workers while speaking in the Senate in February. O’Regan told Senators he wants to see the sector’s workforce expand rather than decrease.

“I need more workers in the oil and gas industry, not less,” he said on Feb. 9. “We need more. We have a mission in this country because the world’s eyes are on us, because we have the natural resources.”

Just Transition

The government’s proposed “just transition” plan was released in some detail on Feb. 17. Titled the “Sustainable Jobs Plan,” it says the federal government aims to create “sustainable jobs” in every region of Canada as it looks to move the country toward national net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson previously addressed concerns that the just transition legislation will lead to a massive decrease in jobs, which mostly stemmed from a June 2022 briefing note that said the legislation would affect over 2.7 million Canadian workers.

Wilkinson said in January that the proposed just transition legislation will create jobs.

O’Regan told the Senate in February that the government’s just transition proposal is “not about phasing out the oil and gas industry.”

“The oil and gas industry will be with us for quite some time, and I would argue proudly so,” he said. “I am proud of what we have done in this country and what workers have accomplished in this country.”

Isaac Teo contributed to this report.